Post Your Chess Sets

Ditto! Nice hue to the photos add an old world charm.

You're welcome! It is kind of awesome isn't it? Whatever it is, if it could talk I'd be divorced.

Thanks! It's all in the light and the lense. The camera is nothing special. As they say in the photography world "You date your cameras but you marry your lenses"

Interesting set. It's not Lardy though. It does have some similarities. 

I'm not surprised. There were a lot of knock offs going around back then. (kind of like today!)

My Game of Throne Chess Set:

https://amzn.to/2zA2roI

And beautiful collector chess set:

https://amzn.to/2X7oagF

I've seen the Game Of Thrones set locally,but it does not much for me.....yet.....that little collector set is really,"really" cool!

Thanks for posting.

Happy to be using this set again now that I have taught my kids how to play with the lockdown.  Does anyone know what type of pieces they are?  I bought the set in one of the mall game stores that used to exist about 20 years ago.  Thinking it might just be a random

My new set from Staunton Castle in ebony & boxwood - the Northern Upright with a 5" King

2 more interesting sets.The variety of chess set pieces that are now commonly available is fantastic to me.

Could we be in a chess set "Golden Age"?

I'd say so. Almost anything you want can be had these days. Vintage sets or boards from ebay, beautiful repros from India, Noj, etc. It sure feels like it.

The carving on a good number of these reproductions is better than the original, especially with some of these modern day craftsmen like Mandeep of Staunton Castle and Gregor and his brother of Noj.

They show a high quality of piece work with consistency.  These sets from Staunton Castle are the best.  The sets Noj makes are also better than a lot of those originals made in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

I was looking at some sets at Noj yesterday.  They are superb.  Yes, they are higher than I want to pay so I will not be buying anymore, but the craftsmanship is excellent.  And while their prices are at the high end they are certainly not the most expensive out there.

Also note that for sets coming out of India, Staunton Castle are more costly than others as well. 

I remember when I worked in NYC, in the seventies and eighties,many uptown tourist stores and the chess stores in Greenwich Village would display sets often.The uptown tourist traps almost exclusively,would showcase ivory sets....Really nice ones,but beyond my means at the time.

The Greenwich Village shops displayed more standard stuff at farm more reasonable prices,obviously.I bought a few and still have two of them.... A French Lardy and a nice "Little Jewel" miniature set.

Still,I don't recall any of the sets on display to be as nicely done as the sets we see nowadays.Whether NOJ,Chessbazaar or anyone else.....Definitely a hobbyist's dream these days.

Yet,from all 

what about the DNA & it's history ? that's what missing with these new set !

that these old chess set's have lived ?

$500. is a lot for any chess set, really. But it is ebony, and that's a mere fraction of what some of the sets from HOS go for. It seems everything is getting more expensive these days.

Looks to be a nice set. If you like it and you are happy with the price that's all that counts. The comment about the price was uncalled for. Some people have no consideration for others.

Of course there were some very nice sets made back in the day.  And some of these wore very well without cracking or chipping.  Yeah, they have lived.

My point is that the sets produced today are a more consistent build and quality.  Note that this does not mean they are all high quality, just more consistent within the set itself.

When attention is given to the details, no matter when the set was or is made, that simply increases the odds of that particular set being of a high quality and durability.

And in the last good number of months to years the market has provided this better quality at more competitive prices.

I have to agree with Eye new reproductions have their place and the quality of carving is good to very good. Even with more expensive sets only time will tell if they develop cracks like the older sets of the day. I have bought a few repos but I like older vintage sets. A vintage set has a "DNA" , a history that appeals to me. Finding and searching for a vintage or antique set that is not necessarily flawless but has no cracks or major flaws is part of the fun of collecting. Also a older set with out cracks will most likely never develop them unlike a Indian repro. It is the roll of the dice.

Yes it is.  And nothing wrong with mentioning the price IMO.  It's part of the discussion.  I just wanted to mention that you will often find Staunton Castle sets sold on Amazon or E Bay at a price lower than what they advertise on their web site.  

So back to the goodies then. Since I'll never find an original knubble set, I bought a repro!!! CB was running a great deal (I thought anyway) on this little set so I grabbed it. It's shown on a 18" Drueke with 1 3/4" squares. The king is only 3" but his base takes up nearly the entire square. Same for the queen...It looks like she's wearing a hoop skirt. All the others fit nicely and this is the recommended size so there it is.

The knights are interesting in that one side of their mane is left long while the other is braided.

I like queens with spikey crowns and these don't disappoint. The first time I picked one up it almost took a blood sample so...PERFECT.

Here's a small tribute to Bent Larsen. Petrosians queen and rook look on helplessly from across the field.