House of Staunton Review

I had a bad experience from House of Staunton. I received the set, a totally different set of the photos on their website. When, I contacted them, they said, "That is the correct order that you have received. It is a technical error website showed a different photo". I contacted and contacted complained and complained and they were firm that no refund. Not until I started posting my experience in chess groups and here at chess.com. They panicked and returned the money. Except for the taxes I paid. But ok it was what it was. I had a bit of depression, or stress is caused maybe, because of it I am not the type of person that loves fighting and arguing. Charge as experience and life went on.

I deleted the social media and chess.com posts when they returned 80% of the money. You know hate is not good for your health. They did not get the set they delivered. But okay I insisted to like the set that I do not like. I like heavy sets. Their Reykjavik II, Reykjavik version 2, is so light-weighted.

Reykjavik sets tend to ALL be light weight. Only popular because of the Fischer Spassky match. Me?? I would not touch one because of a) the design b) they are vastly under-weighted. They are supposedly a replica of the Tournament set, but from what I hear it does not matter if the Reykjavik II set is from HoS or some clone (which are not nearly as good ) they ALL suffer from the weighting issue. If you are like me and NEED a heavily weighted set, depending on your finances, buy either the Plastic Marshall set which take a beating, or one of the "triple weighted" sets out there which are very nice but tend to be not as durable. If WOOD is your poison, buy any weighted set that is modeled on the Staunton 1849 set or its offshoots, characterized by the the wide BROAD bases and require a square size of either 2.375" or 2.5" for a King that measures either 4.0" or 4.4" (Club Size sets). They are marked by being virtually self righting if accidentally knocked.

My Plastic HoS Marshall set has a very nice "feel" and plays well on a roll-up vinyl board with 2.25" squares. My HoS "Luxury Collector Series" set w/4.0 King is based loosely on that design with some refinements. It is a very heavily weighted set that tends to be self righting, and looks right at home on my Custom all Wood chess board with 2.5" squares. *MY* "Rule of Thumb" is IF you NEED a heavily weighted set, get a board (assuming you use a Tournament size set w/ King of 3.75" ) with at least 2.25" squares, or one size larger (2.375"), that way you avoid having pieces on the wrong square from "over crowding" and becomes an even bigger problem if you have any tremors.

Unless you are chess set collector who is interested in historical representations of sets used in major tournaments, stick with sets based on the original Staunton Design or East European Designs but which are HEAVILY WEIGHTED (many of those sets are unweighted -- ask me how I know ) Many of those WEIGHTED sets are a DREAM to play with; the UNWEIGHTED sets however are horror nightmares to play with. I used a lot of those sets when I was stationed in Germany. Some unweighted sets were better than others but I had a problems with all those sets, and that was long before I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. Now a days when I go to the club and someone brings in a rather cheap looking set I usually ask if the set is weighted or not and will turn down a game if the set is UNWEIGHTED, because I know in advance that pieces "ARE going to fly" from move 1 and on -- it just not worth it.

Most of these "Scholastic Players" use these cheap sets because they come in a "Rainbow of Colors"... plus they are CHEAP to buy! The first thing that some 8-10 y.o will notice is how HEAVY my set is... simply because they are not use to playing with a weighted set.

But that is my take on chess sets and which to consider buying and those that do not deserve a second glance.

I was excited as I asked Santa for the HOS Grandmaster Chess set, but after reading some of the reviews earlier in the thread, I am not so excited. I am worried I made the wrong choice. Have they changed since since 2012?

Greetings,

I wanted to post on here to share a little about my recent experience trying to purchase a chess set for the first time. I chose to buy a set from House of Staunton, and below is an overview of my experience with them and their product. If you are considering buying a set from them, you may get some insight from this post. This is a bit long, as it is a complete recap of my experience with them over 2 weeks.

I recently became interested in chess, and decided I wanted to buy a decent wooden chess set. I shopped around, and looked on these forums for suggestions. I came accross House of Staunton (google for their website if you are unfamiliar with them) and fell in love with their sets.

Being this was my first experience buying a chess board and pieces, I didn't know anything about it. I did some research on woods, styles, options, etc. I picked their "Grandmaster" chess set which comes with a board, the Grandmaster series pieces and a woode box for the pieces.

I liked the style of the Grandmaster pieces for the price, and considered it to be the cheapest, decent looking set (including the knight carvings). The website really talks these sets up and sells them as being "Exceptional" pieces of craftsmanship. I chose to upgrade the set to the Boxwood/Rosewood combination (I like the look of Rosewood, opposed to Ebonized boxwood). It was more expensive, but I wanted to get the best I could for my budget. The board it came with was their standard "Tournamet" style board made of Maple/Mahogany. Normally, by itself is only $40! I could'nt believe a board made of those woods would be so cheap. I could'nt find any details about its construction (I suspected it was veneered, which I had no interest in owning but it dosen't state that anywhere).

