Chess Board / Pieces as Art

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who finds the chess board and pieces visually attractive / aesthetically pleasing. I play most of my chess online or at a park in the city. I have a roll up board and some weighted plastic pieces but nothing of "quality". I don't like "gimicky" sets or "themed" sets. I like like classic staunton style pieces. Can any of you recomend a good place to look for a quality chess board and set of pieces that I can proudly display in my home?

Thanks!

-Ted

Copied from and inspired by the early Jaques sets of 150 years ago, one has to admire the harmony and beauty of this HOS Collector.

a good place to look is http://www.houseofstaunton.com/ 

I've seen chess.com have deals with them before too

If I was to spend more than 50 bucks on a set, it would have to be something a little more extravagant/unusual. A lot of the HOS sets just strike me as dull. Although I'm a sucker for anything in bone/ivory.

http://www.chessbaron.co.uk/chess-X2035.htm

http://www.chessbaron.co.uk/chess-X2054.htm

http://www.chessbaron.co.uk/chess-X2010.htm

http://houseofstaunton.com/Store/product_name=The+Reykjavik+II+Series+Bone+Chess+Set+-+3.75+inch+King/

Here's the set I drool over, the Heritage set in red Sandalwood & white boxwood:

I think the knight is the defining piece for any chess set.  The more detailed & exquisite the knight, the better the set is.

If you have the time, energy, and inclination, search eBay on a regular basis. There's a lot you won't like, but occasionally something truly nice comes along which can be snagged below retail. I've redone most of my "collection" that way, selling off old (inferior) sets and picking up several which I really like.

those pieces are very beautiful!

Thanks for the recommendation. Any hints as to a few good key "search words"?

Here's one of my favorites:

A search for "bud rose wood" (sic) in the title & description should  pull up a listing from this seller.  Other listings may be of interest. Additional searches can include seller(s?) mentioned above. Also, the words "Fierce" or "Parker" may occasionally bring up another seller with a few interesting sets to offer.

I'm not sure how this will turn out because I've never uploaded or posted an image, but here's a board I just had custom designed by Mike Miron (Kirby) at Custom Chess.

I got the pieces, a 4-inch Capablanca set, off of Ebay from the House of Staunton at about 60% off their regular price.

And I agree with you that a chess set is a work of art. This is the nicest thing I've ever owned. I just hope the picture turns out okay.

Thanks for posting the picture! Very nice board/set-up. After spending a good part of yesterday researching this stuff online, I think i'm going to give Custom Chess a call . . .

-Ted

If you check out Mike's web site, you'll see that you can build your board online and get a price for it. He has so many different options, I doubt he ever builds the same board twice. Believe it or not, my board wasn't that expensive. I just spent A LOT of time researching, asking questions, looking at pictures, considering how the colors would blend with my chess pieces, and deciding what style I wanted. As you can see, taking my time paid off.

His work is unbelievable; I've never been so happy.

I'm very much looking forward to that process. Thanks again for posting. And while clicking around on his site, I came up with a "look" very much like the one you chose. I like that simple "raised" board with the same "angled?" eddges that you chose. I think I'll end with "blacker" dark squares as I'd like my dark pieces to be "reddish".

This is going to be fun!!!!

And if anyone else has a board or pieces to show off, I'd love to see pics!!!

-Ted

I've been drooling over the Custom Chess site for a couple years now. I was saving my pennies for one of his boards when I stumbled onto one on eBay. It's one of his higher end boards and I got it for less than his standard boards. It's been my best find on eBay to date. The pieces are antiqued New York 1924 from House of Staunton.
Other favorites of mine from HOS are the Capablanca, Parthenon, and especially the Golden Collector set. I just wish I could afford all of them.

I own a very nice set, both pieces and board handmade by a proffesional. The best pieces and board he had, the board and pieces was 1200 danish kroner (216 USD and 161 euro). I really like it for studying chess, i use it everyday.
If you want something really nice, you should find someone who is making them, and talk with him about it.

About art, this is just awesome: http://blog.chess.com/kohai/welsh-chess-board

You might want to also check out the following:

www.custom-wood-creations.net

I also have the following 2 boards on eBay right now...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350431754577&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350431754577&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

My web site hasn't been updated in a few years, so I have dozens of other designs available.  I have thousands of pictures available of different boards and different species.  I could also work with you design a truly unique one-off chess board.  You can also check out my work at HOS.  I am the exclusive builder of the Signature Contemporary, Signature Contemporary II, and Custom Contemporary lines of chess boards.

Check out a type of wood called Amboyna Burl for the dark squares.

I think it's one of the most beautiful kinds of wood on this planet, but it's also expensive.

Spalted Maple is also awesome. I believe it's derived from a tree that's infected with fungus or disease or something. But once they cut the lumber, it arrests the growth of the fungus. It looks like Maple with black lighting splitting through it.

I didn't even know wood like this existed until I designed my board.

These woodcrafters are magicians, magicians I tell you!

This is my set (photographed by me)

links to where I bought it as well:

Pieces:

http://www.thechessstore.com/c=q63di8QT6F2udyY448r1vZlws/product/BDD475/Bridled-Stallion-Staunton-Chess-Set-in-Red-Sandalwood-Boxwood-with-4-34-King.html

 with this board:

 http://www.thechessstore.com/c=q63di8QT6F2udyY448r1vZlws/product/BRM60/Bud-Rosewood-Maple-Chess-Board-with-Molded-Edge---2375-Squares.htm

That's a really nice photograph. A bunch of retailers could use it as an example of how a chess set should be displayed. Most of their pictures make a chess set look as enticing as dog food.