1967 Cavalier Chess set #1498 in Alabasque White and Brown

For a couple of years I've been waiting for one of the coveted #1491 Cavalier Chess sets to become available in good condition and for a decent price - as much as the style appeals to me, I'm simply unwilling to spend anywhere above $150 on a plastic set. So I finally decided to "settle" for the #1498 model, provided one became available in a) mint or near-mint condition, b) in "Alabasque" white and brown, my favourite colours - and, below $100 bucks not including shipping to Europe. So I've been casually browsing eBay for a while (invariably from the US, nobody seems to know about these pieces in my country, or is willing to part with them), and three weeks ago, it happened: a near-mint, complete #1498 Cavalier set in the colour combination I wanted, priced at US$ 75.00 - plus $ 45 shipping from New York to Germany.

Today, the set arrived. Decently (nut nor spectacularly safely) packaged, it arrived in perfect condition after the journey via Newark, Illinois, and Switzerland.

As advertised (by a professional seller on eBay), the set came complete with the carton board and a short "Beginner's Guide" to the game.

Some the red color from the inlay had rubbed off on the pieces, but that came right off, easily. The flimsy board is also in good condition, and there's no wear on the pieces themselves. Either somebody hardly ever played with them or just treated them nicely.

In those days, people (and companies) were less meticulous (or less obsessed) about the ratio between pieces and boards, so the set looks too cramped on the included carton board:

Because of the marble-like looks, I think the set would look great on a stone/marble/onyx board, but I don't own any such board, and they seem hard to come by in the size needed for these pieces. Which is at least 55mm square size (or 2.17").

So, for the time being, my white and grey ash burl-wood board from Rechapados Ferrer will have to do:

I think that works nicely.

The pieces themselves are not as heavily weighted as the ones on the #1492 set, but they feel nice and substantial to the touch (kings are 46g, knights 34g).

Whoever in the company came up with the term "Alabasque" certainly earned a bonus that day. The term is unique to these Cavalier sets and, to the best of my knowledge, hasn't been used since that time for anything else. No information can be found about it on the web.

While the white pieces more prominently reflect the marble texture, it's also very noticeable on the brown ones.

The knights, although maybe a tad too robust, sure look good and make the set easily identifiable:

Th rest of the set are more standard, clean Staunton type, but rather well-made.

The phrase "they don't make 'em like they used to" certainly comes to mind when looking at and handling the Cavalier pieces, and I'm glad I went for one, even though it wasn't the edition I originally wanted. It's one of the quality plastic sets of its time.