A tale of two sets

As a preamble, I wanted to make comment as to why I am posting. Since joining this forum, I have posted what I feel (and are hopefully viewed) as balanced reviews on the pieces that I have purchased. I do this because prior to joining the chess community, I had very little knowledge. This is still the case with in playing the game and buying a few sets - but my knowledge is getting better, slowly. In building that knowledge, I have read many reviews from other people here and your reviews have helped me make more informed decisions.

Noting too that we all have our own biases - or at least I do - (conscious or subconscious) and by their nature, our individual reviews are subjective and relative to our own standards. That always needs to be taken into consideration and in the end, the decision to purchase whatever set from whatever supplier is each person’s own.

With Xmas and Black Friday in our recent past, I have been fortunate to add two new sets to the collection. One from Chess Bazaar (CB) and one from House of Staunton (HoS). I have purchased a number of sets from Chess Bazaar in the past and this is my first purchase from the House of Staunton. Be assured, I am happy with each set in this story. 

That said, each set had a flaw. The HoS pieces are wonderful but with one flaw in a knight. The CB set a few more flaws. None deal breakers - just a tad frustrating. In both cases - to both suppliers - I was not demanding - I simply asked their thoughts on what options I may have with the offending pieces. Further, the flaws are not the same - in CB’s case - it was more about colour and finish whereas the knight in the HoS set had structural/wood flaw in the neck. So I imagine that would factor into both responses. 

As usual (at least in my experience) CB was responsive and helpful from the time of my initial enquiry, through ordering to delivery. The pieces were good, but I did note a few flaws - at least to my eyes - noting colour variation on the base on the knights and queens and some other minor issues They responded to my query when I emailed them and they suggested that the variation was natural colour variation but importantly, noted that a replacement was possible, if I wanted it. That said, getting replacement pieces from CB was going to be a bit of a hassle and I have chosen not to. They wanted me to return the selected pieces and after that they would send replacements. I did not want to go the cost (and time) of returning the few pieces and I will live with the flaws. To be clear, they did offer to fix the issue if I wanted to follow that return process. Therefore, it was my choice not to get the replacements. Be assured, if it was a bigger issue, I would have been more demanding but I did not feel the need. It’s a chess set after all and there’s bigger issues in the world! I’ll also note that at other times, CB have replaced pieces (in one case a whole set at their cost) - so they have a process and make judgements as to when replacements are requested. I feel the CB team are responsive and respect their decision to make a call in relation to there policy. 

My only experience (to date) with House of Staunton and what appears to be a related website [Chess Antiques - antiques and reproductions] was excellent. 

The Chess Antiques team and the HoS team were impressive.  Super-fast and responsive, customer-focussed service. From my initial email enquiry on the St Petersburg pieces and Frank Camaratta’s near immediate response on the [Chess Antiques] website, to the efficiency of ordering and delivery through the main HoS website. (Note: the St Petersburg repro was on both websites, and I was advised to take advantage os the HoS sale price and free delivery.)

Then, when I received the set, the positive experience continued with packaging; individually wrapped pieces and foam cut-outs holding the pieces. A catalogue was included which was a nice touch too. The experience of unboxing the delivery was pleasant!

That said, unfortunately I had a query over a singular knight and I asked their thoughts on the offending piece. I received responses from numerous people from House of Staunton and US Chess Federation sales (I am not sure of their relationship). They immediately offered to replace the piece, no hassle.  I was not asked to return the faulty piece. I was not asked to to fund the cost of return or shipping the new piece. Further, I know the new piece is on the way - it too is being tracked and shipped vis FedEx - just like the main set was - even though I noted there was no hurry. Just brilliant service from a responsive, helpful team. Great stuff.

So, each supplier followed a process and both were responsive. It’s not about right and wrong just how a customer feels after the process. My experience with CB across numerous sets has on the whole been, been very good - the team responsive and any issues have been resolved to my satisfaction. The issue with the current set was  borderline but understandable.

I am new to HoS and Chess Antiques and now I have an appreciation for their approach and quality too. Indeed, Frank’s initial response to my query with his professionalism and knowledge and then the team’s service has given me great confidence. The ease of replacement and ease of doing business will positively inform future purchases.

Finally - I finish by noting that I know people have had varying experiences across nearly all suppliers over the past year and bit. The issues are well documented throughout this forum. It’s been a lottery buying sets - some happy stories, some not so. Some just disastrous. So, one sale (and my experience) does not prove anything, but I wanted to illustrate the different approaches. 

The following are photos of both sets. 

The CB Chetak Series II (Paduak) - why did I buy it? Well, I like it and especially the knight - detailed without being so egregious that it takes away from other pieces. I wanted a larger set with red wood to contrast on the ebony tiles on the board that I have. I really like the contrast of the pieces on the board. It is a beautiful set even and indeed, in different light, it is hard to see the colour variations on the base of the knights.

The HoS 1914 St Perterburg Series Repro (Anjun wood) - why did I buy it? I like the simplicity, the size and it’s very playable. It also seemed - from what I could read - to be a rather accurate repro and that appealed to me - for no other reason ...than it did. It too is a beautiful set - the Anjul wood is very attractive - and it is hard to explain but the pieces have wonderful finish and feel - clearly it is not as complex carving as the other set but the finish is magnificent and for the lack of better words, clean and sharp.

Selected pictures follow - first the Chetak then the St Petersburg. Two very different sets that I’ll enjoy both for years to come. 

