Expensive Chess sets

I cant post just a link, so this is the comment.

 http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2009/02/03/the-colors-of-chess/

that is the link

It's true that the set I use the most (for home analysis and blitz games) is the "Plastic pieces, Staunton, double weighted, king height 90mm, in plastic bags" plus the "Plastic folding board, strong quality" from the Dutch chess federation webshop.

They're €9,50 and €7,50, respectively. I think my chess club also has a hundred or so of these. I love them.

I do own a good wooden set, but somehow the plastic pieces are clearer and they feel better (they're probably heavier).

I'm not sure what my greenwood board is finished with but it doesn't look like polyurethane. Whatever it is it has a flat, almost non-reflecting finish. From the pictures on the HOS site I wasn't sure I'd like it. It looked too white and bright. That turned out to be just the lighting they used for their photography. It's really quite easy on the eyes, like a good tournament board.

I learned that the position on the board is based on one of the 1972 Spassky-Fischer Championship games. The actual position varies slightly in the different HOS set pictures.

I've had a rosewood set for many years that I really like, Maybe because I'm just so used to it. I wanted to get ebony this time and I really like it also. I'm not sure if I'd like blood rosewood. I've never seen one first-hand and pictures on the net have the color varying widely in hue. I think some is natural variation in the wood and the rest in the lighting used. Whatever wood a set is made from they definitely look better if the right woods are chosen for the board.

Why buy a nice set when any old thing will do? For the same reason people buy nice cars when a Yugo will do. Or single-malt scotch when MD 20/20 gets the job done. Or name brand anything when generic is good enough. Nice things are generally more enjoyable than basic functionality.

P.S. Streptomicin, nice link. Thanks

I went and saw the lewis chessmen today at the museum today.  The british museum is lending a whole bunch of pretty cool stuff out.  Aparantly there was a big fuss about letting the lewis chessmen into canada because they are ivory. 

They even showed how the lewis chessmen were carved out of their walrus tusk.....too bad ivroy is illegal, its such a beautiful material, PERFECT for chess pieces i think.  Nice and heavy, beautiful colour, smooth to the touch, doesn't chip, super easy to work with. I wonder if there is a difference between elephant and walrus ivory.

Hey does anyone know if their tusks grow back?  Cause if they do, lets just farm the stuff! Couldn't be any more cruel than the way we treat cows, chickens and pigs.

My late uncle had a bone chess set. A couple of pieces were damaged when his dogs got a hold of them. The set looked nice, but I preferred the wood set he got as a replacement. The bone pieces felt delicate; I think that some, if not all, consisted of two parts that fit together.

I guess the problem with farming ivory, if that's even practical, is that poachers could kill wild animals illegally and get the poached ivory to merchants who would claim that it was farmed.

So how do you like the ebonized boxwood?

well chess is know as the game of Kings , which means that it,s a old game with along history ,

I have been in love with chessman as a little boy and to this  day there is still that magic.

I  have three chess sets one from the 18 th century and two from the 19th century,

to use them  and play with them is  real love affair,

to hold class and history in your hands is a rare thing in this day>>>,

the H O S are nice re makes of old desgins , you can not beat the real thing .. ie

the jaques or bcc chess sets .

I think the nicer sets are marketed to the collectors and those that have an obsessive personality that also tends to collect (and appreicate) exotic woods.  So it's not just about chess, it about appreciating and using the boards on several levels.  We all agree that one does not need anything nicer than weighted plastic pieces on a cheap, fold-up board.  (I set this as the minimum because when you want to play a friend outdoors, sometimes the breeze blows the roll-up board and hollow pieces around.)  But for those that want to decorate their home with a nice set as well as use that set on a daily basis, if you're going to spend the money on something, it might as well be on a nice board and pieces.  Otherwise, your girlfriend / wife will make sure it gets spent on pictures, other furniture, decorations, etc.  But if you get an inexpensive 30x30" table, a couple of chairs or stools, and set a custom board and pieces on it, then you're there.  I have a decent collection of pieces and boards, and play every day on them with my daughter and friends and keep them all in rotation.  I don't need them.  I enjoy the beauty of the wood and craftsmanship of the builder and carvers, and appreciate it for what it is, and I enjoy chess all at the same time as I enjoy time with family and friends.  If the goal is simply to play the game, then nice pieces and boards are not for you.  Some guys spend money on cars, motocycles, boats, other hobbies, etc.  For the diehard chess lover, why not make it a nice board and pieces that will get more use over time?

For what it's worth, when I received some ebonized pieces, the black stain was on the wrappers, but did not come off the pieces on the hands.  However, I sold them before I had any issues.  The first black pieces were ebonized, and later the carvers switched to ebony.  Ebonized probably hold up better due to being more resistant to cracking, but I suppose it depends on the environment (humidity) where they are stored.  Real ebony will likely crack first.