I ordered the set, and it arrived 5 days later. Shipping didnt take long but it was pricey at $21 for standard shipping. The set did arrive nicely packaged and I could'nt see any ways to improve on that.

I eagerly opened the set to inspect what I was anticipating would be a very beautiful, exceptionally crafted chess set (as the website so eloquently puts it). I was surprised to not find that in my order.

Let me start with the board:

It was veneered, and one of the corners was chipped. It also looked very cheap. The Mahogany veneer was very coarse and took away from what little luxury look it had. This was obviously a very cheap production and ment for lots of casual wear and tear. It is not what I wanted. I was expecting a board made from Mahogany and Maple, like the website states, not a piece of oak with those veneers on it.

I thought, ok Ill deal with the chipped edge and veneer, it's my first set. Let's get to the good stuff - the pieces!

Wrong, the pieces where a HUGE let down. They were filthy with wood dust and glue resin all over. The website states they are crafted with a "brilliant finish". Maybe if I spent a few hours cleaning, removing the glue and polishing them I would see it. Next, the "luxurious billard cloth felt pads" on the bottom were all damaged. This is because the pieces are pushed into a foam packaging with pre cut out shapes to keep them secure during transit. Well, whoever pushed them into the foam packaging allowed the edges of the pads to be caught on the foam and it ripped them half to 3/4 of the way off the piece. I would have to spend a decent amount of time and effort glueing them all back on to the pieces. This was a huge blow to my confidence in HOS and I was very disappointed for the money I payed.

The pieces were nicely weighted, and the crafstmenship was decent. They were even, and looked the same across different pieces of the same type (not much variance, which is good). The colors where nice, but it was hard to tell because of them being so dirty and covered with glue.

The Mahagony box that came with it to store the pieces was Ok. It felt cheap it didn't fit the pieces with them standing up, I had to basically toss them all in sidways on top of eachother. That seemed odd to me, and an "Exceptional" set should atleast have a decent storage mechanism.

I decided to call and see what the heck was going on. I called and explained I was not satisfied and had a few questions on why my set was so... wrong. After a few different reps, I asked a supervisor, "Is the board veneered, because it says that nowhere on the site?" She replied casually, "Yes sir, if it was not, it would be way more expensive." I replied, "Ok, I would imagine so, but I didnt want a veneered board and purchased this because it only says its 'made of mahogany and maple'." She paused for a few moments and passed me on to someone else. Longer story short, they asked me to send in photographs of the issues and all my complaints to their customer service email. I did that night, and called the next day. The rep told me they recieved my email and photos and were still reviewing them. I called again 24 hours later and the rep said they had no record of my email! Come on, what kind of place is this?!? After my confusion, they asked me to send it again so I did. I waited another 24 hours and called them back. At this point I was communicating with a supervisor, who said she would contact me when she decided how to handle my issues. I waited another day and she decided to exchange my set.

I sent it back in, and recieved a new set a few days later. I was excited to see if there was a difference. There wasn't. The pieces were in the same condition (dirty and glue covered, felt pads damaged) but this time the weight in the King was loose and rattled when you shook it! This was no good, and I immediately called and asked for a refund.

They challenged me a little on refunding me my original shipping costs, but eventually decided to give me a full refund. I returned the set and will not buy from them again.

It's a shame, because it looks like they have decent products, but maybe its only the really high end stuff. All I know is if they can't get the "budget friendly" items right, I would be concerned buying a $700 - $2k set without seeing it first. I would have loved to buy one of those next year, but sadly they let me down this time and for good.

I hope you're right.

Oh Boy were you making a mistake. You are NEW to Chess and you run out to buy a WOODEN Chess Set?!? Either A) you are Wealthy B) You have no BRAIN C) Be an EASY Mark. Rule 1) NEVER buy a wooden set unless a) you know something about the wood of the set b) you know this is a set you know will stand the test of time. c) are willing to take good care of the set.

...

Oh Boy were you making a mistake. You are NEW to Chess and you run out to buy a WOODEN Chess Set?!? Either A) you are Wealthy B) You have no BRAIN C) Be an EASY Mark. Rule 1) NEVER buy a wooden set unless a) you know something about the wood of the set b) you know this is a set you know will stand the test of time. c) are willing to take good care of the set.

