New Chessbazaar repro and custom chess set

Hello,

I have several (too many) chess sets from chessbazaar, maybe they are not top quality but I found them really great for the price, and the custom service is also great...

I think they are simply doing better than the rest of competitors...

today I have found this new repro:

http://www.chessbazaar.com/antique-series-wooden-chess-pieces-in-sheesham-box-wood-4-5-king.html

For me it is impossible not to recognize the rook and the queen, even the knight has a resemblance to the original one, although it has been changed to make it "easier" for the masses. The set is a repro of the typical spanish set since 1950's...

http://www.ajedrez-webstore.es/fichas/33-ajedrez-staunton-fs4pul.html

The original ones can still be bought through the internet, but the repro looks great. I would have bought one in a smaller size, because I use to play in 50mm, but unfortunately it is not in the catalog.

On the other hand, the custom sets service looks great, I just bought them a custom made set...

 For sure, there will be a lot of people that would think it is awful but I "needed" a chess set with a knight inspired in the Marcel Duchamp's one, and they have done a great job (although not perfect obviously) for an afordable price. 

In my case, 270€ in boxwood and ebony. Still to be received (this thursday)

btw, sorry for my English, I'm not native

oops, posted twice in error sorry...

Looks like a nice set, except I really don't like that knight, just being honest. It just doesn't seem to match the other pieces in a staunton type of way.

Yes, I know... It is a copy of marcel duchamp knight... HOS made a set based on this knight, the monza chess set, but the rest of the pieces look even worse (price is 995$, btw)...

http://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-monza-artisan-chess-pieces-4-4-king.html

I know the knight is some kind of "pastiche", but I truly don't mind if I can play with it. Anyway I think the price and experience could help other people with better ideas :), I know the design is not my best skill.

BTW, if anyone is interested in Spanish-style Staunton sets, I recommend the site mentioned by the OP:

http://www.ajedrez-webstore.es

I bought two sets from them over the last year or so and received excellent customer service as well as great sets.

I have bought them about 5 chess sets (3 spanish ones in boxwood, 1 in olive wood and 1 europe). I can confirm also, great sets and service. 

I love them, but they have very poor variety, so I don't think they play in the same league than HOS or chessbazaar

Thanks both for your comments.

You're more than welcome, please know I'm not dising the set, just being straight up about the knight. Anyway, enjoy !

This has got to be one of the ugliest chess knights ever. I though the one-toothed pacman knight was bad enough, but this has got to be the worst. Straight outta a Lovecraft mythos nightmare.

I like that knight a lot, it has a Lovecraftian vibe. Duchamp's set even more so.

Additionally its very Oceania/Posidonian. I have CB's 3'8 inch version of the same set the stock number http://www.chessbazaar.com/catalogsearch/result/?cat=0&q=S1237 love it.

Fortunately there is only one set like this ... ;) 

I know it is kitsch and awful, but I'm just giving an example of custom made

And you Jolbac are right... same set. Just changing the knight and the wood. I know the original set is better, I just took the rest of the set to escort the knight...  

kind regards, and thanks for your responses

I actually like the knight you had them make did you inspire the design. Im a big Duchamp fan here in the states dAda was a very popular during my college years and inspired much of the music of the mid 70ish into the eighties

Hi Frank:

I'm interested in buying a few of their sets and was curious how much shipping was on 2 sets to the US? And how long did it take to get your sets? Also, were the pieces packed securely? Thanks

I paid €35 for shipping last time I bought a set from them, Mike (about 3 months ago). The package arrived pretty fast, and was well packaged. One piece had a split base, I emailed them about it, they asked for a picture of the damaged piece, and they sent a replacement piece for free right away.

I bought multiple times, but never two sets at once, so I'm not sure whether that would change the price. 

In any case, they always treated me well. Don't expect much in terms of communication, but they are reliable and their sets are great. I own these two:

http://www.ajedrez-webstore.es/chessmen/49-chessmen-staunton-europefse6.html

http://www.ajedrez-webstore.es/chessmen/35-chessmen-staunton-5.html

:))

I couldn't resist to answer

The iberian staunton is one of my truly favourites. It "is" the "national" set in Spain. Almost all tournaments with no DGT boards, clubs, schools, etc are playing them (at least the plastic version).

I rather use it instead of the europe set, because the europe number 5 is too light. This set is really stable.

You could also see it in the analysis room of some important tournaments:

Here, the people is a bit bored about them, because they are present everywhere .

I learned to play with one, which belonged to my father:

The modern pieces are slightly bigger than old ones.

It is important to notice that the set is normally not weighted (but it is really stable) and with no extra queens.

The Kasparov-karpov set from 1987 was based on this one, and this one was of course in the analysis room.

Here, a detailed view of the plastic version:And also some detail in all the pieces and woods (olive and boxwood; polished and varnished). Number 6 on the left, number 5 on the right.

I rather use the number 5 in 50mm and 55mm chessboards. This way I carry a single set everywhere.

Here a number 6 in a BCE magnetic chess board:

And finally the number 5 in the same board:

The sets were originally made by Indajesa (industrias del ajedrez S.A.). Now they are made by MORA-VIVAF (http://www.mora-viraf.com/ajedrez/) a catalonian wood company and distributed through the ajedrez-webstore.es.

The sets are nice and with a very good quality, although it is a different concept of chess piece than chessbazaar and so on.

About quality, I would say Rechapados Ferrer is another catalonian company, I don't think there are much difference.

The bad point is the customer service is really awful (nearly inexistant).

Thanks for the many wonderful pictures of your chess sets. Happy collecting!

How is this set weighted?

I have one staunton 6 (the one in your link) and 2 set of staunton 5 with the same wood and design.

No weight at all, only wood. The staunton 5 is maybe one of my favorites.

Best regards

Not weighted. So if you prefer really heavy sets, this is not for you. I like sets that are on the lighter side, and this set is perfectly playable and stable. Also, the pieces (pawns in particular) are larger than usual for a set w/ a 94mm King.