The Chetak

The colour variation example - this photo shows a strong variation but in many lights it is harder to see and that is why I chose not to replace them

And the queens, with a slight finishing problem on one of the queens.
but finish with the inherent beauty; I think this knight, the rook above and indeed the pieces in general are lovely and the colours rich. 

And the 1914 St Petersburg 

The flawed knight being replaced


But again, finish with the beauty.


I hope that has been helpful. I am fortunate to be able to purchase such sets.

Excellent review and two very nice acquisitions!  Congratulations!

Congrats on two nice sets! I share the same experience as you with HoS. The exchanges are hassle free. I think the color variation from the CB set is noticeable enough to bother me. I would have asked for replacements if I was in your shoes. This actually happened to me with the HoS Fischer Spassky set. There were issues with the color of some of the boxwood pieces. HoS replaced the pieces for free. I probably would have expected CB to do the same here.

Here is a photo of the problem with my HoS set. You  can see how the colors differ between both rooks and both knights. One rook was significantly darker than the other. One of the knights had a different color/shade for the base than the rest of it similar to your CB knight. HoS was kind enough to replace the two pieces on the right for free.

@Powderdigit, I applaud your choices on both sets. I have had mixed luck with CB in the past, but have not dealt with them in some time. I bought their first edition of the 1849 Staunton set when it first came out, and had four pieces crack on me within the first two weeks. They replaced them without issue, but over the last four years, an additional 12 pieces have cracked. The set is worthless as far as I’m concerned. However, none of the other sets I have bought from them (6) have given me a lick of trouble. As far as color variation goes, you have to remember that wood is all unique, and varies even within the same board or tree. If you want utter uniformity, you have to go with plastics. That said, I think you made the right decision on the Chetak set. Those variations don’t bother me. I’d have kept them, too. That HOS knight, though, needed replacing. It should never have made it through inspection at the factory.

I’ve been dealing with HOS since about 1998, when Frank C. still owned it. Their customer service has always been good to me, but others will tell different tales. Frank himself at Chess Antiques is absolutely ethical and honest to a fault. And Shawn Sullivan at HOS tries to do his best. Sometimes, his employees fail him, but not often. Enjoy your sets… they are beautiful. Just be aware… once the bug has bitten, it can be hard to stop!

@Powderdigit Congratulations on the sets. They are lovely. I am especially drawn to the CB set's knight. I have two sets with padauk and each has color variations that are noticeable on inspection. I have always thought the variations in my sets are acceptable and agree with @madmacsback that they may simply be due to the characteristics of the wood. The variation in the rook in @MCH818's photo is different though - it is uniformly darker and appears to be something with the finishing.

Whaaa two nice sets in one go, congratz mister P! I notice you don't really have a pattern in your preferences, it's hard to predict what your next one will be

Beautiful sets and explanation of your personal experiences....Looks like you won your particular ordering lottery.

Excellent review. Thanks for posting your experiences. The sets look beautiful and are ones I had never considered before.

Thanks for your posts, they are always well thought out and thorough, as well as informative. Two very nice sets!

Hey - thanks for the positive feedback everyone.  I know some of my posts are too long but I try to be clear - I am sure there’s a way to do that with less words!! 🥴

They are lovely and very different pieces. Two menacing Chetak nights escaped the board when I was watching TV! 

On a more serious note - the 1914 set is simple and appealing too. There’s a nice symmetry to the size of the pieces and then some interesting, subtle design elements - the offset Bishop’s mitre; the two-sided mane and the opposite colour finials - lovely but in no way distracting or confusing on the board. 

It's funny how some people react to pictures.....I like the set just posted, but my wife was more impressed  with the marble table. Go figure-

@Powderdigit - congratulations on your new acquisitions. Very nice sets. And thank you for sharing your experiences and for letting us participate in your "collecting journey". This type of exchange is what chess collecting is all about.

Strategy is to buy her a table with the deal that you can buy a board and pieces to put on it!  Score!

@GrandPatzerDave, happened to me recently. I saw a nice Biedermeier chess table in an auction in Vienna and my wife liked it so much (without realising that it was a chess table) that she asked me to get it. Who I am to disagree? Surprise, surprise, it came with a contemporary Biedermeier coffee house chess set.

WOW! I really,"really like" that combo Holger.

Although I feel like I'm pretty picky, I also assume that there are going to be color variations with boxwood and rosewood/sheesham sets.  I probably have a handful of sets (across various sellers) with some lighter/darker differences in the pieces.  

OTOH, that HoS knight should have been weeded out before it left India.

Nice furniture EfimLG47 it always amazes me to see beautiful  furniture that survived the war / like the paintings too

@EfimLG47 - Stunning, majestic. 👍 I can only imagine what it is like to see such pieces in the flesh. Pictures are one thing but I imagine there’s some awe to your and other people’s serious collections when one sees them up close. Wonderful.

I don’t know, the table looks really old. Only joking for certain. Wow! It looks amazing and the set came with it? Very nice find and purchase, well done. It looks like the key for the drawer is even intact. Envious and happy for you at the same time. Thank you for posting!

@Powderdigit, i find your posts very interesting, well written, and engaging. The photos are always welcome in my mind. How else will most of us ever get to partake of such wonders? Even without the current events, most of us will never have the opportunity to travel and find them ourselves. Thank you again from all of us my friend.