Expensive Chess sets

That's the exact chess set that I have, and I wouldn't go any higher pricewise. All of HOS's chess sets are fantastic, even the inexpensive ones.

EDIT: That would be this one, in boxwood/ebonized boxwood.

I remember those USCF Jaques knockoffs (of the Fischer-Spasskys set to be precise) and the work was pretty slipshod, but back in the early 80s when it came out there were virtually no alternatives in terms of ebony sets.

Nowadays you can find what you want, basically. I guess no ebony for the Grandmaster from HOS so far--but this can change .

 Got a picture handy ?

I think the best bet is a custom maker when it comes to tables, if one is finicky at all.

Gotta have the right-sized squares, ample room for books on all sides, good height, non-shiny finish....

HOS has some expensive tables like this.

I don't think there's anything less than expensive if one wants a nice table.

Cristoforo made a great selection of tables but I don't know if he's still at it. Expensive but worth it. Wish I were 20 years younger and had some dough so I could live with such a table for a few decades.

 A pic of the old Fischer-Spassky knockoff? I could scan an old USCF catalog, but HOS sells a much better knockoff as their Reykjavik set.

http://houseofstaunton.com/Reykjavik2.html

I think I would have gotten my copy set in the late '80s or early '90s. The workmanship wasn't terrible -- better than a lot of other things out there at the time, as you said. The price back then was about $150, and I can't recall seeing anything nicer in that range. I recently saw an original of the Jaques set sell on eBay and both the USCF Jaques and HOS Reykjavik sets are fair copies of the style. It's probably not one of the best styles Jaques produced, though. The knights are almost comical.

I definitely think this is a great time to buy good quality wood sets at reasonable prices, excluding some of the collector sets, which have their place but aren't exactly bargains.

I found a wonderful hand painted wooden set at a flea market for 10 bucks which I have been using for the past year. It is well used, and it is missing a pawn (adorably substituted with a Russian Stacking Doll), but that aside, it is great.

 Yes the Fischer-Spassky Jaques knights are pretty simplistic. I have a pic of this Jaques set from when it was up on ebay--when they cut the notches in the mane they also cut into the backside of the knight. Even Jaques nods, as they say.

I believe HOS has tighter quality control (as I deduce from reading customer feedback on the HOS site) than Jaques. Still, my HOS Collector had a few of these extraneous cuts on the knights, but oddly enough perfect work on my cheaper Collector II.

Easier to return defects to HOS I think.

Thanks for the link and the tip about csaw's tables.

 The guy at www.customchess.com has made at least two custom tables. Look toward the end of his Gallery page. They look nice. I especially like this one http://www.customchess.com/boards/table01/table01.htm

 This summer I bought an old folding card table for $5 that has a chess board on it. It's certainly nothing fancy but it has larger (2 1/4") squares than my old board and fits my old set better. They actually look nice together as they both have similar color and aged look. I can also put my better board on it for use with my larger men. Someday I hope to afford something better but it'll do for now.

I think it's easier to find a small dining room table and place a custom board atop it.  For $99 I got an ultra-solid 30"x30" table on sale at World Market, and then I picked up a couple of stools for it.  I could have chosen chairs, but stools just seemed more suitable.  Then you can put the board on the table.  There's enough room for your clock, too, plus you can change boards when you want.  Depending on size, you can even have space for your box that holds the pieces.  If you want, you can even put a drink on the table without the fear of it getting spilled and ruining the entire chess table.  (The feet on the bottom of a chess board would keep it elevated enough to protect the bottom in case of a spill, but not the case with a dedicated chess table.)  The table could even double as a small card table or for board games in case you need it to.  Since tables do take up valuable space in the home, I find it much better to use one that serves multiple purposes, and then I just let the chess board collection run wild. 

Something I didn't learn until recently was the Jacques of London pieces have been made in India for decades.  They're made by the same group that carves for the Staunton by Design pieces yet in competition with the HOS carvers (also in India,... except HOS does have one carver in London for special sets).  So in my mind, it's becoming less and less about the brand and more about quality control on how the weights are added and consistency between sets and pieces.

So far as I can tell, after the Jaques factory was bombed in WWII no quality set was made apart from those in India.

Also, so far as my research shows, Jaques issued no quality sets for a long time until they made the Fischer-Spassky set for the 1972 match.

Great sets weren't to be had *new* for many years, and until the 80s we made do with mediocre sets from India and some French ones. Lardy was about as good as it got. Eventually we got great designs and expensive materials.

It seems we are still in an era when you can pick from many, many designs and materials, and get good workmanship too.

I've never seen one in person but a set called The Craftsman was being sold in the early 60s that had good classical Jaques-type lines. Made in Japan. I don't know if they felt good or held up etc., but that might have been a brief moment of quality.

If you find pics of the pieces the players were using in the Cuban Olympiad (1966), they also look very nice, much better than you saw for sale anywhere. So I wondered where they came from. It turns out that Fidel had them carved out of boxwood (the black side being ebonized) especially for the island's big chess event. Ditto for the nice tables.

pics here: http://www.crumiller.com/chess/chess_pages/staunton/HavanaEnsembleDetail.htm

I've been thinking along those lines lately. Small tables are less expensive than dedicated chess tables and generally have more room for books, drinks, and what not. After my last post I did a quick search for suitable tables and found many in the $100 to $500 range. That covers fairly nice wooden folding tables up into small dining tables.

At one time I had thought about finding a small pedestal table like you'd find in  a diner and mounting a board with a lazy susan to the top of it. That way I could just spin the table around for analysis or switching sides. I keep eyeing garage sales hoping to see one but no luck so far.

I use an end table I got from my Dad and put a large wooden board on it. It's got some extra room for drinks and captured pieces, a drawer to store stuff in, and sides that can come up if I need more space for stuff. Now I just need some one to play a game with me on it. ; )

I have yet to find a chess table that I like better than this one : http://www.thebestchesstables.com/catalog/andalucia-cherry-finish-p-36.html

I'd be happy with either of these, expecially the first table with plenty of room.

The maker's site (with good pics and descrips):

http://www.daviddecristoforo.com/chessdd/tables.html

He also makes boards.

I don't like the pedestal tables because they eventually start to become less sturdy and I'm always kicking the support pedestal.  Instead, I like the four-leg tables for ample room for feet.  Whenever I want to do analysis, I have enough room for a smaller board, a book, and pen and paper.  Whenever, I want to play, I have plenty of room for a larger board.  I just had a couple 3.5" boards made, and while they overhang the table, it still works.  In that case, I use a small, wooden foldup stand next to the table for captured pieces, clock, etc.  Here's a tip:  if you shop for a small dining room table, you'll find great deals because you're shopping in a dining room section and the smaller tables are always the least expensive.  If you shop at a game specialty store for game tables, then you'll pay three to fours times more. 

I think this is my table ( http://www.worldmarket.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3557590 ) and measures 30x30".

 Actually, it's a dedicated music room (listening only) and chess room.  I keep the door shut when I'm not using it.  It's been a great room for relaxation for us as a family if we want to read, listen to music, play chess, etc.  It's upstairs and out of the way and has lots of natural light if the blinds are opened.  (I try to keep direct light off the boards, though, and monitor the humidity inside the room.)  But yeah, it's all tubes.  The preamp uses 6SN7, the turntable phono preamp uses 12AX7, the front speaker drives use triode-wired EL34 tubes, and I forgot which tubes drive the rear-firing subs (ASL Wave 8 monoblocks).

wow beautiful set up seasterl! that set looks very impressive.