DGT Red Box: Plastic Set

Had to purchase a set... I have been looking at these for some time.  Grey, Red, or Blue box all the same pieces and board.

Pieces are a little on the lite side:

Pawns = 10-11 grams (46mm x 25mm)

Nights = 20 grams (60mm x 32mm)

Bishops = 20 grams (68mm x 32mm)

Rooks = 20-21 grams (53mm x 33mm)

Queens = 29-29 grams (75mm x 35mm)

Kings = 33-34 grams (86mm x 39mm)

Total set weight = 533 grams

No extra Queens - 32 pieces set (disappointing, extra queens is pretty much standard these days)

Hollow weighted plastic pieces, seams viable if you are looking for them, but very faint.

Very high quality manufacturing for a inexpensive set, better than some very expensive plastic sets I have seen.  Nothing sharp on the pieces, no need to clean up extra plastic with a file like some cheap plastic sets.  The queens crown is a little sharp, common, can always be fixed with a  little sandpaper if that bothers you.

Very thin felt bottom, assuming paper stick on, might be a rubber felt stick on, a little better quality then typical paper felt, .

The board is double fold cardboard with 48mm squares, 20mm boarder with indices, board is very shiny (typical for cardboard), well sized for pieces, although a 50mm square would  be better.

Over all a nice set, pawns could use a little more weight they are a little unstable, the other pieces not as wobbly.  I think a nice looking set.  Playability similar to playing with a single weighted USCF scholastic set.  Quality of the pieces, my opinion, are much nicer side-by-side with the standard single weighted scholastic tournament sets. 

Draw backs - you wont find replacement pieces for this set.  Meaning if you want extras queens or lose a pawn you will need to purchase a second set.  So, might not be the best option for kids (the target owners for this starter set).

Hi there

I was looking for a nice pack for the birtday of my 8 years old kid.

At first I was also interested in the tournament pieces (size 5 ~95mm king), but there was no other items in the box, only  the 32 chessmen. The set alone was $25.

Then I looked for the blue pack, wich has chessmen, the board and Fritz 12 + trainer software. The price is interesting since Fritz is always costly. My kid already enjoy Chessmaster Grand Master Edition with hours of audio (french!) commented exercices & lessons, plus tons of minigames. The blue package is good looking but the additionnal software was not a significant addition.

The red pack was full featured but quite expansive, and I didn't like the 960 clock design.

After reading this topic I was convinced with the design and sturdiness of the set. I found some info about the clocks  bundled in the different packs.

Then I decided to go for the "DGT Starter Pack - Brown version" which includes:

- the set of pieces (32 no extra queens) with 86mm for King height (USCF and FIDE compliant)

- a DGT 1002 Bonus clock. Not for tournaments, but easy to use and manage time increments.

- the cardboard board

There is no software included in this box but as I said, I already have Chessmaster and other good alternative softwares (Arena, LucasChess, Stockfish etc.).

The clock alone is $33 and a chess set with a board is at least around $20

I think this pack is a good deal, and I got it for $40 at Amazon, with free shipping and a $7 coupon.

I will give a feedback as soon as the gift is in use !

This is completely wrong and a fake of truth.  DGT plastic is not the BEST quality.  EVERY chess set that is not the cheapest is weighted.  And compared to other sets, like the Ultimate, it is not heavy. 

And we have no evidence that it is durable.  This claim is nothing more than fake fluff.

Err... Don't feed the troll?

Anyway, having used the DGT set for a while (and let it get smushed under every item in the family car's trunk), I think I'd call that "evidence that it is durable." It's sure not fragile, anyway. YMMV, comparisons with the standard Quality Club sets may go either way, caveat emptor (et canem), etc.  I think $20 is maybe a bit high (current price for the grey box on Amazon), but they're decent pieces.  They're an option.

Can you post a photo of your set?

I would be very pleased to see them on a real board.

So you don't own this set? How can you say it is durable? I expected some real feedback about your own equipments.

If you have nothing to say then please, stop polluting the threads of this forum.

DGT pays FIDE to be the official provider.

Don't think that's true. DGT is simply the only manufacturer of high end electronic chessboards. DGT did listen to FIDE for the specs of their chess clocks though. But I don't believe DGT is paying FIDE to use their products. That's just bunk. If you're a federation or organizer you can get a discount if you buy an x amount of boards or clocks, but that's it.

Well, it is true.

FIDE charges a fee to make the DGT clock the official FIDE approved clock.  I have heard the fee is in the neighborhood of $25,000.

