Advice on buying good quality Staunton chess piece.

Hello from London.

I am getting back into chess (beginner level)) after 35 years and always dreamed of owning a quality chess set/pieces. I am after a half-decent set with a £350 budget. 

I do like the look of these: and they seem to tick all the right boxes (triple weighted, good detail on the knight, Staunton design, good height) https://chess.co.uk/collections/chess-pieces/products/championship-staunton-ebony-chessmen

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Marc 

Nowadays it's a gamble buying chess sets in sense of getting flawless pieces and if you do get cracked or damaged pieces how the after sales support would be like.

I'm not familiar with the reputation of Chess.co.uk but I heard nothing but praise of officialstaunton.com also based in London. So I'd suggest to look what they have to offer.

With that budget which is a lot, I'd go either for 1849 - 3.5" Staunton Cooke set or the 4.4" version of it. Both are also ebony.

https://www.officialstaunton.com/collections/luxury-chess-pieces/products/cooke-3-5-edition-boxwood-ebony-chess-pieces

https://www.officialstaunton.com/collections/luxury-chess-pieces/products/cooke-4-4-inch-ebony-chess-pieces

I bought a set from official staunton and it had a few issues so they aren’t without risk either. This was a £300 set.

One of the rooks had an uneven stain and the king had some marks. I should have returned it but didn’t notice before the 30 day return window had closed. So my fault. 
chess.co.uk seem expensive to me, their price for the fide chess set is £100 more than chessbaron were charging when they had them in stock.

That's the first negative experience I ever heard about OS, so yeah I totally got you to look elsewhere.

I do notice chess.co.uk prices are quite expensive and I have seen comparable style from Official Staunton that costs 100 pounds less although they're not ebony but ebonized boxwood. Still, 100 pounds for ebony still doesn't add up.

If you're willing to take a risk, basically everywhere is a risk nowadays then I'd look at Staunton Castle. For me quality wise they're among the top and for reasonable price at that. It's a small business so with the high demand now ongoing, communication or after sales support is not up there but they will come through eventually.

Have a look on ebay should be able to get a nice antique set with your £350 budget.  may take awhile but be patience / better than throwing your money into a black hole ?

Thank you for great advice gentlemen, much to ponder on... [left eye twitching]

Those 1849 - 3.5" Staunton Cooke Boxwood Ebony Chess Pieces look fab I must say TheOneCalledMichael (Cool name btw )

Since you're in the UK I suggest Official Staunton as well. I pre-ordered the 3.5" Cooke release last year. There were some issues with the set as well. It is somewhat of a story but I won't get into it here. I reported it to Carl who went above and beyond to take care of it. Carl is a good guy so he'll take care of you. He is somewhat retired so I don't know how that changes the equation. 

Anyhow, here my Cooke set. I absolutely love it. It is my number 3 favorite behind the HoS 3.75 Collectors which looks similar to the set posted by the OP and SC 3.5" Morphy.

I have never bought a set from the Chess Empire but I would consider this set if I didn't have my HoS Collectors in Padauk. The only problem with this set is it being a 4" set. It will look a little big on a 2.25' board. It might work if you prefer a more tight fit on your board. This is a 4" Collectors II which is very similar to the HoS 4" Collectors II. https://www.thechessempire.com/collector-ii-series-chess-pieces-4-king.html

I also agree with everyone else. There is a risk to ordering wood sets this year and maybe next year. More than likely there will be issues with what you receive and you'll need to deal with the supplier to get it resolved. If you can stomach the stress then I would go ahead and order one.

Thanks! It's either that or Michael34203....so many names that begins with Michael!

Yeah that's a beautiful design, very similar as what mr Mc has. Very classy.

I am no expert. I just purchased my first nice set two months ago. Based on reading more posts on this forum than I would like to admit, and based on a limited extent on personal experience dealing with Staunton Castle, my conclusions are as follows. Many retailers purchase from manufacturers in India, or at least did so in the not-too-distant past. For example, compare the set you posted with this set Ultimate Chess Series (a better photo can be found on Etsy: Etsy photo I assume they are the same set by the same manufacturer). Although there are many manufacturers in India that have turned to direct selling, two of the ones that seem to have fewer complaints posted here are Chess by India ("CBI") and The Chess Empire (TCE). I currently have three TCE sets on my wish list. This one looks like one you might like and is $25 cheaper on Etsy than TCE's website (where I think it is listed under a somewhat different name) - compare Exclusive Collector Series with Collector II Series Note that you can get the Collector II Series in padauk wood. I own one set by Staunton Castle (SC) and have ordered another. I think their work is excellent, though their communications leave something to be desired. It takes some persistence for customer service but they seem to come through in the end.

