A review of a chess set from The English Chess Company.

I have no affiliation with the person/s or the company of this chess set. As I understand I was one of a few who were picked by the workers of The English Company at random from people who posted on a certain thread. 

I looked forward to receiving the set and it came faster than I expected. Wrapped up so well I could have used it in a volleyball game and no harm would have comes to the pieces. To my misfortune I was in the middle of taxes and good not even break myself away to unwrap it. After taxes a family crisis came about and only till now can I give it my full undivided and attention.  My comments are not to suck up to anyone for giving me a free set, they are totally honest and I intend to critic the set as best as I can. 

Now for the set, may I add the form fitted foam packing it came in was not glued together so you can use it for storage very easily. I plan on getting a couple Plano boxes with no dividers and putting the foam for each color in each box for super protection as this set surely deserves it (I also use a Boveda 49% pouch as I do in my quality sets)  Picture is below along with pieces. Set was called “THE STEINTZ ANTIQUED CHESSMEN” 149 pounds I believed that is delivered but not 100% sure. 

I did not even wipe the pieces as I took them out of their individual plastic bags all in the form fitted foam.  Pieces shined and no nicks at all. Finish is superb. Felts were trimmed to the tee which is really surprising since almost ever set I have bought there is always a piece or two that needs a little trim. 

This I feel is a big deal,,,,,the bottoms of the pieces are PERFECTLY FLAT, you can nt feel a bump in the middle from the weight as are in some sets. 

Craftsmanship of  ALL the pieces are unlike any budget or mid range set  I own. In fact  this surpasses a luxury set I bought a few moths ago. Everything is meticulously done.  I would never expect this is a set that cost retail 149 BritishSterlingwhich today iinUS$ is $227.97. Remember that is retail so discounts may or may not be available, I honestly do not know.

Weight of the set is a big deal for some and I do not usually weigh my sets. If they feel like they will play well that is all that matters to me, but to be complete I put them oh a highly accurate scale and they come up for all 34 pieces at 1272 grams which is 2.8 lbs. which is 44.8 ounces, and it very well balanced in play. 

King height is 3.95”  this is what they have it listed it and I agree using my crude measuring tape base is about 1.65” Queen 3.2/1.55   Bishop 2..9/ 1.375 Knight  2.5/1.375

Pawn 1.75/1.15  All those measurements are approximate as I interpolated.

Some sets rate their sets buy quality/price/value

I was in sales for the first 15 years of my work history. And this statement holds true today as well as in my day. 

“THE BITTERNESS OF POOR QUALITY REMAINS LONG AFTER THE SWEETNESS OF LOW PRICE IS FORGOTTEN”

You will never have to say that about this chess set.

The Quality or as I call it the craftsmanship of this set is only found in high quality sets. Every detail is paid to the finished piece. Does not look like anyone had a quota and you can see it isn’t a rush job.  Seldom can I say I unpack a whole set and it looked so good. Quality would be a solid 10/10 for me.

Price at $227.97 I wouldn’t expect to pay any less since the quality is so high. Yes of course when you pay $90 for a set it will not have the finish, the balance, the craftsmanship, the beauty of a set like this.  I do not think the set is high priced at all since I would not be ashamed to tell people what it cost me if I paid for it.   I do not consider price an evaluation category as better sets would normally cost more.

I do consider price vs. what I received (quality)..in this case 10/10  meaning worth every penny.

And here is my one complaint and it is not really a complaint, more like a suggestion. I rather get the finale separate from the King and put it on myself with Teflon® Tape.  I came across my plumbing items when I replaced my faucet valve a couple months ago and wrote that up as a thread. It holds firm but never dries and with a little force you can take out your finale and replace it or use a different one. Finale was already attached and I did not test to see if I can pull it out as I am always afraid of breaking it. 

And I know ahead of time some of you think I wrote the above because the set was free and I am kissing butt for that. No way. If this set was a plain Jane run of the mill with a craftsmanship level of maybe 75-80% in the machining and finish I would have said so.

I definitely a proud of this set and will show it off. In fact I will bring this to the next chess club meeting.  

Pictures to follow: I have just a phone camera and I am sure I did not do justice to the set.  If I left anything out I will add it to the thread separately and anyone who wants to ask me a question lets do it in public out in the open.   This is a very impressive set especially for the price.  

More Pics

More Pics:

More Pics:

Pics:

Pics:

I forgot to add the antique job on the white pieces was so good it could pass for real. It didn't have the smell of two other sets I have that are antiqued and has just  the right amount, a perfect job. 

Hi Mac yes it i sn't heavily weighted maybe just 2x but they handle better than a set that is overweighted in my opinion. I know some like a 4" set to weigh 70 ounces but to me that is way to much and when it gets that heavy for a smaller set it is awkward.  if it was a 4.4" set yes then I want a but more weight but the pieces are also taller then.

