Russian Chess Board for Sale

(Sale is for board only - does not include the chess pieces)

I have the below end grain chess board for sale to USA buyers. It was made by famed Russian board maker Andrei Muntian of MTM Wood and is brand new.

It is made from solid 2.5" squares of African Sapele & Birch. Please search ebay auctions for "russian chess board" and look for this picture in the thumbnails. You will also get more specifics on this exquisite board. Starting bid is only $100

What is this? A cooking board?

Where's the white pieces?

I wouldn't even get it for free , no thx.

LOL. It is a chess board I had custom made by Andrei.  A cooking board would not be finished in the same manner. This board has a very smooth satin finish that is the result of many iterations of spraying and sanding to perfection (very labor intensive). Cooking boards are usually dipped into an epoxy type clear coat bath - finish isn't nearly what you would expect for a quality chess board. Andrei has some great videos on youtube (MTM Wood) where you can see his work and method. He also made this board for me out of 3000 year old bog oak and maple:

#5

You have a nice day.

I hear you. It is too easy to accumulate too much stuff in these hobbies

The auction ends this Sunday at 6pm US PST if you're interested. It is a no-reserve auction so it will sell for whatever the final bid is. Thanks.

That is a gorgeous board with the inlay on the notation. He does do a great job. Noticed his prices are also commanding much more than 2 years ago.

What’s the advantage of “end grain” vs other wood construction?

You would get a lot more bids and for a very much better price if comparable pieces in the same style, of the same sort of wood, and finished in the same way were for sale with the board.  Perhaps you could acquire something approximating this first.

Are you referring to selling it with chess pieces? If so, I'm willing to let the market take its course on this.

I don't wish to spend the time or extra money to try and locate pieces to go with this. In the end, I think it would only increase my cost with little return (if any).

I do thank you for your suggestion.

Edge grain boards (what you're used to seeing) require less wood to make and do not require special tooling & manufacturing considerations - so they are cheaper.

End grain woods are considered more durable with "self healing" type behavior for cuts & scratches - which is why all desirable cutting boards are made from end grain. The end fibers in an end-grain wood tend to pull back together when scratched or cut versus the usual separation for edge grain boards.

The manufacturing process for end-grain requires specific tooling and care. Many woodworking devices (planers, sanders, etc) cannot handle the task of cutting wood in end grain fashion - actually breaking or spitting out busted up planks of wood. Woodworkers have to take care to use especially sharp cutting tools for this purpose and exercise caution as the wood can be thrown from machines (due to difficulty cutting) and injure someone.

The short answer is - they look better and are more durable.

He does beautiful work and his prices now seem to reflect it. I am having another board made by him and he told me it would be another month before he can even get started!

Shameless plug here folks - only about 4 hours left on the ebay auction and it only sits at $101 currently for this exquisite board!

Very nice boards, but I notice they are quite a bit thicker compared to other wooden boards. Are they much heavier than other boards?

Each board probably weighs close to 13-14 lbs.

That's heavy! Is there a particular reason why they need to be so thick? Is it the way they're manufactured, or can they be made thinner?