Post Your Chess Sets

Absolutely! This is a Soviet tournament set - the type used during the Tal-Bronstein match pictured. The base of the king has a diameter of 5cm, and the pawns are pretty huge as well. Nowadays, I believe that FIDE stipulate squares of 5cm or larger, and that four pawns must fit in one square. Maybe there is also something about the percentage of the square the king takes up, but I don't remember this of the top of my head.

Lovely!

I wouldn't put too much stock in FIDE's Standard for Chess Equipment because the latest specs (circa July 2019) have become so nebulous as to be functionally worthless! When plowing through the old FIDE spec you came up with a king diameter that was between 73%-78% the side of the square.

However, the new spec simply says:

"2.2 Height, weight, proportions

Recommended height of the pieces is as follows: King – 9.5 cm, Queen – 8.5 cm, Bishop – 7 cm, Knight – 6 cm, Rook – 5.5 cm, and Pawn – 5 cm. The diameter of the piece's base should measure 40-50% of its height. These dimensions may differ up to 10% from the above recommendation, but the order (e.g. King is higher than Queen, etc.) must be kept.

3.2. Size of the square and the board

The side of the square should measure 5 to 6 cm. Referring to 2.2 the side of a square should be at least twice the diameter of a pawn’s base (it means four paws on one square)."

To translate that into plain-speak, FIDE recommends using a chessboard between 50-55mm (the DGT eBoard is 55mm). It also recommends a king height of 95mm (3.75"). It also states that the diameter of a piece can be anywhere between 40-50% of its height. This means that a recommended 95mm tall king can have a diameter of between 38-47.5mm.

Now, let's see how this diameter range works with our recommended chessboards. According to the regulations, it would be acceptable to use a king with a 47.5mm diameter on a 50mm chessboard, where the king covers 95% of the square! Both being within the parameters of the specification. By eliminating the 73-78% guideline in the latest spec, this 95% anomaly would be within FIDE guidelines, which is simply NUTS!

Given this, I wouldn't pay too much attention to their "four pawns to a square" guideline, since they don't either. Case in point, the FIDE Championship chess set that they commissioned in 2013 for the World Championship Match, and is currently being used for the Candidate's Tournament and for the next World Championship, have 30mm diameter pawns. Designed to be used with the DGT electronic chess board with 55mm squares, where the pawns measure 54.5% of the square. Clearly exceeding the 50% maximum outlined in the regulations. So, if FIDE doesn't even follow their own published guidelines, why should I, or anyone else?

Their regs have become about as worthless as, "Don't insert anything into your ear that's sharper than your elbow." Yeah, right!

My advice, find a set you like, match with a board that looks good to you, and play chess! And let the guidelines be damned!

Pieces:

https://stauntoncastle.com/products/jaques-reproduction-1870-75-wooden-chess-pieces?_pos=1&_sid=da73cbca4&_ss=r

Board:

https://www.schachversand.de/schachbrett-padouk-esche-maser.html

Nice nice nice!

I love them all. One of the best threads on the site. Thanks for posting the pics everyone.

Here are some more Soviet sets. These are from the 70's and 80's.

Very large tournament set, 1989. 11cm kings.

Late 70's Grandmaster set, used in many top USSR and international tournaments.

Earlier GM set, also used in top tournaments

1970's "Latvian" style pieces. 

Love some of the Russian sets.....So different than the norm.

I have this set!

I mean the 70 or 80s set

@spartakbarnsley -

I always love those Latvian-style pieces! Where did you get that from?

In St Petersburg, on the Russian equivalent of eBay. It's not rare at all. I have a 1962 edition as well.

I had never seen a bud rosewood set in person. They're beautiful! I wish my phone took better pictures. Above: RCM craftsman Staunton. Below: CB Chetak II. 

https://stauntoncastle.com/collections/reproduced-antique-chess/products/vintage-1849-50-morphy-cooke-4-4-reproduction-chess-set

https://www.ebay.de/itm/1921-Edition-4-Reproduction-Antiqued-wood-and-Ebony-Chess-Pieces-with-FREE-Box/233164371743?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20170511121231%26meid%3D9870e4fd13e1470d80ca573b4c0b11de%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D15%26mehot%3Dnone%26sd%3D264854223297%26itm%3D233164371743%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26brand%3DStaunton+Castle&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A4f2b0c1f-1437-11eb-8f16-9e25fd068410%7Cparentrq%3A4f2fcf831750ac3defbe9dc0fff2bd06%7Ciid%3A1

I find a perfect color combination on this blue board. However, the base is not as stated 1.875 (that would be 47.63 mm), but 42.15 mm. That is a deviation of 5 mm !!! I measured that with a caliper. This means that the pieces fit perfectly on a board with a 55 mm field size.

I like the looks of your RCM Craftsman set. Very beautiful! I have been eyeing that set for quite some time now.

Thanks! Which one do you prefer? I think they both have a charm in their own way.

I suggest paying close attention to the specifics and details of similar designed or copied sets from the different sites.

For instance the RCM Craftsman set is a copy of the HoS one.  That Knight design was created by Frank Camaratta. The original Craftsman set has the Knight being different.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love this Camaratta Knight and my 2 favorite sets have them, HoS Craftsman and HoS Cooke.

My point is that the HoS Craftsman has a King base diameter of 1.7”, and the set weighs 61.2 ounces which is 3.825 lbs.

The RCM Craftsman set has a King base diameter of 1.6”, 0.1” smaller than the HoS set.  This RCM set weighs 2.65 lbs, over a pound less or lighter than the HoS original.

Yes, the RCM set is less expensive and it is a copy of the HoS set.  The RCM set costs $123.45 for the Ebonized version.  The HoS set retails at $349, but with their best sale price and their buying club discount, the cost is $251.38.  The weight difference and different base sizes mean a lot though.  If you are happy with the much lighter and narrower proportions then the lower cost set is alright.  However, if you want the best quality of pieces then the higher priced HoS set is the one.

I have noticed similar differences in set details, particularly with RCM compared to other sellers.  In these cases you get what you pay for.

1970's "Latvian" style pieces and set from #1021 post

They're a bit earlier, from the 60's. If you are interested I can get you a set, as they are common enough in Russia.