PDX_Axe's Mystery Knight Challenge

Knight looks very much like the RCM Library Series! (though that might be considered a Staunton-like set)

Congrats to BrownishGerbil!!!! You are absolutely correct, it is the 3.1" Library Staunton from RCM. However if you saw the set, you know it is not just a small Staunton set. This set has a style all it's own, which made it appeal to me, so I added it to my collection last year. Here are the rest of the photos.

As I mentioned, the height of the king is 3.1 inches. so it is a true library size set, and it is excellent for doing analysis on a smaller board, which leaves room for a book alongside. You must admit the shapes of the pieces are unusual, with the big heads and thick bases. It is basically just...I think the word is "cute", but you guys would have to ask your ladies for confirmation on that. Congratulations again to BrownishGerbil for tracking this one down. I will get more photos taken and post a new set tomorrow.

I must admit that I subscribed on the RCM site for a notification when it becomes available again 🫣 Cute is the correct wording but it also seems very robust and great to play with.

My mind is being stubborn, but again the queen, rook and bishop make me see similarities to the Hallet set which also sports those great round shapes

The round head of the queen, with no crown, is very like the Hallett set. For me though the similarity ends there. The Hallett set is so much more delicate and elegant, where this set is short and has those thick bases. But I do know what you mean, and sometimes when you see a connection to something it becomes almost impossible to un-see it.

Alright, as promised I give you a new set for a new day. I think for this one I will be a bit less generous with the hints, and pretty demanding on the accuracy of your answers. Of course I have said things like that before and then caved later on. Oh well, without any further ado, I introduce the Mystery Knights #4.

These knights may seem easy, but all is not as it seems. The board is tournament regulation 2.25 inch squares. That is all the help you get for now. Good luck knight hunters!

Starting to feel like that one kid in class with its hand up in the air all the time 😥

I'll go with the plastic German knight set (wood grain) from tcs. Some of the other pieces show the graining a lot better, based on your knights my first impression was "hmm, chocolate". Very nice!

Wow Brownish, you have done it again. It is indeed the plastic German Knight set from the Chess Store. Here are the rest of the photos.

Just a little bit of surprise for the final photo.

Yes, not a wood board, but a wood grain mousepad board from HoS. This is the set I take to my club. The young kids that come love it, and as it is very durable I don't mind letting them use it, even for the odd blitz game. Only drawback to this set is the felt does not slide well on the mousepad. However, that is not a problem for me as I don't play blitz, and move the pieces in a more methodical fashion.

Speaking of my club, I have my weekly club meeting this evening, so I do not expect to have a new batch of photos up until sometime tomorrow. I have the set in mind already, and this one should be challenging. Cya all tomorrow.

I’m not a collector and know very little, but I do enjoy viewing the pictures you post. (And others as well) I truly appreciate CC and this part of the forum. Thank you!

Hi guys, I had a set I was going to choose tomorrow, but I think I will just have to show you that set without the challenge, as there is absolutely no reference to this anywhere, so it would be impossible to identify. Just think of it as a bonus set, and I am pretty sure none of you have ever seen anything like it. Nobody I know has ever had one except me, though they must have been produced in numbers at some point in time. Anyway, I will get you the pictures for that set, and also 2 new knights for the next challenge. You guys are honestly doing great, I couldn't believe Brownish got it right on his first guess. So, new pics tomorrow and the challenge will continue.

It's actually the first result popping up when you search for "german knight plastic wood grain" to be honest, so all dibs to google 😉

That is kind of the point...the set should be able to be found with the right searches. Unfortunately the set I was going to use tomorrow has disappeared completely. I know they existed because I have one, but there is not a single reference or picture I can find, which would just make it impossible. I will just show you the pictures, you will shake your head and admit you have never seen one before, then I will post the new challenge knights.

Do you have any idea if the pieces have been painted like this or is it the result of the plastic casting in the molds? In the latter case that would be very impressive

I believe it is the way the plastic is injected into the molds. You know that toothpaste with the stripes? I believe it is done like that, though I have not seen it being done so can't be 100% sure.

