Nice board! Here's the closest set I have to 4" tall king; it's 3.9" tall with a 1.6" base, on a board with 2" squares. (pls ignore the switched knight/bishop lol)
So i made a board...
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Nice job, the board looks great! Very straightforward and classy. What kind of wood did you use?
@NecronomIV - Your board looks beautiful. As requested, here's my Leningrad set placed on a board with 2" squares. Height of the King is 4.0" with base size of 1.6". My opinion is that 2" square is slightly small for this set. I've even tried the bishop slide test (last photo) and found that it would not slide between the king & queen unless they are shoved out of their squares.
The "ideal" ratio of King base to square size is 0.75.....that is...
King base = 0.75*square size
http://blog.chesshouse.com/how-to-select-the-right-size-chessboard-for-pieces/
The ratio for your board and the Leningrad set you describe is 1.6/2.0 = 0.8. That ratio, while slightly greater than ideal, is close enough to be appropriate, or at least not entirely unreasonable. The only issue now appears to be King height, which for the Leningrad set is 4.0 inches. This is where your preferences come into play. There is no guideline or rule for King height vs board square size - that would be, again, a matter of personal preference.
In my estimation the 4 inch King would not necessarily be out of the question for your board. It may or may not appeal to your sense of proportion. Also the "bishop slide test" described earlier may be an issue for you - for others it may not be. If you are at a point where you are determined to have those specific pieces, you could simply get them and see if you like the combination. If not, and since you, unlike most of us, are able to make chess boards, then you could simply make another board with slightly larger squares. Another option would of course be to identify some pieces which are 3.75 or even 3.5 inches tall with a King base diameter of 1.5 inches which appeal to you and which would be a more "ideal" fit for your current board with 2.0 squares.
If it were me, and I were committed to those particular pieces with the aforementioned dimensions, I would prefer to pair them with a board with 2.25 inch squares, as recommended by HoS on their web page...
https://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-leningrad-series-chess-pieces-4-0-king.html
Nov 18, 2020
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#6
Nice looking board! 1.6" base is just a tad too big for 2" squares. 1.5" is the biggest I would recommend for 2" squares. Not sure if you heart is set on the Leningrad set but the Romanian/Hungarian set would look sharp on that board as well.
https://www.royalchessmall.com/collections/antique-reproduction-chess-pieces/products/3-8-romanian-hungarian-chess-pieces-only-set-weighted-golden-rosewood
Nov 19, 2020
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#7
Wow you guys are awesome.
Thank you for the pictures, dimensions are close so they're quite helpful. That's a great looking set.
Thanks! I made it out of sipo (also goes by the name of brown mahogany I found) and ash.
Wow so that's what I'm talking about. It does indeed look a little crowded but totally playable. Also that's a terrible post for me. At first I made my mind on getting a boxwood/ebonized set, totally switched gears when I first saw the beautiful shadows on the leningrad brown pieces. Now because of you I'm reconsidering ebonized again haha. Thank you so much
First thanks for taking the time to write. It seems 2.125 should be the way to go then: 1.6/2.125 = 0.753, but the pieces are indeed quite tall and even on a 2.25 board it looks quite crowded
I think I'll just make a 2.25 and see how it looks...The only problem I have with this set and a 2.25 board is it's getting quite bigger than what I believe I want. I find my board big already and it doesn't even have boarders...To bad they don't make them smaller.
Again thank you guys for answering and the kind words about the board. It's not quite finished yet, I'll post more pictures when it's done.
MCH818 wrote:
@Zagryan that board and pieces look very nice. I had a 2.875 Zagreb set from HoS before. I really liked the knights in that set. I think the Leningrad knights look just as good if not better.
@MCH818 - Thanks. I found the board at a flea market in Seoul. It seemed like a real bargain until I noticed veneer on the sides peeling off. Regarding the Leningrad set, it was my first tournament sized wooden set. Initially I liked the Zagreb knight but Leningrad's seemed better carved in that it looked great from almost any angle, whereas Zagreb's seemed okay only when viewed from the side. Thanks for mentioning 2.875 sized Zagreb. That would make a great analysis set on a small table.
theendgame3 wrote:
@Zagryan that is a beautiful set bro, but that board doesn't do it justice.
That's the only 2" square board I have which was requested by the OP. My Leningrad set is usually played on either a 2.25" or 2.375" square board.
