My Commission From Oleg Raikis: "The Ideal Staunton" - A Jaques 1849 Reproduction

"The Ideal Staunton"

For the last several years, I've worked very closely with my friend, Oleg Raikis, on our "Ideal Staunton" project; there is much to say, so I will try to be succinct:

> Commission:

--I commissioned, from Oleg, a tournament size (3.5" king) reproduction of a club size (4.4" king) antique 1849 Jaques set, owned by Alan Fersht and displayed here: https://www.britishchesssets.com/chess/No8/index.html

----I selected this set because it is, in my opinion, one of the best Staunton designs/sets ever created

----I commissioned the reproduction of two additional Jaques bishop designs (the deep straight-cut reference mitre, deep curved-cut mitre, narrow curved-cut mitre) and five additional Jaques knight designs, which I carefully selected to pair with the set (the 1849 reference knight, a "Paulsen", a traditional "Morphy", a unique "Morphy", and two one-off Jaques designs)

----Oleg came up with an idea that each/every piece could be created from a single block of wood (e.g., the knights could be carved from a single block of wood, instead of assembled in the usual two-component construction (knight carving block secured to a turned base block)); I loved this idea and from here we envisioned the "Ideal Staunton" set; a tournament size 1849 Jaques reproduction, constructed entirely from 100% solid wood single-component pieces, paired with three different bishop designs and six different Jaques period-correct knight designs (all created from scratch and fitted to the size/style of the set), to suit every taste and to allow for a multitude of configurations

> Development:

--I could write a novel about this, so I'll save it for a future post

----In a nutshell, we worked from photos of the reference set and other antique Jaques sets; we used many different tools/techniques/etc. to develop the set, including computer modelling, historical research (e.g., to confirm different measurements, etc.), our knowledge of antique Jaques sets, and more; we developed several different prototypes/iterations of the set and continued to refine it until we reached near 100% accuracy/reproduction

> Ordering:

--If you would like to order a set, please contact me

----Capacity: Oleg can create only four to five "Ideal Staunton" sets per year, at the most; first come, first serve!

----Materials: The set is available in boxwood, stained boxwood (any color), african blackwood, bokaut, and mammoth ivory; the price for a base set, at the moment, is $1700 USD in boxwood/stained boxwood, $2200 USD for boxwood/african blackwood, $2200 USD for boxwood/bokaut, $10,000+ USD for mammoth ivory/stained mammoth ivory (depends upon the quality/purity of the ivory Oleg can locate, etc.); note that the Oleg uses extremely expensive/high quality material (e.g., the boxwood he uses is aged for many years, etc.); note that prices are subject to change for many various/obvious reasons (I'll try to keep this post up to date)

----Knight/Bishop Designs: There are six different knight designs, and three different bishop designs, to choose from; see the bottom of this post for pictures/labels

----Options: Felting ($2 USD / piece; different colors available), weighting ($10 USD / piece, although unweighted is recommended), stamping, signing, etc. are available; pricing upon request (generally $50-$100 USD per option)

----Quantity/Configuration/Extra Pieces/Etc.: Oleg simply charges by the piece, so any quantity/configuration can be ordered (e.g., you can order extra pawns, multiple knights or knight styles (e.g., you could order "Paulsen" knights for the white side and "Morphy" knights for the black side), etc.); pricing upon request (generally $100-$150 USD for extra queens and knights, for example)

----Bespoke Knight Design: Oleg accepts knight design commissions; pricing upon request (generally $250 USD and up, depending upon design complexity etc.)

----Finials: Can be glued, left unglued, or included in single-block construction (possibly) for extra fee; note that finial quality will not be as high with the single-block construction option, due to the difficulty involved

----Shipping: Generally, EMS only

----Payment: Wire transfer, Wise.com transfer, PayPal transfer (not preferred); cash is a possibility

> Photos:

The reference set:

A quick comparison between the reference set and the "Ideal Staunton" (note that the "Ideal Staunton" photo is slightly distorted):

A small sample of photos from development:

The set in boxwood and african blackwood:

Coming soon:

Knight and bishop design identification:

Congrats on finally getting the project done. I really like the Morphy knight.

Whoaaa! Hmmm....

I like this knight, how is it called? Cooke 1849 knight?

Oleg Raikis is going to be a brand name in the making after this, and thanks to @MGT88 for bringing this to us

Incredible - he really nailed the "jowls" of the knight just perfectly. Bravo

Wow, what's the pieces made out of? You know what? Just take my money. Beautiful!!

Thanks! This is based upon a unique Morphy I saw in an antique Jaques posted here; we are developing a more traditional Morphy to add to the lineup, as we speak (see reference photo in the "Coming soon" section in my post).

Yep, correct; I think it would be classified an 1849 "Cooke Type 2", per Alan Fersht's codex

The pieces shown here are made from very high quality boxwood aged many years, and very high quality african blackwood (the "original"/"real" ebony; it is nearly jet black under normal lighting conditions, and its grain can be seen when powerfully illuminated, as seen in some of my photos)

Thank you for the kind words @Schachmonkey @Krames @SorinCioriciu @felonet !

What's nice with this set, going on the photographs , is that you can still see  Oleg hand in the chess set design ,  A Jaques 1849 Oleg Raikis inspired chess set , Very nice , just too much for me in these' s time's , Good luck to those that can buy it .

Thanks @lighthouse ; yes, the timing is unfortunate, and we certainly had plenty of issues/setbacks with covid and the war situation etc.; I would point out that, despite the high cost, Oleg actually doesn't make much (if any) profit on this set, and that it is primarily a marketing promotion for his figural set business; the cost of the wood he uses alone can be over 50% of the sale price.

You purchased the set from Alan? Oleg and I would love the opportunity to examine that knight; any pictures etc. you can provide would be very helpful.

Yes I know; I made an offer on it! I'll send you an inbox message where we can discuss further.

Posts like this keep this forum alive (and thriving)! Thank you @MGT88 (and Oleg)!

What a fantastic set, and the research and effort that went into making it a reality are obvious!  I’ve seen a lot of boxwood, but nothing ever with that kind of grain, especially on the pawns, and of course the multiple one-piece knights are superb.  I wish I could justify a set, but am confident Oleg will be quite busy with new orders!  

@MGT88, many thanks for all your efforts here in both this post and in working with Oleg to bring this to us!