32 Knights of NineCastles

Here are 32 of the most finest Knights that I own... how many can you guess? Don't worry...this is not a test. Plus which side would you pick for a war? ...(I had way too much free time on my hands today, so this is the kind of stuff I do under these kinds of circumstances!). Hope you like the pictures.

     I hope the pictures are ok...

   I had to fight off the cat a few times....(Tiger Kitty is a terrorist!)

     There is at least one that nobody could ever guess...(hint)...it was designed by a famous international folk artist!

   I tried to get as many angles and sides as possible!

     I use a 2.5" (65mm) SakisTsiogkasWood (Etsy) board, just so it wasn't so tight! Padauk & Chestnut Hardwood.

    Some birds eye view for some of the extreme chess players out there.

    Hope I am not boring you guys with so many picture!

    These are the last batch...I promise 🤞🏼.

     I lied....🤣

 So please be nice (if possible) with your comments, I just wanted to show off part of my collection to the community. They needed dusting, so I figured while they were out, why not take a bunch of the Knights of NineCastles! Thanks for looking! ....(sorry if any pictures post upside down, I hate it when it does that!🤪)

Very nice! I know how annoying it is to upload so many photos, so thanks for showing! But indeed it is unfortunate that they are sideways and downwards...

What´s your personal favorite?

I'm amazed that they aren't falling from the ceiling!

(But seriously, nice collection.!)

It's too bad your photos are upside down.

I spy an original IM Biro

My alias is inspired by Iszmet so I recognize the BCE Stage 2. Sorry Izmet, however, stage 1 is the best and I own several of them (including the stainless steal base you have). I prefer my pieces not to be stamped, however, I like Gregor's signature on the king.

The jowl and mane on the knight in the foreground looks like something Noj would make but the body carving doesn't seem like Noj. I don't recognize it.

The following knight is one of my current curiosities. I do not yet have a set with it as I want to understand the origin of the knight design first. I've read that it is a Soviet "Poni" design. Ponikarovsky? I can't find any source with a history of the design.

I don't think I saw the World Chess knight designed by Daniel Weil.

Have you done the test on any of your Dubrovnik knights? Unlike a Jaques' Knight that is based on Selene's horse, the Dubrovnik's face downward. This follows the Austro-Hungarian design of the Vienna coffee house Knights where the tip of the nose are aligned with the base along with the tip of the mane aligning with the base.

Correction. This is not an IM Biro original. Maybe I saw both. This is probably CB and pales in comparison to the original.

Well... it is very hard to choose a favorite, because I love most of them for very different reasons. But if I had to choose one, or two, or three....it would be either my NOJ Dubrovnik Minceta Knight, my Traveller Staunton Luxury Chess Set Knight, or my Original Jaques London Fischer Spassky Chess Set Knight. And these picks are only my favorite as knights, and not whole sets. If I had to pick my favorite whole sets, this list would probably be a bit different. Thanks for the Compliments Uchebuike!

So...I figured out how to correct the pictures except when I tried to edit the post and change the pictures correctly, Chess.com said that I was violating its rules and muted me for 24 hours lol... Wasn't too sure what rule I might of violated but I am a little scared to try again lol...But the pieces wouldn't fall off the board because I superglued them because I knew chess.com would do this to me in the first place lol...

@Ninecastles If you're going through the trouble of fixing the images you might also want to downsize the images. When posting multiple large images like this on the forum, the current mobile app version of the forum deletes the images. I think this started a little over a year ago. The mobile browser version of the forum shows the images. And of course the desktop browser version of the forum also shows the images.

Below is a screenshot of how your forum post appears on the mobile app (with images deleted). It's a pain and most people can't be bothered. Just mentioning it as an FYI.

Great guesses chesslover0003, but you got a few wrong my friend. Your first pick is a "French Chavet Tournament chess set" from RoyalChessMall..I am in the market for an original, but they are hard to come by.

The one in the foreground that you thought wasn't a NOJ knight, is a NOJ Dubrovnik "Minceta"...(maybe the angle is throwing you off or something).

