Modern Chess Set ‘Group’ buy from Oldset

Apparently things have calmed down in Kiev enough that Oldset on Etsy is accepting orders again.

So, if anyone is interested, he is open to orders for the chess set I designed and got made recently. There is a separate (longwinded!) post on the link below, with photos https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/modern-archetype-chess-set-custom-made-from-ukraine-oldset

But here’s a photo of the set:

I’m having trouble coming up with a name for the design; for now, I’m going with the ‘Australis’ set, but I’m open to suggestions.

It’s a tournament size set, with King diameter of 40mm and height of about 96mm, designed for a 55-60mm square board, made of maple wood and stained white / grey for the light / dark pieces, and light-moderately weighted.

I think the best way is for people to order directly with Oldset, and just say that you want him to make it with my design (Joseph from Australia). I do wonder if it helps him if we put in orders at around the same time (so if he’s making Pawns, he can make all of them together, then move on to the Rooks, etc) — either way, I’d love to know if people are using the design. Of course, as people are transacting with Oldset directly, I’m not getting any profit, but oh well — I’ll consider it part of my contributuon to Ukraine!

The cost was around US$500 including extra Queens. That’s higher than his normal sets due to the Knights (which are 3D printed in wood, but you wouldn’t feel the difference), and the Queens which are very labor intensive. I’ve also asked if he can 3D print the Bishops (as the design, while simple, is really hard to duplicate exactly by hand), and he said that may be possible, but presumably at an additional cost. I intend to order these printed Bishops, to supplement my original set.

Also, FYI, I ordered baize offcuts from the UK, which I sent to Oldset to use to line the bases of the pieces. He would normally use his regular felt instead, but I wanted to go with a high quality baize in the colors of my choosing,

Anyway, feel free to ask questions here or by messaging me.

I love it. That's one of my favorite sets I've seen in a long time. Normally I dislike stain but there's something simple/classy about this set that really suits my eye. Great choice!

I think Australis 2022 would be a well chosen name for this set. The simple yet very distinctive style reminds me slightly of the only set in my collection that is a true "Aussie" - the ACF set similar to one that belongs to the Australian War Memorial collection. The two sets are different in detail, but I think the design language is very comparable. To me the Australis 2022 looks like an evolution of the Australian War Memorial design (with a bit of BCE interbred).

Oh, thanks Bryan! Now if only I could get a nice grey-stained board to go with the set… 😉 

Thanks for the pics of your Australian set — that’s really interesting! Haven’t come across that set before. There does indeed seem to be some similarity in the simplicity of the sets. I guess we’re not too fancy / complicated down here!

Well, hopefully you can swing a set for Christmas!

Might have to order a bit early just to be safe — I’m not sure what delays there might be in Ukraine, especially with the postal service. I’d love to see the set make it into your growing collection!

Oh, I forgot to post the link to the Australian War Memorial set. Here it is. There seem to be two different versions around, as the one shown on the ACW website and on the label on the inside of my box has a different type of bishop.

Here is another set, this one of German origin (called "Deutsches Schlicht-Schach B", which roughly translates to "German Plain Chess B"), which apparently was designed very closely to the ACW / ACF set.

@Kohpablanca  Australis is a fine name for your chess set. Good call. And it's great to hear Oldset is back up and running in Kyiv! His shop has been updated with fresh stock, including a stunning Irish Killarney repro. WOW. 

Possibly something from this Etsy shop might be interesting?

Beautiful set. Reminds me that I wish BCE were more readily available. sigh

Izmet has gone radio silent for over a year now regarding the future of BCE... it's not looking good. I hope he's ok. 

Thanks for the suggestion — the leather board looks interesting. But I’ve already ordered a board from ColoradoWoodworker; just waiting for delivery. Can’t wait to get the new pieces on a proper board.

Hahaha, don't you know the rule here: "There's only one thing better than ordering a new board...ordering TWO!" 

Yeah, well… I actually did order 2 boards — for the one set of pieces! One is in a ‘safe’ wood combo of walnut and oak, while the other is much more unorthodox. Given shipping costs to Australia are so high, I figured I should save money by getting both made and sent at the same time, just to make sure I didn’t pay the shipping costs twice.

You won’t believe the money I’ve spent trying to ‘save’ on shipping costs to Australia. 😭

You'll get it one day!

The international shipping debacles are brutal though!

I love the design of this set. I also find it fascinating that 3d printing technology has reached the point where we can 3d print wood, and make it match the grain of the other wood pieces in the set. Crazy stuff!

Yeah, it's crazy, I had no idea wood could be 3D printed.