My Noj Chess Set has arrived!

My stepson exclaimed,”They feel like pebbles! Smooth and heavy!”

S1EN+: Stage One, Eastern, Natural, with extra queens and kingside stamps.

Now, a chessboard.

Fantastic sight on that old worn board, happy for you, thank you for sharing!

The board is over forty years old! I use it pretty regularly with my kids.

What an absolute stunning set from the Novak family, and that board oozes character and charm! Do you have any information, insight, or stories behind the latter?

You chose the perfect setting! Really gives a Medieval Castle vibe. Congratulations on your new acquisition!

I can't agree more! I find it a blessing you can share this experience with your family members. Makes it more special. Beautiful and Congrats! -stums

Who's not going to absolutely love that gem?

I have the exact same BCE chess set (eastern, with stamped rooks and knights, and blue leather pad)!!!

However, I think the squares are a little bit too small (see picture with the King)

It could be appropriate for the Eastern set; it’s a Soviet convention to use tight squares. Look at the board that came with my Shkolnik II set:

Thank you, I didn't know...

But it is not my cup of tea

I forgot who made the point that when you put Soviet pieces on a larger board to give them room to breathe, they will look more impressive. I tend to agree.

I wonder if there is a political motivation or symbolism to the Soviets using tight squares; something about representing the collectivistic nature of communism, and showing its unity? I don’t know.

I agree completely - I’ve been using the pieces with a larger, matching board since it arrived. 

Pieces: Walnut/ Maple

Board: Walnut/ Maple/ Purpleheart

@guttaperk

The character in the original board can't be matched. But the purpleheart border and square size in the new board is absolutely perfect!

There is actually a rule for the relationship between square size and piece size. I am not sure if it is an actual official rule, but as far as I have used it it produces reasonable results:

Put 3 pawns in a row, adjoining. This should cover the distance of two squares.

Try it with FIDE-legal boards and pieces and this is in fact the case.

I hadn’t heard of that one. I think the size of the bases is more relevant than the height; usually the correct square size is indicated by being able to fit four pawns into a single square, like guttaperk demonstrated in the photo above.

This Looks better, in my humble opinion