Jack, I bought the same from Nexus Products back in 2014, and I concur with your assessment. The set has a pleasing design and is nicely weighted at 68 ounces. The the pieces have an interesting grain structure that sets them apart from your typical (boring) plastic sets. And the board is passable as well. All in all, a fair deal for the price ($90-$100).
I make up a spreadsheet for each of my sets so I can compare and contrast various design parameters. The 'deviation' factor referenced in the table below measures how close the set is to my ideal proportions, where the king's diameter is 76.5% of the square and pawn's diameter is 58.6%. If you're interested in how I came up these figures, you can check out the following post:
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/a-system-for-sizing-chess-pieces-and-boards-long
P.S. I've got a couple of pieces that sound like rattles! Since there is a steel disc beneath the pads, there's no easy way to re-glue the weights underneath, unless you're willing to drill a small hole to insert the glue. Fortunately, I haven't become that anal (yet!).
Set being reviewed: http://www.bestchessset.com/abigail-chess-inlaid-wood-folding-board-game-with-pieces-21-inch-set/
For sale here:http://www.amazon.com/Abigail-Chess-Inlaid-Folding-Pieces/dp/B007IX79SI
Last week I received a large box filled with foam pellets. This was surely the chess set. The packing was very well done and there was no real chance for the set to be damaged during shipping. Within, the chess set was packaged in an attractive card board box with all the relevant information about the set included on the exterior. It's a 21" chess set with a walnut finish. As I lifted the chess set out of the cardboard box the first thing I noticed was the heavy weight of the product.
The board is very large, and very nice. Folding chess boards of this size are uncommon. The board has a faint smell of the polyurethane used for finishing it. (this smell disappeared after a couple of days). Running my hand across it I notice the board is smooth, but is not super smooth. The finish on the playing surface is a matte finish, and it does not reflect light as much as some other glossier chess boards I have encountered.
These are impressive chess men. With a King standing 4.25" tall this set will qualify as a club sized chess set. No extra queens are provided here, which would have been nice but looking at the fitted carton container for the chess men I see no room for her.
The design is a Staunton pattern done in the classic style. I have looked for a design this set may be attempting to copy, but I have found none; It is its own original take on the Staunton pattern. Readers of this review will probably be drawn to the Knight and Rook pieces, which each have a unique design. The Rook is slightly taller than the Knight. This runs against the traditional steeple design of having the pieces from the outside of the chess board towards the inside being progressively taller. However, tall Rooks seem to be increasingly popular in the 21st century owing to their place as the 3rd most powerful piece in the game. After playing several games with the set I can say I'm fond of these Rooks and wouldn't change them if given the choice.
Here the chess pieces are arranged in a familiar pattern to demonstrate their relationship to one another and the size of the board. As you can see the King is perfectly suited to the size of the board. The base of the King measures 1.85". When this measurement is divided by the 2.35" square size of the board you will have a King base which is 78% of the width of the square. This is right in line with the suggested sizes by FIDE and the USCF.
I was surprised to find the bottom of each piece has been affixed with a leatherette (imitation leather) pad. Green felt is the most common material you will see on the bottom of good chess pieces, but leather also has a long history. Many good sets have leather pads. The leatherette material used here feels like the material you will find in an inexpensive belt. There is some roughness to the edges which the pads have been stamped out, but after a few games it seems these edges have worn themselves down. As times goes by they may take on a an even more pleasing appearance.
The chess men are in formation. The shiny finish is striking. The white side could easily be mistaken for boxwood. The black side (here in red) is likely supposed to be an emulation of Shesham or Rosewood, however I feel like the imitation is not convincing enough. The color is a little too light. A future revision to these pieces could use a bit more of the dark coloring which has been swirled over the pieces. Or simple jet black pieces in the more traditional style would be elegant (and my personal preference).
