new official FIDE WCC chess set

Well said,  Sir!

I wholeheartedly disagree!  Playing random opponents that you have never met from across the country or the world on the Internet, or playing against a computer engine, against which you have no more chance of victory than a world class sprinter has at out running a Formula One car, it  is not as good a OTB! It sucks not "rocks" by comparison.

Sitting alone at your computer screen to play instead of sharing a cup of coffee and light conversation with a good friend in an over the board friendly skittles game, or the sheer joy of staring in to your higher rated openent's eyes to watch him squirm as your pieces collude to threaten mate at f7 against his yet uncastled king in a tournament match, can not be replaced by an impersonal long distance game played online with computers and chat windows. 

It is like replacing real intimacy between lovers for online porn. It is an inadequate substitute for the real thing!

Well said! I play every Monday night with my fellow club members and guests, and we have get-togethers a couple times per year. Nice to have REAL friends... who play chess.

For many, chess will never really rise above being simply a casual social event, best enjoyed face-to-face with a friendly opponent. But for some, chess is an intense intellectual competition in which the point is to solve the "puzzle" that is their opponent's plan. For them, all that really matters is the ever-evolving board position, and for that, online play is ideal. Games can be played at virtually any hour against virtually any playing strength you care to try. If sharpening one's playing skill is all that matters, then the social aspect is almost entirely irrelevent. I'm a purely casual player, and I like the social atmosphere, but I thoroughly understand and appreciate the appeal of the online chess landscape for the hardcore addicts of the game.

Ah yes, being surrounded by a bunch of smelly, unkempt weirdos...truly there's no substitute for the OTB experience.

True, OTB play is more social and exciting. Even though you might have to face these individuals you described above, its still a awful experience.

Sorry centaur chess isn't everyones cup of tea I agree with the other poster who said it's not the same thing as face to face games.

I did not study books and bust my ass for years working at this game to play someone's computer or chess bot it's about as exciting as watching a game of pong set to auto:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDrRnJOCKZc

Our club is the strongest in the area and if you're ever in the Raleigh area you're welcome to come by and play and I'll personally give you $100 for every "smelly, unkempt weirdo" in the room... yourself excluded.

This whole idea that OTB is more a social event than "serious" chess is weak. It may be true elsewhere, there are poorly organized, undisciplined clubs in our area too. Every club is different and that's why people drive up 40 miles every Monday night to play at our club.

I have played tourney and club chess for 41 years this year and the only opponents I have ever smelled were in Europe and they were all Ukranians ! I kid you not !  The worst of the bunch was so bad that it was almost impossible to sit at the board with him and one Portuguese FM even refused to play him until he got a bath !  LOL  It seems not all countries have the same personal care standards...  

Hey, a rimshot for Woody!...

And I'm afraid that all too often OTB is more of an antisocial event...which is the problem.

I think the chubby/smelly issue disappear on higher class levels. For instance you can't expect to reqruit the rich kids with parents with good social status. Instead the below average kids find chess interesting and want to play more. Mainstream have this arrogant attitude towards chess and the community as well - one famous quote:

"Girls who play chess wear nerdy glasses"

Exactly.  You can go ahead and play with your Civil War set which is hard to remember if Stonewall Jackson moves like a knight or a bishop, or your set with ogres & dragons, but classic chess should be played with a regular Staunton design.  "Classic" doesn't mean "needs to be updated."

Funny how out of all the thousands of different chess sets I've ever seen, the vast majority are still a Staunton design.  There's just no need to improve something which works well.

I would point out that the new FIDE-approved WCC chess set is still very much a traditional Staunton-type design. The changes/modernizations they did were fairly minor, IMO, with the new knight and the top of the King probably being the most prominent change. One can argue whether the changes work well from a design perspective (and I think they mostly don't - the knight in particular looks just weird), but I don't think there's anything wrong with attempts to modernize/refine the Staunton design. That's no different than past evolutions of this design; a 1849 Jaques has marked differences to a Jaques from the early 1900s, and that's just one specific maker. Just consider the Staunton design variations introduced by BCC, or the differences between British Staunton designs and French or Russian designs. 

Anyway, I'll probably stay away from this set. Just too expensive currently, plus that knight seen from the side is just ugly.

Its not a real bad looking set IMO. Its the price thats ugly!

 I like pieces that are carved like medieval pieces of art work. A Rook looks like a tower, a Knight has a knight on a rearing horse, the Bishop, looks like a priest, or advisor, and you can definitely tell he is that. The Queen a beautifully carved woman, and she wears a diadem, and the King a man that wears a crown, and you can tell that is what he is.

Other than that, I do like Staunton type style, with nice looking Knights, and pieces. There is no guessing on what the piece is. I will not comment on the WCC set, except to say, I would never buy such a set.

Looks like they brought back a real old Knight design. You can look it up on Chess Museum com. I agree that the Knight is strange looking. Maybe its a European thing as far as tastes?

I don't think ifekali is serious.   I think everyone agrees the set is bad. The knights are very cheaply made with no detail so they can be mass produced and maximize their profits.  

It's a real shame since the India is home the to some of the best artisans in the world.    

This why I think he is just kidding:

 ifekali wrote:

 

The advice I got was to always eat a large raw onion before every important game.  

The set was designed by Pentagram partner Daniel Weil:

http://www.designweek.co.uk/news/daniel-weil-redesigns-the-chess-set/3036205.article

It's not 'my cup of tea' to be sure, and they avoid showing the knight profile . . . . as to why, answers on a postcard please.