The ivory pieces are (I'm told) lighter than the weighted wood pieces.  So they won't have the heavy feel as their wood counterparts.  After much consideration of getting ivory, I think wood is the best way to go.  Gotta draw the line somewhere between being practical and being insane!

I have every wood HOS has ever offered, and awaiting something that's not on their list (yet to be determined).  After going through every conceivable color of exotic wood and countless boards, the best, IMO, color for the pieces is the ebony and antique boxwood (or ebony and boxwood).  The blood rosewood (or red sandalwood) just does not match most boards as well as ebony.  The white flash from the camera always makes it look brighter red than it really is, too.  Brown East Indian rosewood has beautiful grain and is very easy on the eyes if you combine it with boxwood and go for a matching lower-contrast setup look.  Just my $0.10 worth.

20 dollars

as we know , we do not need much in this World ,,,,, BUT IT IS NICE , TO HAVE SOME THING YOU HAVE ALWAYS LIKED ,

BESIDE IT,S BETTER TO HAVE A NICE  CHESS SET THAT GO,S UP IN VALUE THAN MONEY IN THE BANK , AS WE ALL KNOW ABOUT BANK,S AND THERE EVIL .

My thing is craftmanship and history, what these litte chessman have been

through , .

Still on backorder. Last word was "Maybe some time in September."

I have both ebony and ebonized sets. I can recommend both depending on use; ebony for more careful use and the ebonized boxwood for rowdier chess times (but if the set is more than cheap I take care of it in any case).

Ebony is shinier than ebonized. Apart from that ebonized approximates the real thing pretty well.

I know shiny isn't what we are supposed to go for as practical players but dang that black gleaming ebony is just plain pretty.

Considering that ebony is becoming rare and expensive, abuse would be unwise. I should point out, however, that it is a very hard and durable wood. Short grain runs, such as through collars on pieces, can chip off relatively easily, but this is true of all woods. If the wood was properly aged and dried prior to being made into pieces, ebony should be no more prone to splitting than boxwood.

As to the subject of expensive vs. cheap sets, it IS true that one can play on almost anything, provided piece recognition is immediate and the design isn't distracting. A weighted plastic set on a vinyl board is clearly sufficient. But there IS something to be said for the aesthetic appeal of an attractive wood set on a nice wooden board. It's a luxury, and one that doesn't have to be too expensive to enjoy. It won't improve your game, but for a casual game, it may make the pasttime more enjoyable.

A nice set can impress the outsider with the "gravity' of our favorite game, apart from how the sensual aspects make us happy.

There is sometimes a false dichotomy in threads like this one, that the cheap set people must be opposed to the expensive set owners.

I think my case is typical. I have a few nice sets (HOS--few hundred dollars per set, ebony) but also a  good selection of inexpensive wood and plastic and even a solid plastic I used for more than 20 years as my main set.

They all have their place and they all get used.

So far as I am concerned, chess is about enjoying your time with it. Books, sets, software, solid online play and never otb...it's all good for us amateurs.

P.S. I wish I had a $40k Jaques ivory...one sweet antique.

I have seen a set that was even more impressive ( and more expensive ! ) than the Jaques sets ! It was called a Donay set and I saw it in the London Chess & Bridge center about 10 years ago. It seems to have disappeared as I can no longer find it anywhere on the net and its not at the London center either apparently.

 I remember you talking about this set before.

I can't say that I recollect seeing an ad for it. Was it wood or ivory or some jeweled (probably not) specimen?

What kind of set was it?

 It was a wood set even nicer than any Jaques set I have ever seen. It looked just like a set I have seen Alekhine pictured with on the cover of a book of Alekhine's games.

Hmmm...if you can find that Alekhine pic that would help (if it shows up in google images).

Modern Jaques sets don't compare in workmanship with the 19th century antiques. That's one reason, even though I've got great HOS sets, I'd love a great antique Jaques, *especially* in ivory.

As someone who realistically can't afford a Jaques set -- modern or antique -- I've gotten rather fond of the HOS "Grandmaster" set. It's their cheapest (not counting closeouts), but one of the best designs I've ever seen. Other sets may have better knights or more attractive rooks, but taken as a whole and considering line and proportion, I prefer it to sets ten times the price. It's definitely my favorite (replacing my "USCF Jaques copy"). I just wish they made it in genuine ebony.

I have a couple of nice wooden staunton sets but need a really nice table to go with it. The best chess tables I have found are www.thebestchesstables.com  anyone have other sites that have really nice tables ? Also, a member here (csaw) makes chess tables and you can see them on his profile page here.