Drueke Solid walnut Chess Board ?

I am on the hunt for another good chess set and am wondering if anyone knows of any good sites to purchase one ?

I have a Drueke Grandmaster solid walnut board 23' x 3/4' thick, but it seems Drueke stopped makiing these beautiful boards in 2009. I must have got one of the last ones as I purchased mine that year. Does anyone know anything about Drueke and these boards ?

I also have a House of Staunton set of pieces : The Reykjavik II Series Chess Set - 3.75" King, which I really enjoy and fit the board perfectly.

I now want to get another Drueke board but maybe a smaller one, and another set of pieces. Does anyone know of a good place to purchase ?

Those boards are the best.! I think someone posted here a long time ago that the son still makes a limited number of boards a year. They pop up on Ebay now & then but, at very high prices. Frank Helwieg might know a lot more about the Drueke boards than me.

If you are hoping to purchase a Drueke board from a retailer, you are out of luck. Occasionally, a batch appears somewhere, but that's not something you can count on.

Your options are:

- Buy a used one on eBay. You'll probably have to look at spending $200 or more (less, if you want a smaller board)

- Buy a new board built in the Drueke style. Several makers are offering variations of the famous Drueke design. For example this one:

http://www.chesshouse.com/21_Hardwood_Player_Chessboard_JLP_USA_p/jlppl200wlmp.htm

As 9kick9 mentioned, the grandson of the original Drueke founder is still making boards under the Drueke name and selling them on ebay. I've heard mixed reviews re the quality of his boards, but check for yourself. I believe the boards he is making now look slightly different than the old Drueke boards (eg flat corners).

http://stores.ebay.com/druekegames/

If you are buying a used vintage Drueke, a couple of things to keep in mind. Over the years, Drueke changed the wood combos, so there are different models. The oldest ones would be Walnut/Birch, then Walnut/Maple, and the last few years (when Drueke was owned by Carrom) Walnut/Aspen. That last few years of production also have a gold-embossed Drueke name stamped on the back, older models would have a sticker instead. Because these are hardwood boards and almost indestructable, an old board will look just fine if it's not stained or treated badly. I have two old ones w/ 2 1/4" squares and like both of them.

As for your general question about Drueke, you can contact Bill Drueke himself at the ebay store linked above, but in a nutshell, they were a family business out of Grand Rapids, MI who started w/ wood products but then added the machines neeed to produce plastic items and for many years they were one of the main chess manufacturers/retailers in the US (along with other companies such as Loewe). They sold their business to Carrom in 87, and Carrom stopped production on chess items a few years ago. There's quite a collector's market for old Drueke items, especially their hardwood boards and their Players Choice plastic chess sets...

Good luck.

After getting back into chess since I am now retired I couldn't believe what the Players Choice sets are selling for on eBay. Is there any reason for this? I have three (3) sets that are in prestine condition that are Players Choice and one is red & white which I just like so much. They haven't seen sunlight in 25 years or more and are in there original boxes. Also have two (2) of their boards. One small one from 1964 and one large one from about 1980. 

Also have a magnectic set that is housed in a walnut case with small brass closures. 

Never know they would have commanded such hight prices. I would have invested in Drueke products all those years!!!

The Player's Choice molds were destroyed so there's a finite supply plus there's plenty of boomers who love the sets.  

Your sets are valuable, especially the red and white set.

thanks for the info Frank, I guess I will look around. I feel pretty lucky to have bought mine when I did !!

Bought Drueke's 23" (2¼" squares) board through the USCF around 1985 and soon after their 30"-square table (also 2¼" squares). As I'm tall, it's 28" height allowed the underside of the drawer frame to rest on my legs, so I crafted 2" blocks to lift it a bit higher. My squares are indeed American walnut and white birch on both items. Carrom has gone to aspen for the light squares and has yet to equal the quality craftsmanship characterizing the splendid Drueke products.

Individually handcrafted of walnut and maple, grandson William's boards lack only the esthetically and ergonomically pleasant bevel around the perimeter. I never did appreciate or even understand the routed-out border groove around the playing field —  a seemingly superfluous ornamentation. Maybe it covers up an unavoidable woodworking irregularity when joining the playing field to the border material.

On my table, that groove allows a ballpoint pen to punch a hole through a scoresheet or other paper. Writing on the table is a bad idea anyway. Pressing hard (to satisfy the two-part NCR scoresheets) can leave marks on the surface. Dust and spilt liquid will collect in the groove... even the furniture oil I apply to keep the wood from drying out. I long ago stripped away the original varnish as it would cloud up over the slightest ding or scratch. I dropped a .38 caliber bullet on my chess table once. Left a conspicuous crescent. It's visually more pleasant to merely sand down such dings and keep the raw wood look.

I sold the board to a friend when I got the table. He returned it while disposing of his estate before his passing. I gifted it to a mutual friend along with my late friend's rosewood chess set. I shall keep the table always. An Old English® lemon oil rub once or twice yearly keeps the wood vibrantly healthy.

Kwaja-Ali it seems we both have a treasure, enjoy it and keep it well. It's hard to find such quality craftsmanship these days.

I have a Drueke Chess Set I bought years ago.  It is Rosewood and Maple.  In very good condition but it is missing a white pawn.  I've seen one sell on eBay for about $300.  I posted a YouTube video.  Anyone interested???

YouTube video chess set link just copy and paste:

https://youtu.be/l3-vmNV1MM4

Nice board!

Hey Skivah - looks like a nice board, what size is it?