Best Plastic Pieces

I made order on 27.11. Until 02.12. nothing hapend. I send them e-mail on 02.12. They answerd on same day to be sent soon. They sent on 04.12. I got the pieces on 10.12. Not fastest service on the world, but the pieces are nice and I like to play with them.

The $20USD HOS "Fischer Series Plastic Chess Pieces" is similar — and in stock!  HOS set is a little smaller, a little lighter, and the plastic looks to be a bit shinier. Great alternative, especially if you don't need or want the silicone board. The Best Chess Set Ever (XL) is one of my favorites. I love the heavy clinking sound when I pour the pieces out onto a wood board. Hah! And when a piece accidentally drops onto the kitchen floor I don't have a heart-attack. It's one of my first sets. Lots of good memories. 

I think the best plastic set I have come across. For looks and durability. I would have to say the Kings Indian set. Sound67 did do a thread on that set.

Plastic Sets: LEGEND ALEGRIA & KING'S INDIAN from Legend Products/Oregon - Chess Forums - Chess.com

There is only minor design cosmic issues I would like to see different but non the least. I personally think that is the best. Not the heaviest but feels great for me and is designed for rough play. The ears are pointing away from the head but is much beefier than the Alegria and Hastings. Some might disagree with my choice for best but it's the one I like the most for plastic sets.

As for the best in budget friendly. The plastic Reykjavik set.

This set looks interesting. Only caught a glimpse of it in this video. Does anyone recognize it?

Based on the Knight, it appears to be a Bobby Fischer Cavalier set which was available years ago from Shelby Lohrman's American Chess Equipment (AmChessEq.com). Last time I checked with Shelby, about a year or two ago, it was out of stock and they had no plans to continue selling it.

His best selling set by far was the Bobby Fischer Ultimate Chess Pieces, which I and many others consider to be one of the best plastic sets available today. I just now checked his website and it appears that the plastic 'Ultimates' are not currently in stock. Here is the most recent version of the Ultimates - (Version 3)...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14n5hZelGJ4&t=4s&ab_channel=PushingWood

here's Shelby showing off the Ultimates-V3 set...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPjWF6oJ91M&ab_channel=ShelbyLohrman

The Ultimates-V3 are pictured at the top of this article...

Chess Sets for Club & Tournament Play...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/chess-sets-for-club-tournament-play

If you have any questions about these or anything else he sells you can contact Shelby here @ShelbyLohrman"> @ShelbyLohrman He's a good guy and always very helpful.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this "all-inclusive" tournament sized kit from A&A Chess:

+ quadrupled-weighted classic Staunton pieces (3,75") made from HIPS plastic, matted finish

+ foldable silicone board included

+ separate pouches for white and black pieces included

+ basic rules booklet included

+ carrying case included.

Just superb value for money and good quality

See my review here: https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/excellent-value-all-in-one-staunton-starter-kit-a-a-chess

You're correct, it's silicone.

Nice set for collection and causal play. Please post link for purchase.

I posted it in the original thread.

I own The Best Chess Set Ever XL, some High Polymer Resin sets and the HoS Collectors Series, all triple or quadruple weighted and all fine pieces to play with. My favourite has become a no-name Staunton unweighted set in solid plastic. Nice to play with and infinitely nicer to carry than the (overly) heavy sets.

I don´t know if they are "the best" but they are the ones I use the most.

Personally, I want pieces that won't topple if I sneeze accidentally.

Nor will I but unweighted pieces can be quite stable enough to play with. And, personally, I´d rather not play with someone who sneezes over the board, pandemic or not...

I like this HoS Staunton Hastings Series

3,785” king (fits well a 55mm board)

heavy weighted (good for blitz).

If it is about substantial/heavy tournament sized pieces I´d go with Best Chess Set Ever quadruple weighted 4´´ or HoS Collectors Series 4 ´´ (they are almost identical) but for carrying around, as I´ve stated before, I prefer unweighted (but solid) pieces.

These - 3.75´´ and perfect on 2,25´´ squares - are my current favourites.

https://www.chesscomshop.com/media/catalog/product/cache/36ddcfecb9bcfbaa2afb93c161df3a15/i/v/ivory_1.jpg

I couldn't disagree more. I bought four sets of this "clone" because I wanted to save on shipping costs, and I knew I could use the sets for my kids' school etc. It really isn't a clone of the Drueke sets - yes, it looks similar but it just isn't the same. Also, the "felt" on the bottom is awful and comes off easily. The plastic molding is crude with a pronounced seam. Finally, the weights get loose super quickly.

All in all, I was extremely disappointed with them.

This is the first time that I've seen someone mention HIPS plastic pieces. I've got some smaller HIPS pieces that I really like and have wondered if anyone would make full sized (3.7" - 4") versions. So I'm glad to see there's some venturing into larger HIPS pieces. Not only do they look and feel good, but they actually sound good too, I guess due to the slightly 'rubberized' element to them that makes them sound more solid.

I've seen some Woodtek pieces, but I think they use some sort of outer film for the wood effects. There's some appeal there, but I've seen the film miss the mark (like inside the tops of rooks) and the wood patterns may wear off the surface since it's still just an outside film.

Still, I hope someone might soon make a HIPS plastic set with the marbleized pattern and colors in a larger set.

OK...I'm curious.

This might be a new listing from Vonset on Amazon (I haven't seen it before). Well these are actually pretty good for a set that's sold as a tournament set that includes a 20" silicone board with two bags and a carrying case. I expected some flaws with the water film, and there are some, but it's not that noticeable. These weigh in at 30oz for all 34 pieces. I've seen another set where the colors were kinda weird, but these colors look more natural and appealing. The wood-like grain works, especially with a satin finish instead of gloss. Here's what's included.

Note the following pics are on a WE Games mousepad board.

I just bought this from Amazon when I saw it, and it had a 20% off black Friday sale, but I don't see the sale right now...hmmm.

Amazon Link to the set.