2021 Official FIDE World Chess Set.

@dobtom I wonder about that ... otherwise I might have considered that somehow DGT and World Chess were using different carvers, but then how to explain the polishchess.com photos from @zagryan?

So, as planned, I've asked for some insight from World Chess. Here's the basic contents of the email:

[intro snipped]

I wonder if you can provide any insight into what I perceive to have been some subtle changes to the knights. It would appear to me that, early on, the neck of the knight started out very much "scooped out" with a narrow top part expanding out near the bottom of the body. Some of the newer pieces, however, have thicker necks and a more sloped gradual expansion as it gets closer to the body.

For example, here is an image of the DGT pieces as sold by chesshouse.com. Interestingly, they mention the year 2013:

Here is another image of the DGT pieces as sold by polishchess.com:

Much thicker! Your site shows something a bit in the middle, but closer to the first image:

https://shop.worldchess.com/shop/official-world-chess-set

I own a few sets of these pieces now. I have a DGT set (purchased from chesshouse.com), a non-DGT set (purchased recently from you at worldchess.com), a studio set also from world chess, and a plastic starter set which I'm only mentioning for completeness. Here is that line-up (apologies for the bad lighting):

Here you can see the new knight from worldchess.com is different from the DGT knight and the Studio knight in a few ways:

• The neck is thicker and grows larger at a gradual slope (versus DGT which is narrow straight down before getting larger).
• The cut under the head is longer.
• The bit underneath the mouth is a much rougher carved block versus DGT's which is more integrated and smooth, for lack of a better word.
• The ears are wider from the side and shorter.
• The piece itself is a slight bit taller.

I've attempted to mark up some of these differences:

There are also some differences from the front such as nose hole locations but I won't discuss them further. All these differences are uniform across all 4 knights in each set. In discussing this with some other owners of the sets (both from World Chess and from DGT), I've found that their perceptions are mostly the same as mine.

So, I'd love some insight here on this. The differences seem to be a bit too large to chalk up to simple variation between carvers. Also, the videos I've seen and articles I've read have indicated that the World Chess pieces are limited (and expensive) because there are only a very small number of people in the world who are capable of producing the knight. For example, the video from Business Insider:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tg9xiJ6D6k

And the article from the Seattle Times:

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/what-are-you-paying-for-in-a-300-chess-set-mostly-the-knights/

Can you provide any insight into these differences? Has the design evolved over the years or are different companies carving the DGT and World Chess pieces? [gratuitous thanks snipped]

Hopefully the fine folks at World Chess will be able to provide some nice illumination on the subject. 🤞

@d4nf6 Can you confirm with a pic from a straight on profile angle (similar to the pics in Post #82 above), is your DGT FIDE WC set the 2013 slim Knight profile or the current chunky Knight profile? Also when did you purchase it from Niggemann? Thanks.

I am not sure about the polishchess site showing real Dgt pieces, they have white felts.

Nice catch, @dobtom. 👍 That explains that.

@lotsoblots That's a great memo you wrote to World Chess. Why not also send it to DGT?  I ask this because World Chess and DGT are mutually exclusive in terms of the products they sell and distribute.  There is a potential conflict of interest when responding to your email if WC and DGT are employing different suppliers for their pieces, since only DGT pieces are officially used at World Championship matches. Of course, if the suppliers are indeed different, then WC may choose to give a vague answer or ignore your question altogether. There is also a possibility of both companies employing the same supplier but with different carvers and/or different template, details which neither WC/DGT would be aware of. Whether you choose to send your memo to DGT or not, I appreciate your sharing of the memo and look forward to further updates.

@zagryan Perhaps this is putting my ignorance on full display, but my understanding was that World Chess is the owner and manager of the design as created by Daniel Weil. My naive expectation was that it was the same (small) group of carvers manufacturing all these pieces effectively under the direction of World Chess and the created pieces only differed in terms of the weight and DGT coil (or lack thereof). If this is *not* the case then I would certainly feel, at a minimum, misled by a lot of the documentation around the pieces and World Chess project.

I am now even more eagerly awaiting their response.

The FIDE set is heavier and the pieces a little larger. The quality of the sets is comparable. I got the classic set in May 2019 and really enjoyed it, but developed a real liking for the FIDE set, which I got in July of this year (2021). I now use the FIDE set, with the classic staying on the shelf.

My DGT FIDE set has the slim Knight profile. I got the set in July of this year (2021).

The questions raised by @Pawnerai above are excellent questions concerning the design of FIDE World Chess set . They would help solve the mystery surrounding which of the two knight forms was made closer to what the designer, Daniel Well, had originally envisaged. While I do not have those answers, the FIDE Handbook for General Rules and Technical Recommendations for Tournaments dedicates a full page to an original drawing by Pentagram dated 16 August 2012, showing the World Chess set approved by FIDE for the 2013 Candidate Tournament in London. The knight in that drawing, copied below, looks far more like a real horse with a normal neck than the Moai shaped one from both DGT and WorldChess. What do you think?

https://www.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/Standards_of_Chess_Equipment_and_tournament_venue.pdf

I like that knight better than the one being produced by World Chess and DGT.

@d4nf6 Thank you for the picture and details, very interesting. I was thinking about getting the royal set, but the same knight problem (dilemma) occurs there also. I like the original knight design very much (head looking downwards) but the new one not so much.

@lotsoblots also interesting deatail is that the official wch set has a different lacquer (shiny) and the dgt set satin, so its not just the carving. Maybe different batches or different suppliers, who knows. But for sure, they did not expect anyone buying both sets, so they did not care

Well, I received a response back from the production team at World Chess:

"Every master follows the original design, but the slight variations occur as these pieces are handmade. But within a set, all four knights must be the same."

I'm not sure if they're intentionally being vague and unhelpful or if they're just overworked right now, but I suppose the mystery continues. I'm starting to believe that different companies carve the World Chess and DGT pieces.

I think the same too. But both versions look equally attractive to me, so its not a problem in my opinion and a little mystery does not hurt. You have both versions so should either one become very collectible in the future you are safe

Looks like they're using the World Chess set at the London Chess Centre right now in a streamed event.

That's how it's done!

Note: In the two games I've observed so far, the black and white sides were not aligned with the inlaid color indicator. Also, everyone plays with the knight sideways so I can't get perform a thickness check! Aim the knight at the king, come on!

What is Botez doing with her cell phone out??

Yeah, she was reading twitch chat, it seems. Streamers can never stop reading their twitch chat.

Hikaru Nakamura also streamed while watching the video about the WC set. His commentary is interesting, offering insight into what top players think about chess sets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IowQeiC4V8I

@lotsoblots Thanks for sharing the response from WC.  Their flowery statements give an air of communicating without actually communicating anything.  So yes, I agree with you. The mystery definitely continues.

If anyone's interested, as of 20211118 Chess Baron appears to have them in stock here.

Interesting that the chessbaron photos display a different slip cover around the box. Theirs is white with full piece photos while the one direct from World Chess was checkerboard with wireframe pieces.