Looking for a quality set

So I have started playing chess again after a 20 year absence. I've got my 9 year old son playing as well and it's safe to say we will not be putting the game away this time. We started with just a cheap set from Target to make sure he was going to enjoy playing.

Now I have found myself looking at a nice setup that we can enjoy together for years to come. I'm currently between two brands and have not narrowed it down just yet; hoping for the community help. While HoS looks very nice online, the horror stories of shipping issues and wood glue has me leaning towards Official Staunton. I'm not looking for a historically accurate set although the 1851 does look nice. 

Can someone tell me the main difference between these two companies and maybe give me a recommendation of their own? I'm looking to spend less than 1k for a board and pieces. Thank you in advance for all your help!

The House of Staunton and Official Staunton Company pretty much use the same manufacturers in India.  I own sets from both and find the quality to be equal.

I do not know about the horror stories you speak of, especially with HoS.  My experience and the majority of what I have read on this forum is that the shipping and glue issues you refer to do not exist with HoS.  Those stories apply to Chess Bazaar from what has been posted on this forum.

With that The House of Staunton does produce some nice sets and boards. Seeing that you live in the USA, shipping should be quick and less expensive than from Europe.  And if there is a problem with a piece, I am confident that the current staff at HoS will work hard to fix the problem and please you.

The only problem that I find with The House of Staunton is that their prices are high, higher than Official Staunton for comparable products.

Of course, Official Staunton prices have gone up a bit in the last number of months as well so no set will be as inexpensive as even a year ago.

I suggest you find a set design you like and begin your "shopping" from that.  If you are looking for a reproduction of Jaques or the occasional BCC set, then you will find nice sets on either or both sites.

If the set you want is only offered by The House of Staunton, then it is time to wait for one of their 20% or so sales to get the price down.

My personal opinion at this very moment is that I really like a set and board from Official Staunton the best.

I own and really like the Leuchars set from OS.  I played with mine last week and find that it is just about the perfect designed set for playing.

For the board, I like the OS Bobby Fischer board or one of their Italian made, Jaques reproduction boards.  I own both the Fischer board and the Solid Framed Mahogany Chess Board.  The Fischer board has a narrower margin but the black Leuchars set looks great on it.  The other board has a wider frame margin and the board is recessed or the frame is raised.  I like this board a lot with my Rosewood sets, one with a little reddish color in them.

If you find a setup you like from Official Staunton, I would message Carl on this forum or email him with the address on the OS web site.  I would tell him what you are looking for and see if he can give you some kind of a combo price.

If you find a set you like at The House of Staunton,  I would call.  Hit option #3 which will get you to the guys that man the phones, like customer service.  I would ask for either Scott, the manager or Kevin.  Kevin is very knowledgeable about the sets as he looks at them all and is really helpful about set specifics.  Once again, I would tell them what you want and ask for a combo or discounted price.  They usually have some kind of sale they can apply and get you a good price.  I certainly would not worry about quality or service from HoS at all.  They will be good.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

I suggest that you do not splurge right at this moment. Because right after you do, you will find something better. Maybe get something cheap for now that you might like playing with. In the meantime check out this forum and look high and low. After you've done your due diligence get what you think is best.

What Up said. Take your time, maybe get a decent knockaround set for now and look for something fancy later. That's what I did. I haven't bought all the chess sets in the world, but I'm very happy with the ones I own now, and I have a magnificent one on order for later in 2018.

simple await till cyber week sale starting !  

Better to make brilliant moves on a schmitty set than vice-versa

Friend, in case it helps you. I bought a couple of sets at StautonCastle (Saggu, India) on Ebay, they have been of great quality and if you offer them with patience, you get good prices.
ChessBazar also has acceptable quality, and reasonable costs.
Time and patience, you will find good products and good prices.
A greeting from Tierra del Fuego. Argentina.

Thank you everyone for your help! Another thing I’m thinking about is a nice table and chair set. Anyone know of the best place to go through for that? Not seeing any furniture on the chess sites. Thanks again!

Or you can be like everyone here and become a collector! 

 ..An antique chess set collector  

Actually, I just had an experience beginning last night and ending today very favorably in Gregor and the Noj family business.

I have owned my Dobrovnik, Walnut set by Noj since May of 2010.  It is my favorite set to play with.  The design of the pieces is not as finished or elegant looking as most of the Jaques designed sets, but during play I find the Dubrovnik, now II, to be excellent looking.  It also "plays" very well on the board with the pieces being very well designed for handling during moves.  I have owned and currently own a number of sets, but I find myself still going back to my Noj Dubrovnik at least once or twice a month for rated play.

