Chess Bazaar Bohemia German Chess Set

Over the Memorial Day Weekend, I bought the Bohemia German reproduction Chess set from Chess Bazaar.

This set was another that Goodknightmike convinced a company to make.  I had not seen any pictures of it on this forum and asked him about the set on Facebook.  He told me he liked it very much and thought it was an improvement over the original design.

cgrau has pictures of an original on this forum, and I must say the reproduction is a very good one comparing to the pictures he posted of the original.

My set arrived today and I just opened it.

I bought their Hungarian-Romanian set awhile beck in Sheesham and was quite pleased with it.

This set is similar and they say so in the description:  https://www.chessbazaar.com/reproduced-1950-s-vintage-circa-bohemia-staunton-series-german-chess-set-in-sheesham-box-wood-3-89-king.html

I like the Knights on this set just a bit better than the Hungarian set.  I am quite pleased with this set, which has no flaws or defects for me.

Seeing that it is late evening and I don't want to attempt taking pictures, plus my set looks just like the pictures they have, I am reproducing some of the pictures from their web site.

I plan on using this set quite a bit, actually.  I really like the Knights.  And the rest of the pieces are good Staunton designed as well.

With the sale, I got the set for $118, delivered.

With this set, it really does look like Chess Bazaar is upping their game and quality.

I totally agree with your assessment of this cool little set. I had obtained this set the first week it debuted. Looks great and plays very well. I noticed that chess bazaar has a ebonized version that can be purchased with a lacquered finish. That may be in my purchase bag soon. I'll wait for a Independence day sale. Congratulations on your purchase you will find many hours of pleasurable playing time with this set. Nice weight and the type wood(s) are extremely easy on the eyes.

Well, I like to give credit where credit is due.

Mike Ladzinski, aka goodknightmike, has done quite a bit in having some older sets reproduced at a high quality.

The first I recall was the Piatigorsky set he had Carl, of Official Staunton, produce.  The original is a large set, too large for most all tournament play.  Carl had that set made much more palatable for today's Chess playing needs.  And that is an excellent set.

The next reproduction that Mike initiated that I am aware was the Romanian-Hungarian set that Chess Bazaar made a number of months ago.  That set is also very nice and quite playable.

And now, Mike has worked with Chess Bazaar again to produce this very nice set.  I know that the King size on this set is larger than the original with the reproduction being very nice to play Chess with.

I probably am missing a number of sets that Mike has initiated the reproduction of.

However, the above 3 sets I mentioned I also have bought and own.  Each of those sets is really nice to play with, as this is what I use Chess sets for.

In my opinion, Mike has the touch.

The knights have donkey lips.

Well, they look fine in real life.

 That's a really nice and unique set......Good taste in obtaining it!

The Knights have a sort of dragon-esque quality about them and look like they could "take down the wall on Game Of Thrones".-

Yes, there was a sale and that is the complete price I paid.

Actually, I just checked and I paid a total of $118.99.

I received this set today, and I'm very happy with it, apart from one detail:

The base of the white king is a little undersized compared to the black king and all four queens. To be precise, the white king has a base diameter of 36.9 mm, while the two white queens have diameters 37.5 mm and 37.4 mm. The black king is 37.7 mm, while the black queens are 37.6 mm and 37.2 mm. It's particularly annoying that the white king has a smaller base than the white queens. The difference of about 0.5 mm doesn't sound like much, but it is actually very visible. 

Is this kind of thing considered normal, or is it a significantly serious defect that it's worth trying to get a replacement white king from Chess Bazaar?

According to the spec. sheet the base diameters of the kings and queens of the Bohemia set should be 37mm and the bishops to rooks are 33mm. Pawns are 30mm. It wouldn't hurt to ask chess bazaar customer service about your findings and see if they can send you replacements that are specified on their spec. sheet to match equal base diameters of 37mm on both the kings and queens. There would be a problem as well if the set was sheesham with matching the grain pattern of the set but since yours is ebonized that shouldn't be an issue. Best of luck with your inquiry to them. Hopefully they will remedy the issue.

I just checked my set that arrived last night.  My Kings are the same sized base.

I really like the looks of the Dragon head Knights for the Bohemia set. However the price that it is going for along with the weight of the set is what is keeping me from buying it. About 31.17 oz is way too light of a set for me. At least 40 oz for a set in order for me to want to look at getting it. 

@sound67 I have always liked the opposite colored ball Bishop finials. Has that Eastern Europe and Soviet look. The King's cross on the Bohemia set looks different than most Staunton sets. Kind of has a spear tip instead of a cross.

The grains on the dark pieces looks beautiful.

Yes it is. I would get this set but the cost and weight prevents me from pulling the trigger on buying it.

I should be getting a CB Bohemia set today, just waiting for delivery.  I ordered the bud rosewood version, as the big Christmas discount was impossible to resist.  I love the dragon knights, and the rest of the set looks perfectly proportioned.  I'll try to put some pictures up here asap.

I really like this set and have had it in my cart many times, but never pulled the trigger. Great proportions. I love that the queen doesn't have a pointy crown. I really like a set with smaller, fatter pawns like this. I can't tell if the head of the king is a little too bulbous or not.