What We Like In Chess Equipment - Sets

In another thread about a guy complaining that others got free chess sets for review and then quitting this forum, a conversation about what we, as individuals, like in Chess sets began.

Basically a few have said they buy chess sets they like and think look good.  Also they buy what they can afford.

Here's my response and ideas about this.

I only get sets and boards that I find nice looking and will play well.  I liked the Noj Dubrovnik II set before it became popular (and paid quite a bit less than what they cost now).  There is a young man from my area that told me of this set, showing me his that is black and white.  I got the Walnut version.  Once I got it, I went to their site and watched all the Fischer videos and pictures with this set.  I like the set for the way it looks and handles.

I also like the Zagreb style and use my set with a green leather board.  It is really fun to play with.  I am actually considering a future purchase of another one from either Chess Bazaar or The House of Chess.  I like the way both of their Zagreb sets look, and they are inexpensive.

I also cannot afford those ivory, bone and antique sets.  I have saved up my "hobby" money for 18 months now to buy a red stained Noj Dubrovnik II set.

The history of the set designs is kind of interesting.  Earlier today I went looking at the history of the Jaques sets.  I found an interesting tidbit that Frank Camaratta is the one that started naming the Jaques designs by the Master that was active during the time that design was made.  Do you al realize that most of the HoS sets are some copy or replication of one of the many Jaques sets?  That is kind of cool, to me.

So, I like Chess sets that look nice and often times different.  I like the Noj Dubrovnik II, the Best Chessmen Ever set(s), the HoS Players, Morphy and Marshall Series sets for how they look and play with during a game, and for the uniqueness of how the individual pieces are designed.

I play with all my sets.  Some I use more often than others, but they all must pass the test of making me happy to play with them before I buy or keep them.

Well, I suppose you can say I am a collector as well because I just counted 11 nice sets that I own or have on order and use (HoS Morphy, BCE, Dubrovnik II, Dubrovnik II red, HoS Marshall Rosewood, Hos Zagreb Blood Rosewood, HoS Zagreb Rosewood, HoS Player Series, HoS Liberty Series, HoS Championship, The Chess Store Lardy Rosewood). And before anyone decides I spent a lot of money at once, I assure you that I have built this collection over the last 17 years, buying and selling to get to this collection as it is.

Sure, I don't own as many as some of the more prolific collectors on this forum, but I am happy with what I do own.  I assure you all that I really have fun using these sets and my friends enjoy them too.

things I like in a chess set:

- it must be nice to play with, and by this I mean pieces must be stable, heavy enough and clearly identifiable.

- the design should reflect the value of the pieces: I like stout rooks and relatively small knights for instance.

Also, I don't particularly care if the pieces are a reproduction of a particular set or if they are ancient, but as I like the look of old Jaques set I tend to buy sets with similar designs. A good jaquesque design is for me as good as a very precise reproduction. Unfortunately as I live in Europe it is very expensive to get sets from HoS, otherwise I would go for a Morphy set, which looks like the best attempt so far to a good jaquesque set. I am very envious of you guys who can get decent deals on this set (and by the way I'd love to see some pics of your Morphy set Eyechess).

I would also be interested on new designs as long as they are simple and elegant at the same time, but not many meet my taste at the moment, Best Chessmen Ever comes close, but the knights are too big for my tastes.

I buy sets I like for personal use. I do not collect chess sets or boards.

Yes, he's right.  I also only buy sets I like for personall use.  Thanks to these guys on this forum that number is now up to 12 from 11 yesterday   And I have been forced to admit I collect sets,...for playing purposes.

Plus it is admirable to like more than one thing or design.  I like my HoS Players Series the best of my Staunton/Jaques designs.  It is the least expensive of the three but I like it.

I also really like my Noj Dubrovnik II and Best Chessmen Ever sets.  They are different than the Jaques styles and different from each other, but I like them all.

When I rediscovered chess a few years ago I did what I'm sure a lot of adult novices do: I tried to buy myself more enjoyment from chess by buying a lot of chess "stuff".  I must have spent hundreds of hours on Ebay and came up with some nice finds, some generic ebony Staunton sets and my everyday analysis set, an HOS Sheffield.  Oh I think I had 15 or 16 sets and my only criteria were they be something I really really liked and could get at a good price.  Now I'm already starting to give them away to folks.  The Russian aluminum folder went with my HOS small tournament set to a friend I visit because I was tired of lugging a set over there to play.  The HOS was one of those older sets where the dye has faded transforming the color from "ebonized" to a dark dark chocolate.  Anyway I guess I bought my sets for the wrong reasons.  I was trying to ignore just how hard the game was and somehow in the back of my mind I had decided that my chess would improve with better equipment.  Not my most lucid period....

