Sándor Biro Chess Set

Hello,

I have recently purchased a chess set from IM Sándor Biro. I post here for your viewing pleasure!

Thoughts:

• I was motivated in part to order this set as it’s an original carved directly by IM Sándor Biro
• Each piece is carved from a single piece of wood with no removable finials and even the knight is one piece
• This is a robust chess set which would be ideal for rougher play - I cannot imagine a piece breaking
• At the same time the pieces have slender stems and small enough bases to be used on a smaller chess board if desired
• I ordered my set unweighted and I was surprised by the lightness of the Maple pieces - it would be great for travel
• I have since ordered an additional set of black pieces which should arrive soon
• Mr. Biro is very friendly and responsive to email communication
• His contact information and further details are available on his website https://caissa.ro/ChessSet/

Pictures below on a 1.75" Drueke:

Beautiful gem.

Congratulations Felonet!! You got a pretty looking set there. I really like the brio's and the color. I think it's great you supported the original designer. Especially when Sandor Brio is up in age, you never know if he will retire from making sets. How do you like the unweighted aspect to the pieces? You are the only person I know that has one.

Thanks guys, I was definitely happy to support the original designer rather than pursue a reproduction / ripoff. Furthermore I think the lines are better on this version anyways so it's a win-win from my perspective. I wanted to snag a set in case he ever decides to retire from making them.

All my sets are unweighted but the maple is the lightest by far! It feels really sturdy as well so I hope to take it to the club soon and get some games in

Maybe I'll post some size comparisons w/ my SC Dubrovnik

It's a bit difficult to properly display the size difference - but in person it's noticeable. The SC Dubrovnik has heft in the bases which makes it far less usable on a tight board:

Pawn Is 1 Inch Knight And Bishop 3 Inches Rook 5 Inches Queen 9 Inches King 10 Inches.

Felonet, do me a favor, my man.....End posting about this gorgeous set! I don't want to get the desire to add more than the 27 sets I already own.

Couldn’t agree more. Original design by the maker.

BTW Magic, looks like DKW is back and turning up on this thread… Bummer.

I don't think so....Puhleeease, say it ain't so!

The thought crossed my mind as well after reading his comment. Was it tongue-in-cheek or just jackss? His grammar is worse than DKW's so I'm going to go with "he's just another jackss".

But the random sentence breaks are distinctive...

Or it's his mate ! SpanishStallion

😂 can't wait to see the big neon sign, lol.

Felon,
I hope you’ll get a lot of pleasure from this set. It’s a rare thing to find a set from the original designer, made somewhat to your taste (weighted/unweighted, several stain options). And a set that has been copied widely by Amritsar. I jumped in a while back and love this unique set (when my wife gets annoyed at a new set turning up, I always blame Powderdigit - seems to work; good thing he lives far away though! 😂 - but it was one of his posts that brought me to Sandór).

Please allow me to chime in to say, that I envy you all's Biro Sandor sets--there is a lot right, going on with the set in addition to it being handcrafted by a strong chess player.

• sturdy design
• easily recognizable pieces
• unique knight; that has a gaunt look but not to be messed with at the same time
• great choice of woods and colors
• (somewhat) slender yet stable
• Euro-design and manufacturing

In a word, I would be proud to own and play with this set.

(As another poster mentioned, the time to secure these carved by the man himself, is not infinite.)

Well done to all those who've posted about this set. In particular, @EfimLG47 who alerted all to the modest carver whose design was(is) copied while they are still alive.

@baudouin27: “I jumped in a while back and love this unique set (when my wife gets annoyed at a new set turning up, I always blame Powderdigit - seems to work; good thing he lives far away though! 😂”

@felonet: “One of my internet chess friends made me buy another set - his name is Powderdigit! I had no choice!!”

Lmao. Guys, I’m jumping on board with this next time my girlfriend passively passes judgment with “You bought more chess stuff?”. Sorry, @Powderdigit!