@NecronomIV -
In case you are not aware, ChessBazaar (direct from India) has a quite extensive selection of nice pieces at reasonable prices. You might want to check them out. As an example - a set which I purchased from them - the GM Blitz set...
https://www.chessbazaar.com/offers-zone/99store/the-gm-blitz-edition-staunton-series-chess-set-in-ebony-wood-natural-boxwood-3-75-king.html
There are several photos of my GM Blitz set which I purchased from CB here, along with a solid wood board I purchased from Brad Borkowski (ColoradoWoodWorker on ETSY). Details and dimensions of the set and board are given....
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/cb-gm-blitz-set?page=4
@NecronomIV -
Another set which I think is nice for the price.....Fisher-Spassky Series set from HoS.....3.5 inch King, 1.5 inch King base - a perfect fit for your 2 inch squares...
https://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-fischer-spassky-series-chess-pieces-3-5-inch-king.html
Sometimes it's hard to choose between dark pieces. Here are the brown (sheesham) and black (ebonized + laquered) zagreb pieces from 2 CB sets. 3.8" king, 1.65" base. Board has 2.25" squares.
Paired with their boxwood light piece counterparts.
Nov 20, 2020
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#13
RussBell wrote:
@NecronomIV -
In case you are not aware, ChessBazaar (direct from India) has a quite extensive selection of nice pieces at reasonable prices. You might want to check them out. As an example - a set which I purchased from them - the GM Blitz set...
https://www.chessbazaar.com/offers-zone/99store/the-gm-blitz-edition-staunton-series-chess-set-in-ebony-wood-natural-boxwood-3-75-king.html
There are several photos of my GM Blitz set which I purchased from CB here, along with a solid wood board I purchased from Brad Borkowski (ColoradoWoodWorker on ETSY). Details and dimensions of the set and board are given....
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/cb-gm-blitz-set?page=4
It's fascinating the influence some words and links can have on someones decision to buy something haha. The 3.75 fischer spassky set was the one I almost bought at first until I realised it didn't qualify to free international shipping. Then after your first post I found the one from the link you posted...but I was kinda underwhelmed by the silly looking knight after craving the leningrad one. Also I thought it was weird the 3.75 on clearence was 149 instead of 395 yet the 3.5 is 159 full price? What the hell is going on.
Now I'm a newb when it comes to chess shopping online. So thank you so much for your link to chessbazaar. I just ordered their Dubrovnik 3.0. I still find the leningrad to be gorgeous but it's huge, I don't want a bigger board and I could already hear myself shouting "CAREFUL with the knight!" while playing and I can't let that happen haha. The dubrovnik is awesome cause it's weirdly bulky and elegant at the same time + it looks sturdy as hell.
Nov 20, 2020
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#14
MCH818 wrote:
@NecronomIV Your board reminds me of the stuff Brad, the Colorado Woodworker on Etsy, makes. His stuff is generally good. I still use a 14" board I bought from him last year.
Well spotted! Thats where i got the idea from. Found pictures of the said board in a « favorite set» in this forum. Its what made me realize i could easily make my own board.
Here s some update on the board by the way. I was terrified the thing would warp, so i gave it a ride on the cnc to carve a pocket in it.
Then insterted and glued with silicon a solid laminated pannel (not sure if its the correct translation) in it to prevent wrapping, add weight and act as a base.
@NecronomIV -
The Dubrovnik design gets a lot of positive commentary on chess.com. I agree with your comments regarding the knight. It should be more comfortable (psychologically, if not physically) to play with. I'm sure you will enjoy playing with that set!
You might enjoy checking out this forum thread regarding Dubrovnik sets...
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/chessbazaar-dubrovnik-fischer-set-3-0-version-lacquered-natural-crimson-boxwood
Nov 20, 2020
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#16
I really like the Zagreb set. Has my favorite Knight design. The one for the Leningrad is even better. I liked it so much so that I incorporated it into my custom Russian Bride set.
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/update-on-the-russian-bride-custom-set
Hello everyone.
After years of contemplating getting into chess I finaly pulled the trigger. First step: subscribe to a gold membership on chess.com. Step Two: get a good chess set.
So after lurking for hours on HoS looking for sets, pieces and boards I realised I actually work in a woodshop and I can easily make my own board. So I just did that.
Now I need the pièces!
I went for a 2 " board with the middly educated idea of getting a 3.75 king set. After a little more research I understood (thanks to you guys) that it was more about the kings base width than its height. So I fell in love with HoS leningrad set, with a kings width of 1.6, wich seems perfect, but its only available in 4" and i wonder if its too high for such board.
thanks for Your Time!