Recommendations for a Speed Chess Set?

The Dubrovnik plastic chess pieces are pretty good for speed and there are a lot higher quality than standard USCF Chess pieces.

Yes, they respond to changes in electric charge, and that what makes the metal paddle change which clock is running.  Himidity, I've been told, makes them de-sensitize.  

The only problem with paddles for speed chess is that people want to smash them.  That's effectively why the Excalibur clocks never caught on.  My old Excalibur got rattled a lot, and was shown not to keep accurate time from too many slap battles.  

I've never seen one that's not opaque.  Not an issue, either way.  I'm just using it for speed chess at Harvard Square.

i was just refering to why you might not see them at USCF

Yes, i dont like the touch sensors, and living in st louis means alot of humidity...but the push button chronos last forever

Good stuff.  The board situation has been resolved, thanks to Rsava.

Yeah, yeah.  I know.  My point was that I won't be using it for dual function.  We're on the same page.

At this stage of the discussion I simply urge you to pull the trigger and buy a Chronos GX.  I would also spend a little extra to buy one of those zippered cases for the Chronos GX.  It will protect the clock and you can then put it into any bag with no worries.

If you get the above from Wholesale Chess or The House of Staunton, which are the two places I would consider go ahead and buy a standard, cheap bag to hold it all.

Oh and if you don't have one sitting around, pick up a standard vinyl board.  You might be surprised at the times you would use it instead of the silicone, and it's cheap enough to buy.

I have to agree with Crappov on that set from Legend Products.  I did buy their nicer set to compare to some of the other nicer plastic sets.  And the plastic is not the hard type that you don't want.  I bet that King's Indian set will be pretty perfect for what you want.

Thanks.  That's actually one of the things I am interested in: being able to shove this stuff into a small place in a book bag or leather satchel, because I'll likely be whipping it out after work or class.  That's what I liked about the silicone board: you can just jam it into a pencil case or something crazy, and it still lays flat.

I'll definitely give some extended consideration to the Legend products.

Well, there is a sale at The House of Staunton right now.  I just ordered a Reykjavik Library set for analysis.

http://www.houseofstaunton.com/catalog/product/view/id/15482/s/chronos-gx-digital-game-clock-push-button/

On this page you have the option of getting either that beige or black clock color.  They also have a bag option for another $8.95.  And I would get some replacement buttons.  For instance, I have all black Chronos clocks with red buttons.

Getting all that lists for something like $122.  I would call The House of Staunton and hit the #3 option to talk with one of the HoS guys.  I would then ask for their cheapest price on this setup.  Actually this is how I operate whenever I want to buy anything from The House of Staunton.  I never pay full price.  For instance, I just got that set mentioned above which lists for $119.  After their sale discount and free shipping, I ended up paying $92 and change delivered to my home.

Also, I do own a number of HoS plastic sets.  And they are nice and all but I don't think any of them would be best for what you want.

I would suggest the Legend Products set, Crappov linked to or the ChessUSA set that I linked to earlier.  I believe both of them are a better type of plastic for the play you are talking about.

Good luck and let us know how you do.

They also make silicone chess pieces. Aesthetically perhaps not what one would hope, but durable as all get out. I have a set that I bought from USCF, but I haven't really played with them.

How does their weight compare to plastic sets of a similar size?  My concern there would be that they aren't as dense and so would be very light.

You are right. They are fairly light. Not really less than just a plastic set, but no weights. I don't think I've ever seen a set that had weights added to them. But if you want pieces that aren't going to chip the first time they get knocked on the concrete, those are the ones.

Yeah, that's why I was interested.  Soft plastic might be the way to go, but I'm going to try to see if I can get a first-person look at silicone pieces, just to make sure that's not what I want.

I got a silicone set and ended up giving away to a young girl in our club after playing a few games with it.

To me, the silicone set is more of a novelty.  It is a bit lighter than solid plastic, but that isn't all of the problem.  A few friends and I played some blitz games with it and none of us liked the set to play with.  It just didn't feel right.

I'm spoiled though.  I always play with heavily weighted sets, whether they are wood or plastic.

To play on outside boards where the pieces will be flying and probably hit the concrete more than a few times, I would actually have 2 sets.

The first set would be a standard, solid plastic "USCF" set.  I would use this set when I knew my opponents would be rough with the sets when playing.

The second set would be a triple weighted set with wide bases.  At this time my choice would be the ChessUSA set I linked to earlier in this thread.

That's the set people are saying looks most like the Drueke Players set.  And the plastic does not look too brittle.

I would use this set when I knew my opponents would be easier on the pieces during play.  In all honesty, this set would be used the most.  It is only the occasional time when people I play are ridiculous in handling the pieces during play.

The solid plastic sets and vinyl boards are cheap, less than $10 for both combined.  Having one of these sets and boards handy just makes sense.

Of course, this is one reason that I like online play. When they throw the digital pieces at me, they don't hurt at all and don't even break. And I can throw them back and they don't even know.

You are a strong OTB player.  I'm surprised you've been away from USCF tournament play so long.  I was recently in your neck of the woods (I think), playing in the KY Open.  No thoughts on a return?

That is my neck of the woods. I've played it once before. I live about 40 miles south. I had been thinking about playing a little OTB again. Perhaps.

Actually, I would be nervous about the DGT North American clock. I have one, the price is right, and I like it for tournament play. But it is made of all plastic and I would be nervous about the pounding it would take over 100's or 1000's of blitz games. The Chronos clock looks very solid to me. As for the set, why not go with you basic plastic club set and board? 

Our club has a couple sets of these--the kids call them "rubber" and love to throw them!  They are not too rubbery, you don't really notice until you try bending them, and so far being thrown by kids has not damaged them at all.

(Seattle is notable for very strong young chessplayers; they are serious over the board, but the skittles room regularly gets trashed.)