Chess Sets I Love and Use

We have anywhere from 6 to 14 people showing up on any given Monday evening.

We are the Greater Peoria Chess Federation in Peoria, Illinois.  We have a website that is: www.gcpf.net

This is a very nice setup.  What are the pieces?  The Knight looks like a Camaratta Knight.

Tonight I used what was my 2nd favorite Staunton set.  I bought the set because I wanted a set similar to the HoS Craftsman Series set in Blood Rosewood that I have pictured earlier in this topic.  I wanted pieces that was more brownish in color without having any red.  I wanted something similar to the HoS Golden Rosewood coloring.

Well, this is the HoS Camaratta Signature Series Cooke Luxury Chess Pieces With Natural Boxwood - 3.625" King.

Now, I said this WAS my 2nd favorite Staunton set.  Well after playing with the set this evening, this set is securely tied with the HoS Craftsman set as my favorite Staunton set.  The set is shorter but boy does it look really good on a 2.25" square board.

This board is the brother of the one pictured with the HoS Craftsman set.  It is a Colorado Woodworker, 4 piece, magnetic board.  The wood for the dark squares of this board is American Walnut (the brother has Brazilian Rosewood for the dark squares).  The light squares is still Curly Maple and the border is Cherry, the same as its brother.

I got the Walnut because I wanted a brown wood with no hint of red in it.  The rosewood pieces and even the few black pieces I use look better on the Brazilian Rosewood.  Walnut pieces, Golden Rosewood pieces and this set with Mopane look a lot better on this American Walnut wood.

The clock is a V-Tek 300 with the Walnut finish.

This set is great for playing Chess.

In both the photos of this set and the Craftsman Series set I used an app on my phone that used the flash.  I won't do that again.

I realized tonight, that no sets compare to the Camaratta designed sets, in the Staunton design.  I remember talking with Frank a number of times and him telling me that he worked a lot with the carvers to follow his designs which he insured created a well balanced set of pieces.  Frank has been a collector of antique sets for a very long time.  And I know he took from them, characteristics in detail that would produce the best pieces for handling and play.

And experience has brought this to show as true.  I have compared the Camaratta designed or created pieces to others and none compare.

Understand that not all of the HoS sets are Camaratta designed pieces.  Sure, all of the first ones that HoS sold were all from Frank.  At the time his company was comprised of Frank and one other person.  Lately, you can tell by the Camaratta Signature series and also look at the Camaratta Knights you see pictured in these two sets.

Gregor and his brother, of Noj, also design and make their sets to be far superior to any others that make non-Staunton sets.  I would be curious to hear from someone that can compare the Noj 1950 Original Dubrovnik to the Staunton Castle one for accurate handling comparisons.

Anyway, this set is definitely one of my favorites.

A beautiful set. I like the look of the Knights. 

Classy stuff!

Definitely a winner! Cherry is a beautiful wood. I have two boards that have Cherry. One is framed in Cherry with Mahogany & Maple squares. The other is framed in cherry with an inlay strip of Walnut for border then the squares are Cherry & Maple. Can't wait until the Cherry turn red and eventually crimson as it ages. 

Yes, thanks for the comments.

I think that Frank Camaratta has put nice pieces to use for play on the map.  He also has figured out who in India and how to get the best quality pieces made.

Thanks for posting these Eyechess, great sets and boards. In post 23 did you say the dark pieces are Mopane? All my better sets are ebony for the dark pieces but I’m thinking yours look really really good

Ahem!   Eyechess.....You need the NOJ Series 3 Best Chessmen Ever.

I know it's a bit more than you'd like to spend,but it would make a fantastic addition to an already fine collection....All you have to do is squeeze in one or two more patients.-

You can do it.

Yes, this set has Mopane for the dark pieces.  I wanted a nicer set that was in a wood more the color of Golden Rosewood.  This is when Frank started using these more exotic woods.

Anyway, I talked with my current piece expert at HoS, Kevin, and he suggested this wood.  Kevin has looked at all the sets they have and is really good at describing them.  He is also quite honest, telling me when he thinks I might not like something.  I have found him to be right pretty much all the time.

I really like the grain of this Mopane.  And you can tell it is a good wood for pieces.

The only problem with this is that I want to remain happily married.

That is "exactly my excuse! It's not impossible to eek out a way over time,or I'd never have been able to get my NOJ Tal set.

You just have to wait it out.....You folks who are unmarried will find out soon enough....YUK!

Still no excuse Dr......My son is an M.D. too and as thrifty as they come...I don't get it!

He's a "gamer" (my fault,for buying him all those Nintendo cartridges as a child) and I had to buy him his newest video set up.Now he spends his spare time(of which there is little) playing a game where the object is to kill as many old people as you can......His excuse is that since he spends his entire day listening to them complain,"it's fun to knock them off at night"!

Btw,my son's response was obviously meant as a joke.....I figured you'd all know it,but ya' never know if someone wants to be a catalyst.-

Alright, it has been awhile but here is my set that I use for Blitz and Casual play.

The pieces are the House of Staunton Liberty Series set in Rosewood.  This set is well over 12 years old.  I have used it on the average of 1 1/2 hours a week, so it has seen a lot of play.

The board is The Chess House FlexPad board in the standard green.  I have found this board to be the best.

The clock is a Chronos II that I bought in 2002 and stripped the paint off revealing the aluminum underneath.  That is still how it looks.

When this set first came out from Frank Camaratta, he told me that the Pinney design was known to wear like iron.  He was right.  This set has really seen a lot of blitz use.  Pieces have even been dropped onto concrete with no damage whatsoever.

And now here is the set that is my true favorite.  It is the first of the six Noj sets I bought

And I never tire of this set.  This is the set that started it all for me.  I bought this set in May of 2010.

Yes, it is the set now called Dubrovnik II in Walnut!

Pictured with the set is a Chess House FlexPad board and a DGT 3000 with the walnut finish.

You know, you can all argue about which company is batter than the others, but no one and no company can compare to Noj.

If all you want to do is have a set to look at a la collecting, then I guess the others would be all right,

But if you want a set to actually play Chess with.  This is the best.

Agreed! I rationalized not wishing to splurge on the NOj prices for 3 years,but caved in and am in awe of the overall quality.......The Best!