My stuff

Recent favourites: HoS 3.5 inch Anderssen circa 1856 ebony boxwood

My first fancy set: House of Staunton Marshall 4 inch. Ebony and boxwood. Don’t see those anywhere anymore. Have them for 19 years already.

I sanded down the mahogany box (didn’t like the red varnish), and applied some flaxseed oil. The old lock system is way better than what is in those boxes lately.

I'm still looking for special chess pieces to buy, I like the look of these but they are currently "sold out" so hopefully they get some more in that I could buy one day: https://www.officialstaunton.com/products/1849-early-4-4-edition-staunton-boxwood-ebony-chess-pieces-mahogany-box

I have this set just for a few weeks or so. Want to post pictures but am a bit too ashamed now since I mutilated the set somewhat in a failed effort to remove the fake antique lacker.  Used paint remover spray and while it did the job well it left some darkening spots in the wood. Of course the set looks old and used now!

There are other firms offering the exact same set that could be worth a look at. House of Staunton is good, but even when discounted still hefty. I did appreciate the free box though.

Woops, I didn’t look at your link. I see you are referring to official staunton site. I bought from House of Staunton. Which I think is slightly less nice, but also less expensive in my version of ebonised boxwood.(but a black bishop just survived a fall onto a stone floor. Ebony would have been in pieces) I am also not completely sure about my oversized rooks. It always look different at home than on the site pictures. 

Cooke 1849 House of Staunton 4.4 inch

Looks really good, is the Cooke 1849 House of Staunton 4.4 inch still for sale on their site?

Yes, but not anymore in my cheaper version of ebonized boxwood.

https://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-camaratta-collection-the-cooke-1849-series-luxury-chess-pieces-4-4-king.html

Pretty much the same set is available at Staunton Castle for 100 bucks less, be it without a box.

https://stauntoncastle.com/collections/reproduced-antique-chess/products/jaques-reproduction-4-4-circa-1850-55-staunton-chess-set

How about these, our 1851 new for 2020! 

That is about exactly the same design as House of Staunton 1849. I’m not so sure the years are completely accurate; it could be a way to just naming a new set with approximate time referrence. 

This design seems to be popular and nearly all known stores sell it. For quite different prices. Maybe they originate all from the same woodworking place?

Who makes that set and are there details about the wood, weights, heights, price etc?

Can we talk chess boards as well?  I have a very strong preference for boards that are inlaid in a table, rather than a board that sits on top of the table - which seems to be the norm these days, apart from those fantastic tables at the Sinquefield Cup this year.  I also really like the cushioning on the ends of the table, which must be very comfortable to play on as you rest your arms on them.  They seemed to be more common back in the day, as shown in this photo from the USSR v Rest of the World match back in 1970 (Fischer v Petrosian pictured).  Does anyone actually have a chess board that is inlaid in a table?  I expect they would be very expensive to buy and also quite difficult to make.

For those (like me) not aware of the tables used in the Sinquefield tournament: I looked it up and was pleasantly surprised... Ultimate chesstable, worth a look.

https://natecohen.us/sinquefieldtable/

Also note that HoS are selling the same chess pieces as used at the Sinquefield Cup this year, but they are very expensive.

sorry I see this so late; yes by all means post some pictures of your pieces! 

Im loveing all your interests in chess styles of the game we all love keep it up cheers.  REVESKEY.

Beautiful set and at such a great price too - I've had my eye on this one for a while myself. How's the HoS antiqued finish? I normally prefer natural and have never had an 'antiqued' set but this one looks amazing.

Well it wasn’t exactly a bargain. I’ll have to curb myself a bit in spending money on carved wood Antique finish not too much bothering me, it’s quite glossy though. If I remember correctly there was no option of untreated or I am quite sure I would have chosen that. I do notice I take this set out of the box for playing the most still.

Send in a picture of the result; you may get some orders!