HoS Camaratta Signature Cooke Series with Colorado Woodworker Board

Frank Camaratta is really the consummate Chess Set designer.

It started when I saw a Craftsman reproduction and wanted a nice one.  I bought the HoS Craftsman set in Blood Rosewood.  This set quickly became my favorite Jaques style set to play Chess.  I paired it up with a Caribbean Rosewood and Maple board from Brad the Colorado Woodworker.

I had Brad make another board with American Walnut and Maple for the sets that were Walnut or Sheesham with no red in them.

Well, I got to wondering and I called my go to guy at HoS, Kevin.  Kevin knows those Chess sets very well.  And I have come to trust his tastes and opinions regarding Chess sets.

Well, Kevin hooked me up with this, the Camaratta Signature Cooke Series with the dark pieces being made of a wood called, Mopane.

I brought this set to our rated event tonight and here are some pictures of it.  My opponent was a 7 year old that wanted the algebraic notations on the board, so I used a Chess House FlexPad board in Green.  The clock is a V-Tek with the wood grain finish.

As I have said before, I am a Chess player first and foremost.  I don't own any sets that I do not play with.

It comes down to my needs really reducing at this time.  With my Noj Dubrovnik II sets, 3 of them, my Noj GM Pavasovic set, my Noj BCE set in Walnut, the just mentioned HoS Craftsman and this Cooke set, I am very content with any set I would use for tournament play.

In all honesty why settle for second best.

@Eyechess

For you Noj Dubrovnik II sets, what king height and color did you choose?

SInce you play with your sets, do you generally like to play with 3.75" or 4" or larger sets?

What is your preferred dark wood for pieces? Ebony? The darker rosewoods?

@ Brother: I can answer for Eyechess there, since I know his Noj equipment. He has the Dubrovnik II in 3,6 inch king size, in all colour variations (brown stain, red stain, walnut). I think he said somewhere that if he were to buy only one DII, it would be a brown stain. I might have to agree with that idea. I love the walnut set I have, but walnut is a bit on the soft side, meaning it nicks or dents easily. Its Janka hardness index is about 60 percent of that of maple, which means stained maple dark pieces can take much more of a 'beating' and still look good. That difference is actually tangible and observable after play. My maple army is spotless after many rounds of analysis and play (half a year's worth now, and I play either daily or every other day). My walnut army has one or two markings here and there. Of course, if you really want to play/analyse very roughly, you should order the set unweighted, so that the wood pieces haven't been compromised to make them slightly heavier. The walls of the chamber where the metal slugs fit in are much more liable to breaking or splitting than a piece of solid wood. I don't need my pieces to stand up to any violence of that sort, so I ordered mine weighted.

Regarding your second question(s): I can give you my opinion. I have sets with the dark side in sheesham, rosewood, ebony and walnut. I think Noj walnut looks extremely nice on a maple and walnut board. Also a maple and elm burl board would look fantastic. Rosewood looks more luxurious than sheesham but it's difficult to get nowadays due to CITES. Sheesham might be next in the future. Ebony is of course very classical looking and provides the most colour contrast between the light and dark side. My preference is like this, from most to least favourite:

1. Walnut

2. Rosewood

3. Sheesham

4. Ebony

I agree with maik1988 on all of this.

Very nice set from HoS. I recently purchased one wood chess set combo from them that I am not too happy with.  I guess one gets what we pay for.  I also purchased another set of chess wood pieces recently from wholesale chess that I have not received yet, I hope to have a better luck with that one.

Thanks for the photos, @Eyechess! Given the title, I'm a little disappointed not to see any Colorado Woodworker boards, but that HoS set looks really tempting. It's this one, right?

https://www.houseofstaunton.com/camaratta-signature-series-cooke-luxury-chess-pieces-with-boxwood.html

I think I want it, my only worry is that the web page says that "the kings feature English leather embossed with Frank Camaratta signature". Does this mean that the kings have a different basepad material than the rest of the pieces? That seems very unfortunate.

Yes, that's the set.  Sorry about not having pictures of the board as my young opponent wanted the notation stuff and I took those pictures just after the game.

When I get a chance, I will pull the board and set out and post pictures of them here.

I would also look at the HoS Craftsmen Series set.  That is another Camaratta Signature set.  I got it in Blood Rosewood.  When I get this last set and board out, I'll also get the other board and set and post pictures in a separate thread.

You have 3 Dubrovnik 2 chess sets. Is the Dubrovnik 2 a popular choice for chess set collectors and players? 

Currently Noj sets are kind of costly.  But they are the best reproduction available.

I bought my Walnut set I bought in 2010 and it was not too expensive at all.

I bought my Red version in 2015 when this forum started its Dubrovnik mania and the Red being  the rage thanks to Chess Bazaar and its stain bleeding problem.

I bought my Brown stained set a year ago to get a more durable set and it is.  I now carry it and use it regularly.

I know no person that owns a Noj Dubrovnik II set and does not like it a lot.

That certainly cannot be said af all the others.

Thank you. I see Chess Bazaar have a Dubrovnik II set in Sheesham and Boxwood for USD 139 and free shipping. That sounds like a good deal 🤔

I like the look of that set, but I'm not happy with any of the available wood choices. The lacquered version is too shiny. Ebony cracks too easily. Blood rosewood is too red.

I also have some concern about the knight design in both of these sets. Is it as fragile as it looks?

@ Cato: I think that the idea that ebony will simply crack is oversimplifying an issue. I do think it has that propensity, but many other (climate-related) factors also play a role. The ebony pieces I have are still flawless. Having said that, Eyechess' Mopane is an excellent choice for the dark army. It's a durable, strong, wood, it gives ample contrast and it's close to walnut in colour, at least from the images. A difference is that Mopane endgrain is 'spottier' than other commonly available types of wood, resulting in a black army with more 'definition', let's say, against a light boxwood army that's pearly and smooth. Certainly not a problem if the pieces are finished right and it doesn't bother you personally. Wouldn't bother me I think.

@maik1988: Yes, I'm aware that ebony doesn't automatically develop cracks, but I don't think the climate here in Norway is very ebony friendly.

Thanks for the comments about mopane; it sounds like I would like it. My only concern about the pieces in question is the possibly different basepad material for the kings vs the other pieces, which would probably be a dealbreaker for me. I'll have to ask HoS whether it's possible to get the set with the same basepads for all pieces.

Mopane's a solid choice IMO. The base pads I wouldn't be too happy with either, however. I prefer all pieces to be felted with thick, smooth felt. Perhaps you should check out the Cooke Series chessmen from HoS. Basically the same set (I think), minus the stylised knight's mane, which you were afraid for in the first place. Less wood choices though, and if you don't like shiny lacquer on pieces (honestly, who does?) and ebony is out of the question, that would leave blood rosewood, which might just be padauk. That wood might come with its own issues, but you would have to read up on that.

Astonishing... I am considering buying one this year.

Camaratta Signature set is priced lower than other high-end sets such as Collector and Morphy, but I like this set more than others. Knights are more natural than L-Shaped Knights, which is comfortable to see and concentrate on the game.

Congratulations!