Looking For A Durable Wood Set

I don't know exactly why, BigKingBud, but I am just starting to get the impression that you kind of like that House of Staunton Gambit Series set...

I'm trying to help the OP, I think the Gambit is right up his alley, and I know for a fact, that the other set is cheap and cheap, and ugly, and plays like a 15$ plastic set.  The Gambit is a cheap set, that plays like a 1000$ dollar set. Facts are in the pics, and they don't lie.

In post 46 the boards are set wrong ?  

He asked for "durable", I thought of the gambit.  It's probably the most durable full sized club in the world.  It's got a really thick rim on the edges.  Usually if anything is gonna break, the rims of the larger pieces will crack.

Haha, yeah, oops, sorry master.  It wasn't fair to you, I did your chess mind wrong.  haha

Chess Bazzar makes good stuff, but, it just aint HOS.  HOS focuses on playability, and they put a lot of time into how a set 'feels'.  CB are more like 'immitation' pieces.  Though, I do recommend CB(from time to time), but, HOS sets are well designed, and have a little more 'magic' in them.

Thanks, pawpatrol.  You hit the nail on the head.  I'm totally fine with the german knight because I am just looking for a cheap, durable set that I'm not going to be afraid to take out and use in sometimes less than optimal conditions - food courts, cramped tables and, as soon as winter finally packs up and goes home, outside.  The fancier knights are nice but not necessary for what I'm looking for.  

I do agree that the HOS Gambit set is nice and I almost went for it, but the shipping costs are just too high for what is ultimately an inexpensive set.

Not many, alas.  I miss the Bayview Games Club.  During the winter, you can find blitz happening most evenings in the food court at the Atrium on Bay.  I'm always on the lookout for other spots.  When the weather warms, the chess tables in front of Metropolitan United (Queen and Church) are okay but nowhere near as good as the chess tables by Sam the Record Man used to be.  The Saturday Rapids up at the Unicorn on Eglinton is pretty good.

For  creisakes mr budweiser!!  Yer freakin' board is set up wrong.  White square in the right corner.  You are a fake chess player!!!!

My bad, I didn't notice you were in Canada(average american ethnocentric, I need to broaden my vision).  The Gambit almost weighs 4 pounds.  Chess sets are heavy to ship.  Especially, the bigger weighted ones.  You put 4 pounds of wood in a shipping box, and it's gonna cost a pretty penny to ship it to Canada(HOS is in Alabama, U.S.)

Yup.  And I'm okay with paying a fair price for shipping, but HOS's shipping prices have always been on the high side.  It's okay if I'm ordering a bunch of stuff or something expensive but for one relatively inexpensive set, the price is just too high.  Which is a shame, because I can see why you like the Gambit so much.  I guess I'll just have to wait until I'm ready to buy more sets. . .  (and that's the sound of me sliding down that slippery slope :-)).

Thanks for all the advice and the pics.  You've given me a lot to think about and some more stuff to put on my wishlist.

Thanks, Moriarty. Yes, the chess tables in front of Sam's are sorely missed. I'll have to check out the Saturday Rapids at the Unicorn you mentioned. Wasn't aware of this. And also the food court at Atrium on Bay.

You're welcome.

If it's helpful, here are a couple more pictures of that set (one on a roll-up board, silicone not vinyl):

Where did you order the Weigel wooden board from? I've had 3 different ones shipped to be and the always end up smashed up by the time they reach my doorstep. 

amazon

Chess Cafe has been selling their sets way way below cost as you can see. My 4 1/8" Titan set I bought for $39.02 compares with anything I have seen for triple the price.  If you want something a tad unusal and still inespensive buy the Liberty set HOS is closing out, $49.95 sheesham & $59.95 rosewood. It is also very durable.  They are sold out of the ebonized/boxwood. 

Of course HOS has many more sets 1/2 price on clearence that look really good and reasonable, in the $75 to $125 range.  Once these sets are gone they are gone for good. 

Like with any good chess set, if you take good care of it, I think years from now if you need to sell them or just want to because you have no one to pass them down to you should be able to get back what you paid for them unless you paid some crazy price to start with. 

Speaking of HOS and great deals, this is an awesome chessboard at half-price (down to $40).  Full 2.25" squares tournament size.  Rare to get anything decent for less than $80 at that size.

http://www.houseofstaunton.com/african-palisander-ash-wooden-tournament-chessboard.html

Yea that looks like the Spanish (they say made in Europe) veneer board which I won two of them and they are very nice. Nothing wrong with veneer and it looks great and wears well. In fact I have my everyday set on one of these boards.  I got both of mine off of auctions (eBay) by the Chess Store when they had a ton of them. I paid about $20 each for them I considered this a steal and it was. 

Great price Pawpatrol, but it has the HOS logo on the H1 square which some of us (OK, me..) detest.  Apparently the marketplace agrees and that's why it's on sale.  I guess maybe you could carefully scrape the paint off.