There are some small criticisms that need to be mentioned. Two pieces, a Rook and a Bishop, have weights inside which are slightly loose. If you shake the piece around you can hear the weight inside moving and making a light clicking sound. This has no impact on the game at all, but it must be mentioned. The finish of the chess board could have used another going over with the polyurethane and steel wool to achieve a truly smooth finish allowing fast and silent action from felted chess pieces in the case the owner wants to use his board with some of his other sets.
To view the photos in this review in higher resolution right-click on them and choose the option "view image" in your browser.
The box is covered in a loose plastic sleeve, and the only other item included in the box is a basic one-sheet set of instructions for chess and checkers.
With a square size of 2.35" this board will accomodate a wide range of chess piece sizes, including the 3.75" King-size sets commonly used around the world, as well as the 4.4" club size sets which have become very popular with collectors. And of course it is a perfect match for the pieces inside yet to be seen.
The squares are described on bestchessset.com's website as being inlaid maple and walnut grown in the USA, and they look it to my eye. There is some variation in the coloring between the maple squares. On the reverse side of the board (the side which would be considered the "bottom") some knots are present in two of the walnut squares. This has absolutely no effect on the functionality of the board, but may suggest the manufacturer is trying to save a bit on production cost. At the price of this board compared to the overall high quality seen so far I am completely fine with this, and even have a bit of a liking for it.
The rest of the box is a less expensive wood that has been stained. Possibly pine? The rest of the case is strong wood and it feels solid all around. The joints and workmanship of the folding board is very high quality. Everything is lined up precisely. The shiny brass-colored hinges are well attached and aligned exactly as they should be.
Opening the case the chess men are revealed.
Picking up one of the chess men I quickly appreciated the heavy weight of this set. Terms such as double and triple weighted chess men are sometimes thrown around by chess vendors. Well, if this set had to be classified under a category such as that it would be called quadruple weighted. It is that heavy. 68 ounces for the whole set (thanks to chess.com user Loubalch for this information).
The pieces are plastic. But they are not the typical plastic seen in inexpensive plastic chess sets. These pieces do not have visible seams (except the Knight where it is faintly visible on the base), and the material is much harder. Touching one against the other a dry click can be heard similar to the sound of touching dominos against one another.
The bases on all the pieces are quite wide, and each piece is extremely stable. You can play a great game of chess with these pieces. The 4.25" King is slightly too tall to be included within the regulation size for FIDE chess events, however the USCF allows a King size up to 4.5". If you are playing in the United States you can use this set in the chess club.
I've played about a dozen games over the course of the last few days with this set against a variety of opponents. The set has performed extremely well and recieved only compliments. The pieces and board compliment one another and allow a clear and strong game to be played. The leatherette pads and wide bases ensure a bump will not upset the board. It does take a moment to set up the board due to the need to remove all the pieces from their carton container before playing, and it takes a bit longer to put everything up for the same reason. The owner could remove the carton container and store the pieces inside in a more traditional manner. The inside of the board is covered in a protective material in this case.
If you look closely at most of the pieces you will see a fleck here and there of some black material which has embedded itself in the plastic resin as it has cooled. This is very common with plastic chess sets. There is also a small point on each chess piece where you can see the plastic resin was injected. These injection points are mostly hidden, but careful inspection will reveal them. Some of the leatherette pads were slightly peeled away from the bottom of the piece, exposing the weight. You can see this in one of the photos earlier in the review with the black Queen. I pressed the pad back into place and it seems to be fixed now.
But these are very minor issues, and the benefits here far outweigh them. This is a large, heavy, gorgeous chess set available for under $100 U.S. currency. Most chess boards with 2.35" squares will be over that, and don't come with pieces. And the pieces here are very good.
I'll add a final thing to consider: this set is made in China. Most of your fine wooden sets are made in India. China has long been the prime supplier of plastic chess sets. This is a plastic chess set. But it is a far greater plastic chess set than the ones usually seen. The original design of this set can be considered one of the Chinese chess industry's premiere products, and a point of pride.