Best Chess Set Design Ever?

Well, my problem is this guy is making stuff up about me.  He says that I am a snob.  He also says that I belittle people for buying lesser priced options.  He says that I am looking to get insider prices.  And I have done none of this.

He is being passive aggressive.  Plus he is lying a lot.
Life is too short to put up with bullies like this.

Hey Pawnerai, thanks for the feedback. I am not sure of the cost of the board alone because I purchased it as a combo set from Chess Bazaar. It’s called the 2016 Bridle Knight Series and board - I believe the board to be ebony, boxwood and the border is Sheesham. I got it at a substantial discount a month or two back. There’s more detail about it in the ‘Post your chess sets’ thread too.

Powerdigit , Ahh I see that Bridle Knight combo at CB. But the frame in the product shot of the board looks nothing like what you have. I guess it's a bit random and you lucked out big time. The wood grain in your frame is much more beautiful than the CB product shot below.

Pawnerai, I’ve never thought of it like that but yes, mine does seem to have more ‘character’. In truth, I feel I lucked out in a number of ways ... by first getting (re) introduced to the game after 35 years by a mate at work back in Feb before lockdown. Then getting addicted to playing through lockdown and then - in part because of this forum - having the confidence to buy online without physically examining a board or pieces. I committed to buying after a lot of research. Things can go wrong and fortunately they went right! I’m also very careful to say I am not expert on quality - I’ve never been to a chess club or shop to compare what I have with anything else ... now that we are out of lockdown, I look forward to doing that in 2021. And maybe getting another set from somewhere!😉

When I was a little poor as a kid played with a red and black plastic checker set with the images relief molded into the top: crown, castle, queen's crown, bishop, etc.  It's not blind chest but it will train your mind.  Played with some phenomenal players in those 4th grade era years.   Wayne www.antiquetalk.com 

The second photo in post # 149 is The Dragon Knight set,from C.B.....I own that set in Rosewood and Ebony...It's the only really fancy set I have,with the rest being tourney style,or club style  pieces and a few others of different styles....It's a killer set of real eye candy.

Btw,I feel that guys like Jorge(QTO) and Cgru as well as Goodknight Mike are pretty much in a higher class of collectors than many here and certainly myself.....Those guys are "serious"!

I just wanted a nicely rounded collection of sets and a few boards,with a dozen good chess books to work through.....I wound up with 18 tourney sets and three boards,along with 3 travel sets.......If I had to do it all over again I may not have gone so overboard,but I am really happy with how it all worked out......I had mentioned that I keep everything in a second bedrrom,which my wife allows me to have,as long as I occassionally do the dishes....The nerve.-

I have a really well made oversized acrylic dust cover over a single board set and change out sets and boards often.A nice piece of chess art hangs over the table,where it all sits......I thought all of this through quite well and it looks great....but nothing compared to some of the display case/set up collections that have appeared here.The rest of my sets sit in coffers nicely arranged on a wall unit,just next to the table.

Regarding insults and just obnoxious comments made by a few folks here......I used to be a serious high end audiophile for many decades.A serious LP collector too(all sold off).....I had friends who wrote for audio magazines and I had gone to the homes of many of the reviewers of this type of equipment as well.

I guess I was part of the "in crowd" in the NYC area....I pretty much knew what I was doing and the reason for this diatribe(by me here) is I took advantage of this,on an online audio forum,where many folks respected me.....Instead of my being humble I thought too much of myself and lost some good online friends(one who invited me to his home in Florida,while I visited a relative)with poorly thought through criticism of various components and types of set ups.....

I can't tell you guys how sorry I am for that era in my stupid online life!

So,I had decided to take a different path in other forums and pretty much try to be a "mensch"!

Feels pretty good.

I wanted to add that some of you guys have been a little too hard on Eyechess.I totally understand the "why",but I've been on this forum for 4 years and his critics are off base in some of their assumptions.

He definitely is not getting any discounts from any vendor to promote their stuff,from what I can tell..........He is plain old enthusiastic and likes certain mfgrs...Like Noj....What's the big deal?

Btw,as an eye doctor he does not have to worry too much about a discount.I assume he easily affords his prized sets......Lets give it a rest and all enjoy the fact that we have such a nice little club of collectors going on here.This is just my opinion....I am not a close pal of anyone here....Just sayin'.

Giving the chastising and name calling bit a break will be refreshing....No?

magictwanger,

As a fellow audiophool, in our search for the holy grail of audio nirvana, we often lose sight of the fact that all our expensive gear is meaningless if we end up focusing on the equipment instead of the music.

I've found that life became a lot more pleasant after I put down the gavel, took off the robes, stepped down from the bench, and stopped judging everything and everybody!

As far as attitude is concerned, I'm reminded of a wonderful scene from the movie 'Harvey' with James Stewart. Stewart's character, Elwood P. Dowd, is talking with Dr. Chumley, the head of Chumley's Rest, a home for the bemused and the bewildered. "My mother once told me, Elwood she said, to get on in this world you must be oh-so-smart or oh-so pleasant. Well, doctor, for many years I was oh-so-smart. I recommend pleasantness."