Ok, this was going to be the knights for today's challenge, but I think it would be impossible to find this set, as after extensive searching I can find no images anywhere, no used ones being sold on eBay, nothing at all. So here is a photo of the Chess 2K ( trademarked by US Chess Federation? ).

Yes, it is a sturdy metal page that goes in a 3-ring binder and has magnetic pieces. When I was in the Portland Chess Club in the late 90's-early 2000's we had a group class that met once a week. Sometimes our instructor would give us printouts to study from. All of that material would go into my notebook. He would also sometimes give us a problem to study and we would bring in our analysis the next week. I had found this board in a game store downtown for maybe...$15? It made the perfect position saver.

Since there was no way for anyone to guess this set, as there seems to be absolutely no information about it anywhere, I just decided to post this as a bonus set. I am working on the photos for the next official challenge set, and they should be done soon.

You were absolutely not lying about the set being impossible to find based on a picture of the knight only 🤣

It is very rare, luckily found someone on Quora using the same but there the company is on the sheet as well: Google search

Your best bet to know more about this may be at this company: Frank Armbruster

Frank was apparently the inventor of many games and puzzled and owned Colorado Bootstrap Inc. After his death the rights to his materials went to Kadon Enterprises.

Ok, I have had my lunch and feel all fortified and ready to post more photos. But first @BrownishGerbil, your search skills might be better than mine because I couldn't find a single image of the binder set anywhere. It would have been way too unreasonable to ask you guys to try and find an answer based on a photo of those two little knight squares. However the set I will show you now is definately findable if you search the right places. So here we go, the Mystery Knights #5.

Sorry about the quality of these photos, but the black and white pieces on a black and white board made things a bit contrasty. Also without the flash, I just wasn't getting enough light to hold the camera still enough to get a clear shot. However, the black and white pieces on a black and white board should give you some clues of where to look. Good hunting guys!

Ok, almost a full day gone, and not a single guess. I was afraid of this, as on this particular set the knights have nothing particularly distinct about them. Looks like it is time for some quality hints. First and foremost they are obviously plastic, and are sitting on a mousepad board. They are quad-weighted (just under 3.6lbs full set), and features a 4.18 inch king. All the pieces have leather bottoms, and of course extra queens are included. Finally, if you watch YouTube chess videos you have doubtless seen them many times before. I'm pretty sure these clues should lead to a swift conclusion to this challenge. Good luck chess hunters!

That is an excellent guess, but it is not the HoS set. The specs are very close, but the HoS set is felted, where these have leather. I have done a bit more research, and the pieces look very similar. It is possible that HoS makes this set, but customizes it for the different seller with leather rather than felt. Also remember the clue about seeing this set often on YouTube. You are on the right track, you just need to dig a bit deeper.

Ok, well it is almost 2 days since the knights were posted, and only 1 guess from MCH, though a very good one. I am still not sure if he is partially correct, as the set may have been made by HoS but modified to meet the requirements of this seller. At any rate, here is the reveal of the set.

This set was a surprise birthday gift from my brother in April, both the pieces and the mousepad board. They are well weighted, and a good size. I am not a huge fan of black and white pieces on a black and white board, but the pieces look lovely on my woodgrain mousepad board. Also I have other plastic sets which work well on this mousepad board. The pieces cost more than the similar set from HoS, but the cost included the very sturdy box, the two bags, and leather bottoms on the pieces, which slide much nicer on the mousepad board, which was sold separately. I am planning on taking it to the club, as I think the kids will like the colorful board.

Yeah, I was quite surprised that it was really a pretty nice value, and the pieces are excellent quality. The mousepad board was sold separately for approx. $20. They also sell a wood board, which I believe is a Rechapados Ferrer veneer board, very similar to the mousepad board, but more purple rather than the blue of the mousepad. My brother got one of the wood boards, but had to get a replacement as the packaging for shipping was somewhat lacking, and his board took a hit on a corner that shattered the veneer in that area. They did replace it at no charge with free shipping, so at least they made it good.