Certainly a fun debate. As one who had to ‘come around’ to appreciate the design, I have to say that it is magnificent - whatever the wood. The NOJ pieces are ‘fuori classe’, di una fabbricazione raffinata, sottile… I did not come to this appreciation easily, but the challenges make the arrival all the more satisfying. Maple… Walnut… Chestnut… All wonderful.
Oh, and the pawns in front are the Oskar Kogoj design…
The question has raged back and forth on this forum for years. Most people contend the original was maple for white and walnut for black.
However - I believe we can conclusively prove it was maple and stained maple. Examine this video starting at ~1:34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgiSkVa3dUc