Henri Chavet Guide

Hello 

• Thanks a lot for your answer very specific.

Hi Chavet fans  I take this opportunity to ask a question for a purchase.

I plan to buy a Chavet set of pieces (<150€) before the end of the week, but I struggle to find sets including a double queen. Actually I find none. Is it normal ? Maybe I missed some specialists links. If so, could someone tell me where I can find a Chavet set of pieces with double queen, of maybe a link where I can buy individual Chavet pieces !?

Thanks a lot !

Chavet sets did not have extra queens. This is something introduced by HOS in the 90s (?). What size set are you looking for?

Ok thanks for the information. I may need someone who sell individual pieces then (and not too expensive), do you think I can find it ?
I'm looking for size 5 "feutrées et plombées" king size 98 (with this eyeless knight)

Would be good to know which website you're using to buy your set. 

I found a pretty set on the french "Rouge & Noir" website which propose sets directly from Chavet (I hope I didn't misunderstand...)

No matter, I love this set I'll  buy it ^^ I just phoned the responsible who told me it could be possible, maybe next year because at the time they have too much work. We'll see  

There was an online stores selling Chavet size 5 in France. I don't have the address but I remember they were something like "variantes.fr".

You are right ! I found them, but I preferred the set of the other site. That's about details of the pieces... 

Hello,

@Yggdrasilea I do not think that Chavet sells sets of pieces with extra queens. The best solution would probably be to contact Jura Buis (owners of Chavet) directly, though it seems hard to find any contact information (but I swear they still exist https://www.leprogres.fr/economie/2020/11/26/le-fabricant-de-jeux-jura-buis-veut-sortir-la-tete-hors-de-l-eau maybe try Jura Buis's facebook page ? As it seemed to be active recently)

Just a side-note, the photos I see on the Rouge et Noir online shop look kinda weird to me... I actually bought a new Chavet Chess set n°5 (ref 121/5, plombées, feutrées) at Philibert (a shop in Strasbourg, they also have an online platform) a few days ago, and they do not look like the photos on Rouge et Noir. Could be a co-existing design or an outdated photo on the website. Do you know the exact reference of the Rouge et Noir set by any chance ?

Sorry for the many many edits... I deleted a long part of this message because I prefer to stay silent than to say something I am not really sure of.

Another boxwood chess set maker from French Jura (just like Chavet) that is worth checking out is Tournerie Michel Roz. Very Chavet-like or Lardy-like sometimes, and they sell queens individually. You will not have "Chavet Chess" on the box though...

Does anybody know if Henri Chavet and Morize Chavet are the same company? 

As have seen Morize Chavet sets but don't wanna buy it if it's not the same company. Thanks

Morize Chavet was the result of the fusion between Morize (a toys maker from the region around Paris) and Chavet Chess. I guess this fusion occured in the mid-2000s and that Morize-Chavet "disappeared" when Jura Buis took over them.

So yes, they are the same company. However Morize also produced chess sets (maybe even after the fusion with Chavet ?). In other words, if you see a Morize-Chavet chess set that looks like a Chavet set, then yes, it is for sure a Chavet set.

Perfect....thanks for that!!!! Looking at buying the no5 here.

  http://en.aobo-shop.com/662-french-wooden-chess-pieces-morize-chavet-weighted-5.html

If anyone thinks any other chavet set would be better do let me know!!!!

Hi Tshorni, I contacted Rouge & Noir and it seems they may think about proposing individual Chavet pieces, maybe when they will have less work ? But not certain at all. I may take a look at  Tournerie Michel Roz, thank you for the reference !! And you're right, as I understood there are at least 2 Chavet designs (maybe more?) with a new design and a vintage one. I found some useful informations hereh : https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/where-can-i-buy-a-chess-set-similar-to-the-one-used-in-lyons-1990?page=1 

Hi @Yggdrasilea

The thing is that the Chavet design has been in almost constant evolution over the past decades, so there are actually plenty of different Chavet designs, each one roughly corresponding to a different time period. Some other members of this forum are actually waaaaay way more familiar than me with how it changed through the years...

I said that the photos on Rouge et Noir looked strange to me because for me the bishop head did not look right on the photos. However, looking at some of the photos posted on the thread you provided a link to, apparently this is a legit Chavet design from a few years ago. Sorry about this mistake !

Another side-note : be careful as a lot of the posts in the other thread speak about online shops that sell reproductions of Chavet pieces : not real Chavet pieces but copies made in India most of the time (shops like The Chess Empire, House of Staunton, Chess Bazaar...). This may be a "hot" take, and this thread may not be the place where these questions should be discussed, and I will erase these words if the thread author @Animaitor wants me to do so :

I have no idea if there is any kind of agreement between Jura Buis (Chavet) and the Indian makers who sell reproductions. I seriously think about contacting Jura Buis to ask them about this in a near future, even though in my opinion this is unlikely to be the case. Jura Buis is right now in a financially difficult situation, and I do not think that competition with makers that actually use the name "Chavet" to advertise for their items can do them any good. So before I can get a confirmation that there is an agreement between those guys and Jura Buis / Chavet or not, I would not risk giving any money to companies that behave like scavengers.

What a usefull post too ! Good to know which online shops sell reproductions. In fact I was quite careful about the description of the pieces (size, wood etc) and if it was clearly mentionned that it was Chavet pieces or not clearly mentionned. Many websites with no details about the products. You're right not to promote this kind of practice, especially if JuraBuis is in a difficult situation. So sad -

Well. Can someone please elucidate to me the difference of the references of the Chavet sets when the knight has got eyes and stripes VS when the knight is eyeless ans without any stripes ... I read on this forum that there were one older than the Potter,

than the other *, but is there any clear names to differentiate one from the other when you speak to a seller ?

There appears to be very little information on Chavet chess pieces available. The company seemed to use designations of style/size using numbers. So 153/6 or 353/6 would designate a size 6 set with the 153 indicating tetes simple and the 353 indicating tetes fines. A 353/5 would be a size 5 equivalent, although the design of a size 5 was always different to a size 6 not just a smaller version. They also seem to have used the famous B210 designation for a while with B207 being a size 5 equivalent. I have seen sets with the 353/6 designation that are identical to B210 so I don't know if it is just a matter of different time periods. Sorry if that is not very useful but Chavet sets have not been followed like Jaques sets so there is little to no history published.

@Tshorni there is a thread which pursued the issue of the legality of the Indian reproductions. https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/chavet-b210-reproduction?page=3

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