Some complaints here that seem widespread across various sellers: There seems to be an increase in cracking in pieces. This problem appears a bit more in ebony pieces than non-ebony wood. Many here believe the problem is that increased demand has led to wood being used that has not been properly dried, a process that takes many months. Also, some manufacturers, perhaps in response to high demand, have gotten a bit sloppy in their workmanship. The three manufacturers I mention here do not seem to get a lot of quality-of-product complaints. Also, demand has led to price increases over the past year. While some believe if you wait, prices will come down, I think that may be awhile, if ever. Perhaps true sales will happen occasionally. Also a shortage of quality ebony wood has led some manufacturers to stain the ebony, resulting in a deeper uniform black look at a cost of hiding the wood grain. There are, of course, a variety of woods to choose from.

There are other sellers in India. I suggest using the search bar on the forum site to find many threads on sellers - both in India and elsewhere. One seller is Chess Bazaar (CB). I purchased a clearance set from them and was very pleased but others have had difficulty dealing with them. The consensus seems to be that they have gotten much better but, like many other sellers in India, they can be lacking in customer service. 

Many of these same issues exist with retailers. A good retailer will inspect the pieces before they are sold and should be better in the customer service department. However, from what I have read, this might be more of a hit-or-miss thing nowadays. Again, search the seller's name here. Buying from retailers might result in a higher price for a comparable - or the same - set from an Indian manufacturer. If that cost comes with better customer service, that cost might be worth it to you.

Hi Marc,

Apologies if you already know this, but Chess.co.uk do have a physical shop in Baker Street. if you can wait a while longer for non-essential shops to re-open you can go along and look at the pieces in person.

I have no experience of Official Staunton so can't offer any opinion, but have bought from the London Chess Centre in Baker Street can recommend them.

Not sure it this set floats your boat but it is extremely well priced Rosewood set.

Emperor Staunton Wooden Chess Pieces Rosewood/Boxwood 4" (houseofchess.com)

Here's their Ebony version if you are looking for Ebony.

Emperor Staunton Wooden Chess Pieces Ebony/Boxwood 4" (houseofchess.com)

As most have recognized, you live in London where you have the opportunity to go to the physical shop and inspect what you will buy.  Honestly this is worth a lot.  If you look at, handle and otherwise inspect the set, there is no gamble like with all the other places where the best you can do is look at pictures and listen to what people on the internet have to say.  So my top recommendation is to go to Baker Street when the store opens for your business again.

If you are not wanting to wait, I would suggest you contact Carl at Official Staunton.  I believe he is also located in London.  Carl is also very, very good.  If there is any problem he will quickly handle it.  And with both of you in London, the turnaround time must be fast.

Carl’s prices are also very reasonable.  And his equipment is of a better quality.

Your Cooke set looks fabulous MCH818 (love the expression/carving of startlement/battle readiness of the knights in particular....) as do the others

Thanks again for really good advice, warts and all

If I can bear the wait and hope the last 3 remaining 3.5" 1849 Cooke set don't sell out, it makes sense to go physically see some of these sets in Baker Street for Sure. Will give Carl a ring Tuesday also (after bank hols) . Thank you for this.

Another Cooke set caught my eye and with budget. Like the idea of having an official height of 3.75 on the King and a decent looking board to fit. Not to keen on the antique walnut colour and not sure if these set packages have a poorer build or/and cheaper materials (read stories whilst trolling the forum/becoming paranoid...).

1849 Antique Black Walnut Chess Set (officialstaunton.com)

I'd not hesitate to buy from Official Staunton! I bought a superb Limited Edition Antiqued Staunton Set a while back and it is absolutely flawless.....Also,the ownership is great to deal with.....Exemplary,class act!

Good luck

Thanks! I love the Cooke set. I agree with you about the carvings and expressions. One thing that sold me originally was Carl sent me a photo of the original set he used to reproduce this set. The reproduction of the knight's head is very good. That's what sealed the deal for me. Here is a photo of the original.

As for the 1849 Antique Black Walnut set, man I love the design of the set. I never realized Carl sold a 3.75" 1849 set. I bought my 3.75" 1849 set from CB. I loved it initially but fell out of love with it because the pieces were not proportioned properly. The rook, bishop, and queen look stubby because the stems of the pieces were too fat for the height of the pieces. The 1849 from Carl does not seem to have this issue and looks excellent. This would be a good choice as well. 

FWIW, I like the 1849 black walnut set quite a bit, especially the colors

It's starting to grow on me Richard.... =)

Thank you magictwanger 👍

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