Mac I bought the collectors set from HOS and had to send 3 pieces back and paid for the friehgt too on the bad pieces. My rosewood set never did match that great as the pawns are stripped and my Queens are solid dark. It was areally a disappointment after everyone told the the collectors set by HOS was so great. Left a bad tatse in my mouth. if the set I got is a true represetation of all his other sets I am going to buy the Cooke set the 3.5".  I am also now waiting on the 1849 set. Can't imagine how that will be if this set was so nice.

Hi MIke
Thanks for the nice review on the Stenitz set. And your nice pictures. What size board would you recommend for this set?

I can also say I am surprised that anyone would put that much effort in an ebonized set, you just do not see it in todays offering.  I like the fact Carl's ebonized sets pay as much attention to detail & finish and one of his $600 sets. To me that means it is an excellent company who cares about their customers and would not sell them junk even on their lower priced sets. This is the way to build a customer base in my opinion. Give people a fair deal and the highest quality, tell them what they are getting. 

When I compare this set with a few of the ones I bought in the last year I can easily see the difference. In the end I rather have 1/2 the sets as long as the quality is as high as this one!! 

Thanks for the review, Mike. I've moved away lately from the plethora of Indian Jaques relicas (especially considering I have plenty of vintage originals), but this looks like a decent set for what it is.

Now what do I need to do to get a free set as well? Considering the fact Carl even quoted one of my reviews in a previous thread, I'm not sure why there's no freebies coming my way.... :)

Mike, on board size. I have a 2" out on the table and that is what I set it up on. I think a 2 1/8" or 2 1/4" would be a little better. 

Thanks for the great review Mike. The pieces look awesome.!

I should mention the board is a Spanish veneer board that is popular and I bought it from eBay on an auction about 9 months gao for $18.00 + $15 ship from the Chess Store ( I think retail is about $120).  Said it had a slight ding somewhere on the trim, still looking for the damage .  No way by looking you can tell it is veneer and looks every bit as good as solid wood and will even 50 years from now. They are high quality and nothing wrong with veneer. I do also own solid wood boards 2 Drueke and a custom made board, all unique in their own way. But for the value and construction this Spanish company sure does an excellent job. I tracked the company down who makes them if you would like to read more, although they do not sell retail.

http://www.rechapadosferrer.com/index.php/en/chessboards/list-of-models.html

thanks for the review Mike. So now we have reviews of three different sets from this company, and it looks like the sets are very high quality in terms of carving, weight and stability of pieces. Besides, quality control seems very accurate, not very common these days. Pricing looks ok, the only (slight) complain could be about shipping: I bough from other companies in the UK and shipping prices are usually lower.

It would be usefull to know whether this is true only for the sample sets they gave for review: comments from anybody who have bought sets from this company would be welcome (we already have one on this thread).

Summing up: high quality of sets, excellent quality control, fair prices and they are in Europe (which for me means no customs): if they come out with good designs I'd go for it.

I also think that these review threads are being very interesting, I am going to go on with other companies.

Hi Aristotele1, like I told Carl I would be completely honest and it may seem since I got the set for free I was most positive but as you know the set was that nice.  What I can't figure out is he could have the company drop ship these for him , I THINK, and we all know shipping from India is a fraction of what it cost to ship from the UK plus he has to pay to get the set shipped to him.  Now to be fair he said he liked to examine everything that goes out to his customers and I don't blame him for that, only way to maintain quality control. But if he could trust the manufacturer would maintain the same quality he could give free shipping from India to the rest of the world because it is cheap.  You can not charge much shipping in a country where people do not make much money for the month it is simple as that. That is how CB can ship a $75 set free all day and we get them here in the states 3 days after they ship from India it is so fast. 

But he said he is geting his sets made by AIW which is #1 quailty by most people I would take a chance from shipping from there if they would do that, have no idea if AIW would drop ship for someone for a charge. 

I think for the 1849 set he has in the works he is going to put the shipping in the price of the set but not sure. Yes either way it i snot cheap to ship from the Uk to anywhere. Same with NOJ shipping the Dubrovnik sets, they are by no means cheap either.  In the US here when dealing within the 48 states I expect to pay about $15 freight for chess pieces and maybe $20 for a chess board.  I think NOJ gets about $70 for shipping don't they?  

Hi mike,

my hope is that they cut shipping prices as much as possible (it is not like they are impossible prices, just a bit more expensive than usual), but I still would prefer quality control and shipping from UK. In my experience quality control from indian manufactuers is often uneven, and on the top of that shipping from India means very high customs.