I do love that HOS Sheffield set though.  I have it set up on a table next to the computer on a custom board.  Maybe chess sets that you love do inspire you to study and play.  Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

"I collect sets, ... for playing purposes." - That's exactly what I think.

I have a few sets and I like to play with all of them.

I currently have about 18 sets with a king height between 3" and 4.5". Three are plastic, the rest are made of wood. Since I don't have the room to display chess sets (or little else for that matter), all are actively being used for play.

Because I do all my playing off site at cafes, coffee houses, libraries, and at other peoples' homes, I'm using a variety of wooden and roll up chess boards between 1.75" to 2.5" to accommodate the available playing space.

Although 18 sounds like a large number of sets, when you spread it out over 7 different board sizes, it averages less than 3 sets per board.

All of my sets are based on Staunton or pre-Staunton designs, and range in price from a high of $320 to a mere $15, with six sets costing less than $50. I log all my sets into an Excel spreadsheet, which keeps track of my collection (always a good thing for insurance purposes) and calculates my total expediture and average cost per set (currently $131).

I've only been collecting in earnest for the last 18 months. In that time, my tastes have become more discriminating. I grew up playing with black and white plastic chess pieces and always wanted an ebony set. But after collecting a few ebony and ebonized sets, I realized that the jet black color obscured much of the detail in the pieces. Detail that was a lot more evident on the lighter hued woods such as sheesham, bud and blood rosewoods, and such. I also found I preferred a less contrasting color scheme, say boxwood and sheesham, to the high contrast provided by boxwood and ebony sets, as these lower contrast color schemes seemed to blend better with the custom chess boards I had made up in combinations of bloodwood, padauk, maple and northern ash.

Over time, I have become more discriminating when it comes to the design of individual pieces and the overall balance and proportionality of the set. Early on, I found that the FIDE recommended pawn size of four-pawns-to-the-square didn't fit well with the 75 to 78% scaling factor recommended for sizing the king to a chess board. To my eye, it provided a well proportioned back rank, but a front rank of pawns that looked decidedly undersized. Thereafter, I sought out sets with larger diameter pawns. 

I worked up my own design parameters for what I consider a well proportioned chess set, and have one vendor who expressed an interest in using that design. I'm not sure whether that will ever come to pass. If it does, it will be nice to see the design "in hand" and "on the board."

Thanks to all for sharing your sets and ideas. As they say, "It takes all kinds to make a world-go-round."

Lou, do you have one or a few favorites?

If you do, what is it or are they?

Eye,

My two current favorites are the Encore set from House of Chess and the Fantasy Knight (red sandalwood) set from the Chess Piece.

ENCORE SET

FANTASY KNIGHT SET

loubalch, that Encore set is a beauty. How big are they? Are they weighted well? If I had money and space I would collect sets. I would still have some set aside for play as well. 

Both are very nice, I like the darker sandalwood pieces with the traditional knight myself. 

I would like a disco neon set where every square and every piece is lit up.

I really enjoy red sandalwood. That fantasy knight set is lovely Lou

Burke, the Encore is a 4.5" set with a total weight of 74 ounces. Here are the remaining specs:

The Fantasy Knight is a 4.25" set with a total weight of 71 ounces. The remaining specs are below:

rcmac, I understand completely. I wasn't a big fan of ornate sets until I found this one. Compared to some of the ornate designs out there, this one is actually subdued. And it looks and plays great on my custom 2.5" padauk and northern ash board.

Also, the pieces aren't nearly as orange as they appear in the stock photo I grabbed off the website (above). Mine have actually mellowed with age, darkening toward a brandy-like hue. The more they age, maybe they'll get closer to the red sandalwood set? Could be...Hopefully...Perhaps...We'll  have to wait and see.

Here's one of the favorites in my collection

Here's another favavorite in my collection.

Nice, Mike. Cheers, John C.😎

GNM, that green and  cream color set is truly outstanding! I've never seen another like it. What's the scoop?

Thanks,

Lou

Yes, it's a gorgeous set. But is it a Leuchars? Mike, I had assumed this was a Cantonese Staunton set (albeit an exceptionally beautiful one). Can you confirm?