The DGT3000 isn't the "official" FIDE clock. The DGT2010 was the "official" FIDE clock. It was designed with FIDE's specs in mind and therefore had the FIDE logo on the front. But DGT didn't pay FIDE money for that. The DGT3000 still has the same specs as the DGT2010 but with extra functions and is the UNOFFICIAL clock of FIDE. No money is being paid. They are the most important organisation in chess and just want to use the best equipment.

nah, never mind  :-D

I don’t mean to argue with you boy there are a few points.  

Yes the DGT electronic products are the only ones that do what they do.  This is why they are used in all the top tournaments.  The DGT clock is part of the electronic setup so it is used that way.

While it might be true for Europe that the DGT clock is the best, it is not here in the States.  There are two clocks that objectively are better than the DGT 3000.  Those are the Chronos and V-Tek 300.

Understand that I own and use a DGT 3000.  

Chronos touch sensors are unreliable. They sometimes don't register. That's a big no-no for professional chess tournaments. The regular Chronos and V-Tek have buttons that are too small. DGT actually put thought in their designs, hence why they are so popular and used at any tournament of relevance. DGT came out with the DGT North American for the US and Canada.

This is the first complaint I have seen in 19 years of the Chronos that the buttons are too small.  The fact is that those buttons are just fine in both size and function.

Both the V-Tek and Chronos use the same buttons.  And they work as well or better than the DGT clocks.

I understand your statement about the DGT being used so much in Europe.  It just is not so in the US.

Understand that I have owned all the DGT models.  The DGT 3000 is the best of those.  If you objectively put these clocks together as I have, you will see and understand the Chronos and V-Tek are better built and working clocks.

Of course with the use of the DGT boards so prevalent you will see them used more often.  This does not make them better clocks.

You have no idea because you do not live in the USA. That is a fact. Many Chronus and V-tek are used in all rated tournaments in the USA.  Please stop trolling and stating untruths.  And change your flag to your own country. The USA is not true.. UK is your country. 

Wrong.

More accurate?  We are talking clocks with modern digital circuitry inside that can easily count to below 0.001 second precision.  Even if a chess game were to last days, there's not going to be noticeable differences between any of the clocks.

Having used (many times) the DGT NA and Chronos GX, here are some things I prefer:

- rocker vs push button, I personally, prefer the push buttons.  The button gives a nice click sound and firm feedback vs a mushy "pluck" sound.  But this isn't a big deal.

- display.  The DGT display looks too busy to me; maybe because the 2 player times aren't physically separated far enough.

- setting.  The DGT NA is much harder to set than the chronos for the typical G+D time.  The DGT is also not intuitive to start: you don't just hit the rocker on the opposite player.   This isn't too big an issue for me anymore since I sold my DGT NA and now only use them when tournaments supply them pre-set : )

- size.  The DGT has a much larger footprint than the Chronos.  This is fine except when I want to transport the clock.  It barely fits into my run-of-the-mill tournament carry bag (by barely, I mean I must stretch the sides and jam it in there with lots of force to zip the compartment up).  the chronos fits in there w/ room to spare.

The DGT rocker design has become the industry standard with many companies copying it (albeit poorly executed and not up to DGT standards). DGT made exactly the same clocks as Chronos and V-Tec way back in the 80's. And that's where their designs belong, in the museum. Chronos and V-Tec are inferior clocks with their small buttons when there's time pressure. Nevermind when playing Rapid. Rocker all the way. Like I said, it's been the industry standard for over two decades now. Chronos and V-Tec are still stuck in the 80's. Lazy design. Did I already mention that the Chronos and V-Tec are a pain in the ass to program? But hey, at least they have really colorful leds that light up when it's your turn. Such clever design!!! 👍

Hell, I'll take a DGT1001 over a Chronos or V-Tec. Nevermind the DGT3000. Completely blows both these clocks out of the water

Oh, and DGT are also the clock of choice at the majority of tournaments that use non-electronic boards. So saying they are part of the set up is misleading

One thing about rockers (vs good push buttons) is that they are cheaper.

Membrane switches (like the ones used in membrane keyboards) are much cheaper than good mechanical switches that offer good tactile feedback (like the mechanical keyboards).

Rockers can use membrane switches because they don't require very good tactile feedback (there's good visual feedback) while good push buttons needs to use the more expensive mechanical switches.

I think this is the reason why all the no-name, cheap chess clocks go with rockers; it is not because rockers are better... but because these clocks want to save you money so they won't put in good quality mechanical switches.

WRT DGT being the official FIDE clocks.  Swatch is the official Olympic timers (not sure if they still are); does that make Tissot better than a Rolex?  Anyway, I hope we are smart enough to know about sponsorship deals and evaluate products away from all the marketing hype.