The test is a great secret that most are not aware of....(good for you for knowing this little mostly unknown fact.) Check out "ChessSharks" video on the "Secrets of high quality vintage ("Jakopovic") Dubrovnik chess sets" where he explains this fact in his video. Unfortunately NOJ does not incorporate this test into all their designs....And believe me I am a huge NOJ fan and just love their craftsmanship sets (I currently own 3 with a 4th on the way!). Their bases are a bit too big for the bodies to successfully pass this test on the Dubrovnik II and Minceta sets. Their 1950 design does adhere to this test though...

The knight you are curios about "Poni" design, is a 3.9″ Berliner Modern Minimalist Chess Set from "RoyalChessMall". I bought this set just to have a few minimalist sets in my collection and it is probably my least liked set in my collection. Hope I didn't offend anyone but, I am not a huge minimalist design fan (except for my Stage 2 NOJ) of coarse!

You are correct that I don't currently own a "the World Chess knight designed by Daniel Weil" at the time being. I will buy it eventually, just waiting on a decent enough sale price before I do. I know that this design is very controversial, but I believe the design is great for most chess games and I also believe that any collector of modern chess sets should have at least one World Chess Set in their collection.

Thanks for your input chesslover0003, and great guesses!

Almost chesslover0003, this one (different from the Chavet) is a Romanian Hungarian Chess Set from "RoyalChessMall". I actually like this set, it plays very well on the board and is very durable in play.

Here are some of the picture corrected, (I hope 🤞🏼) hope I don't get muted again for doing this!....😩.

Here is my post on IM Biro's Romanian-Hungarian set.

Now that the photos are upright I might look closer. Chavet is another I want to add to my collection. I like the design and really want the swirls of the Jura wood.

What more can you share about the Berliner? Do you know how/where the design originated? I believe it's Alexey Poni, but can't find anything online.

I don't have the Noj Minceta (probably why I didn't recognize it entirely... glad I spotted it as a potential Noj), however, I have the other two (and many more from Noj). Perhaps I'll consider the Minceta or look for an original Jakopovic.

Your right about the web not having much info on this site but, I found this which refers to: APFvRolland in Berlin being the original designer of the set (1960's). "Berlin Chess Set" hope this is helpful, plus if I find anything else, I will share.

I would love to buy an original Dubrovnik set and have been. in the market looking for one for some time now. I have reached out to a few people who might have some leads (Izmet and ChessSharks) but neither have responded back to me yet. I will find an original one day! 🤞🏼

I think "original Dubrovnik" needs clarification. I don't think they are referring to a set designed by Pero Pocek for the IX Chess Olympiad in Dubrovnik. There are only 50 of these known to exist and price will indeed be very high (1 million?) if you could even find one being sold.

I think they are referring to a set created by Jakopovic. He created a a few variations of these just as there are for a Jaques of London. Probably not the same supply as a Jaques of London... but Jakopovic supplied many tournaments and clubs. Still not cheap but probably achievable.

I hate to admit it, but your probably right about this DesperateKingWalk. These originals are hard to come by and are probably quite expensive... We will cross that bridge when and if it arrives.

Moneys not everything...especially when you love something so much! Plus, some of these old original sets are actually an investment in the long run. Look at what the prices were for original Jaques sets only 10 years ago...they have almost doubled in price since then. My family will have a good inheritance one day if I choose wisely! 🤞🏼

Oh my God no.... You can't find a 1950 Original set even if you had the money to purchase one. I was referring to a original 1960's-70's "Jakopovic" set! Like the one Fischer owned or a Dubrovnik II. Either one I would love to purchase if possible. The 1950's sets are almost impossible to see one, let alone buy one lol...i wish I had the money for a set like that even if one was available. Those sets are only sold to particular buyers and I bet the list is very long.....

Good luck finding a Jakopovic chess set , No easy find be it from the50's 60's 70's 80;s , & if you do / dig very deep .

How deep are talking about? 🤔 4 digits or 5..? Does anyone know what one has sold for recently (within the last 5 years or so..)?

In short, fine Dubrovniks are extremely hard to come by, and you really need to dig deep to get one. They never locally appear for sale online, and you usually have to know a guy who knows a guy to get a fine set of any kind.... & this is in the Balkans. It's like a cult  Ninecastles As for price you have to find one first / that's for sale ?

That was so well said lighthouse! It helps to explain how it truly is in finding one for sale...Hopefully, (with persistence and passion) I will one day find one for sale. And, hopefully I can afford it lol..!!!! Thanks for your input on this subject, it is greatly appreciated.