A nice chess set to start out with?

Dear Chessenthusiasts,

I'm looking for a nice chess set to study and play more with friends and family (chess set I have right now isn't all that). I understand that there is a wide range of boards and pieces to choose from. I found an online shop that has boards of all types of major cities (London, Warschau, Berlin, Paris,...) but I have a hard time picking the right size and colour combinations. What are some classic combinations? Which ones (size-wize) are used for tournaments?

Thanks in advance!

Most of the sets at The House of Staunton can be relied upon to be good quality and a suitable design - I highly recommend them.

As for which set is right for you, it really comes down to taste. FIDE tournaments always use large pieces (3.75"-4" kings) which are often a little too big for casual play and/or more expensive. A good starter set would be this one if you don't mind plastic (with one of their mousepad-style boards), or else this one for wood with a wooden board. The main thing to think about when choosing colours is that you need to be able to easily tell whether the pieces belong to you or your opponent, so the contrast between the sets needs to be good.

Agreed, HOS have nice sets. The plastic one you mention (out of China I guess) would be common around the world.) The wooden ones are very nice but the freight and exchange rate to the antipodies makes the exercise pretty expensive.  Martin.

For tournaments, this set is typical and about optimum:

http://www.wholesalechess.com/chess/chess_sets/tournament_chess_sets/heavy_tournament_chess_set_combo

Show up at a tournament with a wood boarden and  pieces under your arm and you will look like a country bumpkin n00B.

^ While it's true that plastic sets are favoured in most lower-level tournaments, the OP did not state what he wanted the sets for, and I'd say wood is a much better option for home use than plastic.