Rule 2. Buy yourself a HIGH QUALITY PLASTIC SET. If you buy something like the HoS Marshall Plastic set in Black and Natural on a wood board, most people from 5 feet away *THINK* that the pieces are wooden too -- they are that good looking. Believe it or not that was the first set of pieces I bought from HoS, and that set is still in use. WHY? Because it is A) RELATIVELY inexpensive B) HEAVILY WEIGHTED C) can stand up to a LOT of ABUSE and MISUSE D) Is a CHESS TOURNAMENT SIZE and QUALITY. E) if a piece get chipped or lost you can easily replace the set and lose not much money. The pieces from Set 1 become spare pieces for Set 2.

Here is my Ultimate Road Warrior outfit: 1 HOS Plastic Marshall 3.75" King Size set of pieces ; 1 GREEN and BUFF or GREEN and WHITE roll up vinyl board and/or "Mouse Pad" board; 1 "Chess Clock" (in my case Chronos II ); 1 24x8x3" Deluxe Chess Bag such as the one from chesshouse.com. ; score pads, pencils, pens, any chess books you may be reading, etc. You would be amazed what will fit inside that size bag!

In short, all you need to do is grab it and go!! That is what makes you the Ultimate Chess Warrior. Now adays, my UCW set up is used only for days at a local club, but even if I were still playing in Chess Tournaments -- which I am not because of several medical conditions -- or skittles matches at the local club -- which I do a lot of -- I'd have everything I would need in my UCW bag.

Understand a Chess Set is going to be ABUSED especially if you play speed chess -- chess pieces will be knocked, dropped, and/or take sever punishing abuse resulting in chips, cracks etc. that says nothing about CARE of WOODEN pieces -- Ebony is notorious for cracking even if cared for but exposed to high temperatures, or highly humid environments. Wooden pieces also cost a LOT more than a good PLASTIC set. I was NOT going to buy a wooden set ever until the HOS had a sharp discount I THINK somewhere between 2009 - 2010 where I bought an ~$800 set for ~$500 if I recall correctly which also came if a Wooden Coffer or Box. That was nothing I could turn down, even in those days. Somewhere between 2010 --2011 I had a CUSTOM MADE Wooden Chess Board made NOT by HOS that cost me ~$500. The board is absolutely breath taking!! My HoS "Luxury Collector Series" set w/4.0 King -- no longer carried by HOS -- is based loosely on the Jaques of London 1849 set design, with some refinements. It is a very heavily weighted set that tends to be self righting, and looks right at home on my Custom all Wood chess board with 2.5" squares.

In short go and buy a HOS quality Marshall set of pieces, and use them, save the wooden pieces for SPECIAL OCCASIONS ONLY... and be sure to take care, wax and polish them, and put in a climate controlled environment.

Please do report back with your experience after you receive your set. And photos, photos are always welcome!

1. As previously said you wrongfully attributed a post a quoted to me.

2. I am not new to chess. I am not a great player, but I have played for decades.
3. I don't play a lot of speed chess. I don't intend to abuse this set. I prefer classical chess. I like to take my time and think of the best move. I don't think I'd be good at thinking fast and trying to bet the clock.

4 My wooden chess that I have used all my life was like a 30 dollars or under small kids chess set. It served me well, but I've always wanted to upgrade to a full size weighted legit staunton chess set.
5. I was hoping HOS could be trusted to deliver. We will see.

6. Like I have said, I am not buying this myself, I have asked "Santa" for it. I just hope I asked for a good chess set.
4.

Expectations, suppositions, and occasional defects - and that all starts before you climb out of bed in the morning. There will always be unevenness in experiences. By now, I’ve purchased around 50 sets and sold about 20, either due to changing taste or interest, disappointment (mild, usually), or duplication.

I’ve purchased quite a few sets from House of Staunton. The quality of their sets has been reliable, but more importantly, their service has always been exceptional. One set did have some defects and they replaced the pieces within a week (fortunately, they had them in stock). In another case, I had ordered something through them from another maker. The wrong item arrived and they were quick to manage an [expensive] exchange at no cost to me (someone lost money).

That said, we have to be aware to that designs and manufacture will change over time. I had an older HoS Cambridge Springs set - not at all a faithful ‘reproduction’, but Frank Camaratta’s design. A beautiful set. At some point over years, a knight developed a crack. The set is no longer available. I found one on eBay and purchased it thinking to swap the knights and sell the extra set. Over time, the design has subtly changed. The fine snout of the original knight had become slightly thicker and, to my eye at least, slightly less refined. I couldn’t swap the pieces. I’ve since had similar experiences with other sets where the newer version didn’t match the older set with the same name from the same vendor.

The lesson to me has been to make sure my expectations and suppositions match what I see and read online. Due diligence. As for the occasional defects, try to use reputable vendors and check reviews regarding private sellers. Enjoy the few scars earned along the way! Lastly, I’ve picked up a few skills in the process, learning to repair and refurbish things that have not met expectations, but exceed them with just a little effort (especially older sets and boards).