best chess board

Certainly not 100%.  My Colorado Wood Worker board was a complete disappointment and will never get any use. Misaligned squares, rough gritty surface texture, dull appearance, sharp edges that feel like they might splinter off into my hand, and possibly other problems I'm not remembering. At the advice of others I attempted to wax it to improve some of the issues but I'm not great at those things and only made it worse.

My CWW board sits in the back of a closet now but I should probably just throw it out. 

I completely agree. CWW sells pedestrian, consumer level, mass produced boards at best. Certainly not high end, quality. But I think one can assume that when looking at their price point. He has a bunch at $85 with free shipping. The shipping alone is costing him $25. The photos on their site are cherry-picked examples of their boards. Not indicative of what you may or may not get. 

@lotsoblots  If it doesn't pain you too much to look at it again, is it possible to take the board out from the closet and see if it has warped any in the time you have owned it? Just curious.

The complaints above regarding CWW boards are the first two that I have become aware of.  I stand by my comment that the positive experiences far outweigh any negative experiences that have appeared on Chess.com.

Confirmed. It does not lie flat any more and wobbles when pressed down into the corners.

@lotsoblots - did you contact CWW (Brad Borkowski) with your complaint when you received your board to give him the opportunity to address/rectify your issue?  If so, how was it resolved?

@Pawnerai - do you own a CWW board?  If not, what is the basis for your negative commentary regarding them?

Hey, Brad from CWW here.  Sorry you aren’t satisfied with my quality of work but as I have advertised on my site, I do stand by my work 100%.  If your board is sitting in the back of your closet, get it out and return it to me for a full refund.  I even cover the return shipping cost.  As for you saying my boards are mass produced, I mean I am a one man shop that works out of my garage so that’s not true.  My boards definitely do have flaws and I will talk customers out of shopping with me if they are very particular, that’s definitely the drawback to being a one man shop and getting overwhelmed with orders for the last two years but I stand by my work and will gladly refund customers if they are dissatisfied.

My primary job is education and something I preach to my students is learning from mistakes.  I obviously made some mistakes on your chessboard.  I’d love to fix those mistakes or at least refund you for them.  So feel free to contact on Etsy and we can make some arrangements.

A vendor who will stand behind their work is certainly to be commended!  (And these days where are you going to see a vendor cover return shipping?)

Is there something I said in particular that upset you? Average boards at average prices. When the board in the listing is not the board you will actually receive, of course they will choose the best looking board of the bunch to show. My comments are completely fair. What's your issue? Are you implying I can only express my thoughts if I actually purchased and own a CWW board? 

@lotsoblots why did you not send it back if you was unhappy with the board ?

I have a problem with your trashing CWW's products when you don't own them and have no experience with them.  To wit, your irresponsible and unfounded comments...

"CWW sells pedestrian, consumer level, mass produced boards at best. Certainly not high end, quality."  and  "Average boards at average prices"

From here on you have no credibility with me.

It was the height of the Queen's Gambit boom in the middle of lockdown and I thought it was understandable that mistakes could be made since Brad seemed swamped with orders and he's got his actual teaching job, after all. I could be wrong, but I also seem to remember his store not allowing returns at the time. I discussed the situation here on the forum, left a somewhat disappointed 3-star review on Etsy, tried and failed to apply the wax to improve the situation and moved on with another board (well, boards ). Live and learn.

@bborkowski

That's a very gracious offer and I thank you for it. Good customer service is sorely missing from many of our chess vendors and I love to see it! There's no need for the exchange, though...I understand things happen and I don't have a box to ship it in anyway, so I don't want to make too big a deal. Thanks again.

That constitutes "trashing"? LOL I see nothing extraordinary about CCW boards. Average boards at an average price. I have no credibility with you? I'm not here for your approval. 

My Brazilian Cherry & Maple custom solid wood board from ColoradoWoodWorker on ETSY.  His (Brad Borkowski) boards are very good quality and reasonably priced IMO...

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1055197947/brazilian-cherry-and-maple-drueke-style?ref=shop_home_recs_7&frs=1

With walnut border, 2.25" squares....the pieces are GM Blitz set from Chess Bazaar...note how the board - particularly the cherry - contrasts well with the pieces...

also nice is the Walnut & Maple Drueke-style board...

https://www.etsy.com/listing/546361380/walnut-and-maple-drueke-style-chess?ref=shop_home_recs_3&frs=1&crt=1

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ColoradoWoodWorker?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=1073679478

Hand made solid wood boards by SakisTsiogkasWood (Greece).....I have no experience with these, but they appear to be well made.....and the reviews are positive...

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SakisTsiogkasWood?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=949004808

I would try and source an original Jaques board for such a beautiful set. A bit more expensive but worth it...

Beautiful!

That makes sense.  A handsome set!