I think the moves played on the Chess Board matter not the Chess Board we are playing on but if I have to choose a Chess Board I would love to play on is 

Thank you.

I have been called a racist, which I most certainly am not.

I have been called and labeled a snob.  I assure you I am not.  However how do you counter and dispute such a subjective claim?

Like a few others on this forum in the past, I have been called an agent working for Chess sellers.  And when I proved that wrong, I have been charged with advertising for sellers in order to receive free stuff to heavily discounted products for my promoting the products.

It is true that I am an optometrist and make my total income from examining eyes, fitting glasses and contact lenses, prescribing medications for eye conditions, and providing visual therapy when necessary.  I am at an older stage of life where I can afford things.  
I find a lot of this humorous as I have always been honest and blunt, especially in Chess equipment.  While I have been happy to praise a product and its company, I also am just as quick to criticize both products and companies when their products and/or service fails.  The owner of HoS, for instance has been not happy with me when I pointed out such problems in the past.  So for these latest couple of guys to say I am trying to push any particular product, company or even high price is ridiculous.

I have always sought the lowest price for the best product.  When Carl of Official Staunton sold a 3.5” Staunton design set at a lower price than HoS, and it was obviously the same exact set, of course I bought from Carl.

This latest Yahoo does not remember correctly what I have told him, twisted what I told him and said, and even completely made up stuff he says I said or stand for, when nothing of the kind was ever said by me.  These are provable facts that I can point out in this forum and in one message I sent him.

He makes broad, unsubstantiated charges against me that have no proof at all, because I never said anything he says I said.  I refuse to agree that we are just arguing or have a difference of opinion.  No, he has said some very wrong things about me that I will not stand for.

I came to this forum a little over 6 years ago.  I learned a lot and thanks to the good posters here I ended up buying well over 35 nice sets in that time.  I have given my pay back to this community by showing and explaining things I have learned.  

I have been very careful to note when I was giving my opinion versus fact.  I prefer a brown or reddish wood over black for pieces, for instance.  That is my opinion.

When I report that one set has a King base diameter 0.10“ smaller than another company’s and the smaller base diameter set weighs 15 ounces less, that is fact, no matter what anyone’s opinion is. 
Yeah, maybe my time needs to be done here.

 

 

 

When you say "some of you guys," isn't it just pretty much two "guys?" I really haven't been following the jibber jabber other than the Ultimate Cardboard Box Debacle of 2020 (just kidding). Are there no moderators here? I'm not a fan of heavy handed censorship but this has gone beyond amusing light-hearted online banter trash-talking. 

Thank you.

That would be sad.  You only seem to have problems with one forum member.  That's why I proposed blocking him.  Then you could enjoy the forum as if he weren't here.  And the same could work for him.

The last paragraph by MCH is spot on! I think it's best to simply disregard a few inappropriate  comments by "some folks".There are a couple of people who attempt to bait you and by ignoring some of the comments,though admittedly hard,you don't add any fuel to the fire.

When someone does try to push buttons,the first thing we want to do is hit back and what this  does is start the back and forth bickering syndrome.....I am guilty of occasionally getting a kick out of some of the arguments that are fueled here.....I see it from my 8 year old grandson,once in a while.

BE WARNED!......I got a message from Chess.com stating my account was being muted for comments,for a period which lasted 2 days(big deal)......Their AI picked up something I'd said,which was totally appropriate and pertained to the particular conversation,but since it was an AI program,I got muted for a couple of days.

I sent them a message stating they had to be in error,since I pretty much always watch what I say and if I did say anything,it was completely innocuous and pertained to the conversation.

It took them 2 weeks to get back,with a sincere apology,from a live body(ha) who read what I'd keyboarded and thought it crazy for me to get a warning.......After some of the vitriol I have seen lately,some of you guys had better watch it....They are on the cusp of cracking down....

Thank God!

@Eyechess Your #7 automatically disqualifies ebony sets from a best designed consideration. So I'll have to disagree on that point.

I agree that extensive bickering lays fault on both parties. I disagree on the point regarding all opinions being subjective. Opinions based in fact, such as smoking cigarettes is bad for your lungs, aren't subjective. 

I am sorry if you are bothered by my responding to the nefarious claims and charges of the few negatives.  This KnightsForkCafe guy obviously pushed my buttons claiming I said, did and stood for things that are completely foreign to me.  I claim his stupidity for a few reasons that are evident in his posts.  He has used poor grammar and use of vocabulary that even a fifth grader does better. (My wife is a fifth grade teacher and I have run a scholastic Chess club where she teaches for years).  He has misread and wrongly interpreted what I have written to my detriment.  He has labeled me a snob and worse.  He does not know me at all to make any sort of judgment of me like that.  He has also been factually wrong on a number of Chess equipment issues as can be seen by reading his past posts.  He also has belligerently misrepresented this industry and its quality standards.  I can and have pointed out real evidence for my claims against what he says.  He just makes unfounded claims against me.  I have not stood for such things.

 

Query: Does blocking a member make both his comments invisible to you and your comments invisible to him?

No, it just blocks him from making comments in a topic you started and it blocks him from sending you messages.

Then it's almost useless to block anyone.