So, last night I brought my beloved Noj Dubrovnik to play the 4th round of our club's current tournament of G/80, d/5.  I was playing a higher rated player so used my green BCE magnetic chess board which is a perfect match for this European Walnut and European Maple set.

As I was taking the pieces out of my padded case that I carry it in, I noticed that the Black Queen I picked up felt sharp on my finger.  After looking more closely at the piece I saw a small chip out of the uppermost ring of the collar.  My heart fell to my stomach.  I actually found the little chip in the container on the white insulation I use and my friend, Wayne, and I decided it could be glued.  So, I put the other Queen on the board and played the game.

Well, after the game I was picking up the pieces to put away and I noticed the Black, Walnut Queen I picked up from the board had a chip in its collar exactly where I first saw it before the game.  But, I thought I had put the chipped Queen to the side.  To my dismay, I had and now I realized both Queens had chips in exactly the same place.  All my other pieces and all the White pieces were completely intact and fine.  So this was a problem of that set of Queens made almost 8 years ago.

When I got home I emailed Gregor.  I thought that getting a replacement where the wood coloring would match as well as the carving, would be impossible since it was so long ago.  So I offered to buy another set at some kind of good discount.  I also asked Gregor if he might be able to round the edges on this new set a bit to deter chipping.

I then emailed Alan Dewey to see if he could fix or replace a Noj Walnut piece.

In the morning, I received Alan's email saying he could.  And the price is extremely reasonable.  Also Alan's work is excellent as we have seen by pictures and testimonials on this forum.

Then, as I was bringing lunch to my wife at the school she teaches, I received an email from Gregor.

Not only can he reproduce the pieces but he would replace them for free.  He asked if I could send him one of the Queens to match the wood color, which I promptly did.  All I can say is, "Wow, what great service Gregor and Noj provide!"  Remember this set was purchased 7 1/2 years ago!

He also said he could round or soften the edges on a set if I wanted, so I went ahead and am ordering a second Noj Dubrovnik II, Walnut set but with the edges rounded somewhat for everyday play.  We see the videos of Bobby Fischer almost tossing his set around so why not be able to do that with a reproduction from the original plans and pieces as Gregor and Noj does?

So, I plan on getting this Noj Dubrovnik set and keep it in a bag with a roll up board and clock and use it at least 2 to 3 times a week.  To me this is worth the cost.  And there is a waiting time so I can begin setting aside money to pay for it.

Yes, you will pay more for a Noj.  But the quality of the pieces and service are better than excellent.

This is worth taking note of - even for me, a casual player. Thank you.

Wow, Eye, that's some story. I think I would have been pretty heartbroken if that had happened to me! And to both queens nonetheless. I think walnut generally is a softer type of wood than the maple they use, which might make it more attractive to some to get the black pieces in dyed maple. At the moment I have their set on order in walnut, but I will definitely think about this! As an aside: do you have any idea what caused the chipping? And props to Noj for such exemplary service.

P.S.: @ Eyechess: could you post a picture of the damaged queens? Do you think that the collars are prone to crack generally?

Ebay.  Haunt the listings until you find something special.  It takes patience to wade through all the crap, but you can find great sets for pennies on the dollar.  Of course if money isn't an issue, then you have already received excellent advice.

Gregor wrote to me that they really do not have a problem like this much at all.  My guess is that that particular batch of Walnut was more brittle combined with how the collars are made created the problem that showed many years later.  Wood is not metal or plastic and the integrity of the material is going to have some grain and variation so something like this can happen to no one’s fault.

The bottom line is that Gregor is really making this more than right.

I will post pictures when I get my laptop turned on later.

Eyeches, what is the weight of the set of NOJ approximately, are comfortable to play !? Thank you very much

I don't know the weight of the set.  cgrau and others have weighed their sets so perhaps someone who has weighed it can tell us.

The set is not heavily weighted but it is weighted.  What matters to me, and a lot of others from what I have read, is that the pieces are balanced with a weight appropriate to make the set handle and play quite well.  And this set, in my opinion, is perfectly weighted for play.

Understand that I use my sets to play Chess with so I want the heft and feel of the set to work the best.

Gracias EyeChess

Above are the 2 pictures I took late Monday evening to send to Gregor.

The photography isn't that great but you can see the chips on the collars.

It looks like a "perfect storm" of piece damage.  Seeing that it was both Walnut Queens and in exactly the same place on each piece.  And no other piece of the set, including both White Queens, have no chips or damage of any kind.

I have sent one of the above pictured pieces to Gregor for wood and color matching when he makes and provides the new, replacement pieces.