Chess Set recommendations

Hi,  I am in the market for a chess.   I am looks for the a combo of pieces, board, and box for the pieces.  I want a traditional staunton wooden chess set and board.   I was thinking boxwood and ebonized boxwood for the pieces.   I want them to be heavily weighted with a 4 inch King.   I am willing to spend more or less around $300.  Any suggestions?   Which of the various chess websites would be best to buy from?   Thanks in advance for any and all help and advice.

I'd suggest checking out Chess House and House of Staunton.

I second GPD's recommendation. I've purchased from both of them.

This link goes right to a page with several sets as you specified:

https://www.houseofstaunton.com/chess-sets/wood-chess-sets?king_height=270

This set at Chess House meets your specs but slightly exceeds the budget https://www.chesshouse.com/collections/wooden-chess-sets/products/the-grandmaster-chess-set-combo-with-storage

True, but you can't get pieces with a 4" king + board + box there for $300. I was surprised that it is possible at HoS. I had to check and doing so led me to posting the link.

What if I nixed the box? Just went for the pieces and board?

https://www.chessbazaar.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoqceEiBE78JHOKz1tvxFylPAzFfzjfgIwAVcieWZ6NF3EYgvnXL

Chessbazaar have a sale going on !!!!!!! Maybe a chess set to your taste ,

Buy via Esty +pay with Paypal rules out any silly games with them + your are covered , Last time I got a set from them fast shipping + all worked out well .

Of course that gives more options for a bit nicer pieces or board. A nice wood board can easily cost more than $200 itself. Relaxing to a 3.75" king also opens more choices. There are many more 3.75 sets than 4.

Boxes from chess vendors are pretty pricey for the job they do. I store most of my sets in cheap wooden boxes from Michaels.

Chessbazaar prices have gone through the roof in the last year. Sets I bought a year ago are now listed at more than twice what I spent. I'm sure anything I bought was on sale, but more like 20-30% discount. The current 50% off clearance takes prices back to more reasonable levels. ChessVilla and some others seem to be the Marshalls/TJMaxx of Indian chess sets. They sell sets that used be available at Staunton Castle, Chessbazaar etc. for much lower prices. Posters here have reported good experiences.

Hi! Keep in mind that a 4” king is large. You would save money dropping to a more traditional ” king. That said, using your specs, here is a suggested lineup that comes in at your budget, or just about.

Pieces - a nice, economical set is the broad base series sold from House of Chess. This set is a knockoff of an old Drueke set and is very nicely weighted. My son has the set with a ” king and I really like it. The 4” set is going for $125. Here is the link: https://houseofchess.com/products/grand-master-staunton-tournament-chess-set-pieces-king-size-4-broad-base-2-extra-queens-blood-rosewood-boxwood?_pos=5&_sid=a03134607&_ss=r

Board - there are some nice options if you stick to a veneer board. Here is one of my favorites from House of Staunton (currently running a special of 20% off) which would go for $159 (after the discount), you would want at least the 2.25” squares:

https://www.houseofstaunton.com/chess-products/striped-ebony-and-bird-s-eye-maple-standard-traditional-chessboard

For a chess box, you can pick something from Amazon. I have a couple of these boxes I use for chess sets which I really like and which are currently $50: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B092T41SKP?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder_k4_1_9&amp=&crid=2K5DUO3QJQIXS&sprefix=wooden%2Bbo&th=1

Good luck getting a set you enjoy!

I thought a 4” king was the traditional size.

"Recommended height of the pieces is as follows: King – 9.5 cm" = 3.74 in

https://www.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/Standards_of_Chess_Equipment_and_tournament_venue.pdf

Section 2.2

Okay, I am wrong. Is it possible a 4” king was the regulation height in the past?

For home use, even 3.75” is big, mostly because of the typically recommended board size having 2.25” squares.

One of my most functional sets is what is often referred to as library-sized and has a set with a 2.75” king and board with 1.75” squares. When practicing or analyzing, this smaller size is appreciated as it takes up less space and just seems more accessible.

Working in the range of 2.75” to 3.75” with a suitable board, you can find some very good deals. The Chess Store has a bunch of combo sets ON SALE (some of which include a box) and which you can take an additional 20% off by using their offered coupon code. Here is a link:

https://thechessstore.com/whats-on-sale-now-1/

Happy Hunting!

What do you mean by “? Do you mean 1”?

Just edited the comment. For some reason, the numbers were stripped from the message when I uploaded. Good luck to you in your search!

Ah now it makes more sense. Thanks.