Drueke Players Choice as Every Day Set?

So I broke up my parent's house last month and found that my father, who passed away in 2011, had a Drueke Player's Choice set of chessmen squirreled away in a closet. It looks to be a complete Player's Choice 35b - complete with the original cherry wood box. 

I know they're sought after, but I kind of want to use them as my regular pieces with my green and white vinyl board. I have a Drueke board which my dad and I would use on occasion - but it's a #62 with 1.75 inch squares and the Player's choice pieces look really crowded. 

Typing this out makes me think this might not be the best idea. At the same time, they're plastic pieces and I doubt they'll retain their value once the boomers fade into the sunset. 

Thoughts?

The Player's Choice is a collectible but not really rare (not yet).  I say use the pieces but with a standard sized board.  Drueke did sometimes package the Player's Choice pieces with undersized boards.

These sets are made of the more brittle Bakelite. There also is a problem with the weights becoming loose and rattling.

I would personally sell this set where you can command a good price for it.

If you want a set that looks like this one, ChessUSA.com sells a very nice reproduction for $19.99 full price.  The plastic of this set is a softer material that will resist chipping and breaking.  I bought mine on sale for $15.  And this set goes in my larger tournament bag with a wood set.  This set plays very nicely.

My friends have the Drueke set and they quit using it because of chipping and loose weights.

 I am a Drueke collector and I used to play with them in tournaments in the early to mid 1990's. I say use them  .  They're a GREAT design that has more than stood the test of time. Just know that some ARE rarer than others and can command a collector's price.The regular weighted #35 cream and black player's choice are what I would use. But if you ever find a vintage red and ivory color (pure white) you might think twice. These are VERY rare ...

Hmm. The chipping is a concern. But I also don't have room to display the pieces, so if I don't use them I should probably sell them rather than letting them sit unused in a box. No real sentimental value as my dad an I never used them. Have to think on this a bit more. 

I think this is a good plan.  Since it doesn't have sentimental value to you, I would suggest either using them yourself or taking advantage of the currently crazy prices for them and sell to someone who wants them as a collectible. 

I'm curious about how long they made the Player's Choice (maybe they still do?) and if the quality deteriorated over time. I bought mine around 1970 and still use it. Never a problem with the weights or chipping. There were long periods when it wasn't used, as I had stopped playing chess for quite a few years, but the set has had a lot of use and still looks great.

 

Drueke never made any bakelite sets.   Their earliest plastic sets (the american design (those were the ones with the octagonal base)) were made of tenite.   I am no sure what plastic the player's choice luxury line were made from but it definitely wasn't bakelite (that had been phased out for general use of all sorts long before 1963/64 - which is when the player's choice/luxury line first appeared).

 

Alright, whatever plastic or polymer they used, it has a shinier finish, feels a bit more like bakelite than regular plastic, and has the tendency to chip.

There was a Master that passed away a number of years ago and his wife gave all his Chess equipment and books to our club.  We currently have 3 of these Drueke sets.  They all seem to be of the same age and were stored the same.  I could actually own any or all of these sets if I wanted by giving a donation to the club for the set(s).  The sets have been in storage since they were donated.

One of the sets is in perfect shape.  The weights are solid in the pieces and there are no chips in any of the pieces.

The second set has a number of pieces with loose weights but none of the pieces are chipped.

The last of the three sets has both loose weights and some chipping on the Queen crenelations and on one of the Bishops.

I kept the perfect set for a few weeks deciding if I wanted it.  I bought the ChessUSA.com reproduction for around $15 and compared it with the original Drueke in perfect shape.

I liked the reproduction better mostly because the plastic was nicer with a matte finish and the material is not so brittle feeling.

Understand I could get that Drueke for about the same price, but it is not as nice, in my opinion, as the reproduction.

Bill Drueke is making the players choice pieces again. He is not using an injection mold but rather pouring plastic into molds. I bought a set and returned it immediately, the quality was awful.

https://druekechessboards.com/

If you have the pieces and no sentimental attachment to them, go ahead and use them. They aren’t that brittle. Take a little care to not let them fall off the table and you will be fine. I use mine and have taken them to the last 2 tournaments I have played in. The original players choice pieces are great to play your games with. I have actually got a couple of nice compliments at the tournaments from other players about using those pieces for our game.

 

This is right.  I used to own one of these sets and gave it to a friend in the late 1990's because he really loved it and I was playing with strictly wood pieces at the time.  The set does play great.  And while it can chip it certainly is not brittle or fragile where you have to be super careful with it.

There is a guy that came to our club and back to playing Chess after a relatively long time away from the game.  He would bring his Drueke plastic set with him and it worked great.

 

Good to know. I've always wonder how the new Drueke pieces compare to the original. 

I have had that same dream . Then I had to pay five bills for one  lol. I have actually see that set sell for over $700. Finding the original Drueke 2.75" square board for it is also a must ...

This is all good advice. 

The single-weighted sets are best for playing, in my experience.  They still have decent heft and the weights are less likely to come loose.  I personally never had an issue with these sets chipping but loose weights are an issue. 

I've read that a small amount of rubber was mixed with the plastic but I don't know if that's true. 

I think that contemporary plastic sets, like the HOS Collector (et al), are objectively superior to the Player's Choice in terms of durability but I simply love the PC's design.  But of course I'm a boomer and grandfather, so ...

After one of my boxwood pieces from HOS Drueke repro cracked, I felt I've had enough and decided to upgrade by downgrading to plastic. There's always a few original Drueke Player's Choice listed on ebay and this was one of them.  Others have already commented but it's indeed a well balanced set and a joy to play with. Let's see yours.

@zagryan beautiful set up! and great shots too. That lighting is perfect. 

@yawnofthedead, Thanks. It was a sunny Saturday morning today in Seoul.

Back in the day these were the everyday set. Today not so much. There is a copy or two out there. I own both. Back when chesshouse was selling it. The set was called The Palladian set. That is where I got mine from. Good viable inexpensive alternative. However chessusa is the only kid on the block selling them and I have to tell you that the quality of these sets are extremely poor today.

3 3/4" Weighted Deluxe Professional Black and Natural Tournament Chess Pieces (chessusa.com)

There is another I don't want to say clone or copy. Defiantly inspired by the design. I call it the Mexican Drueke due to the close design features and were it was made from.

I have did a review of this set on a thread and have talked about it elsewhere. $80 price tag is quite high but considering how much an OG Players Choice set runs these days. It's not too bad considering I would be much more willing to bring this Mexican Drueke set to clubs instead of biting my nails hoping nothing breaks on an original Players Choice set. 
 

@KnightsForkCafe, nice set!  BTW, I'm also intrigued by your comment above. Can you... take us back to the good old days when Drueke were the everyday set?  Especially for those of us who weren't there, either because we were too young or weren't living in the States?

@zagryan I was going by the what the friends of mine who remembered playing with the Players Choice set quite often. I myself was still in diapers when this set was very popular. Early to mid 1970's. Back then from one friend of mine had said. Players Choice for the most part was the only set that you was able to get. Pacific Games Cavalier set was another. They didn't have much of a variety of plastic sets back then like we have today.