Edinburgh Northern Upright - Royal Chess Mall

A good first question is why?

• Addiction 😉 but putting that aside…
• I like variety in my collection
• Pieces of the ‘upright’ style are attractive to my eye 
• There seems to be many variants of this style, so I looked at many reproduction sets from different suppliers 
• I didn’t want it too large 
• I kept coming back this RCM variant but the knight held me back … did it look too quaint… maybe too toy’ish
• Yet, every other piece was a joy; the rook and bishop understated elegance 
• I liked that it was ebony
• I kept revisiting the knight… I started to like it … 
• Then it was reduced by $60 and then another 25% off.
• I was in… 

The purchase process was easy and importantly, the sales team on the What’s App chat were responsive and happy to answer questions that I asked about quality assurance and checking pieces before packing and shipment. This was reassuring. So I finalised the transaction.

Five working days, eights days in total the pieces landed in my door step in Melbourne Australia. 👍

Initially I was a tad worried. The cardboard packaging was dented from being dropped in transit and customs had inspected the package … sometimes that can point to broken or scratched pieces. 
I need not have worried. The pieces were perfect… and that knight … it’s actually glorious - beautiful. Quaint but somehow regal on its stand … my concern in photos became a highlight when in my hand.

While one of the more expensive sets that I have purchased - it is wonderful and I’m stoked. Not for blitz or robust games at the pub - but eminently playable and I will play many games with friends with these pieces. 
While not an issue with the pieces - the only downside was that I was going to pair these pieces with a wonderful late 19th century board I have but alas … it’s too crowded and actually the tallness of the pieces seems to add to the cramped feeling but give the pieces some space and their fully glory is evident. Great stuff… but again, I can see why the style will not be everyone’s cup of tea. More to follow tomorrow on weight variations, comments on the ebony and boxwood … but all good. I really like this set and it adds variation and style to my little collection. 

That last shot is spectacular! What a great set and thank you for posting. I've not seen this variation - enjoy it!

Congrats on another great set! Looks best on that second board indeed!

The bishop is my favorite piece. It looks like some kind of flower bud. The board with the swallows would be perfect, if it was a little bigger. The rook is beautiful as well.

I really enjoy the photos of your sets, powderdigit. 🤗

Gorgeous design. Now you need to find another antique table that matches their size 😁. The ebony and boxwood are a classy match with it otherwise.

it’s a thing though with many repros - they’re freakin’ large! 

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the feedback regarding the photos - we all have our own style but one of the benefits of this forum is being able to see photos of pieces ‘in the wild’ so to speak rather than the production shots of manufacturers. And @felonet , that last image is one of my favourites too … it’s sort of shows how the piece look on display when I walk around my home … and that elongated silhouette is very attractive and in my eyes pure class … it’s something some of the Russian sets achieve too. Very classy. 
@broomstuck - yes! This is one of the smallest variations of this style as a repro and the bases are not not as large as some (and of some other styles) but yes, it is the case with many repro’s … the bases are large a probably for stability, to make room for the weight and perhaps even design style … but trying to find pieces without wide bases is a challenge. Hence why I love my size 3 and 4 Chavets … indeed the size 3 Chavets are perfect for my old board … I’m sure I’ll find more pieces in due course. 
@DelphinSnow - the tulip bishops are a joy indeed, as are the slightly flaring turrets on the rook. Small details - big effect.

It’s important to understand that these ebony pieces may be stained. I am assured they are definitely ebony (not ebonised boxwood). Here is the explanation I received from RCM when I asked about the pieces.

”The natural ebony wood may have some naturally occurring brown streak which are a part of the properties of the wood itself. So in order to give uniformity to these chess pieces, some of the ebony wood pieces may have been some black stain. This is not applied to all the pieces rather only to some ebony wood pieces that have tendency of brown streaks which would tend to stand out.

This process is to give a homogeneous appearance to the pieces as chess players/ collectors prefer a colour and tone match in their chess pieces.

We however do sell some sets which have a completely natural (unstained) ebony wood side but they are specifically mentioned.”

I appreciated the honesty and clarity of their response. As with other ebony sets I own, the ebony pieces are b/w 6-10% heavier than like for like pieces on the boxwood side. I suppose - this deviation could be the result of the weighting within each piece too but I put it down to ebony being a slightly denser and heavier wood.

One day I may ask for unstained ebony - I think this would look wonderful - potentially like the beautiful colour variation I see in the Kamagong wood of my Phillipines set.

In my modest opinion, I never had an issue with the look of the Knights...Not toyish at all.

So, as I'd mentioned previously, I have the same set, from the same vendor....and....had the same excellent experience. Funny, because after I'd originally mentioned I had the exact set, mine might be boxwood and an Indian RW variety. Have to check that out....Kinda' lazy these days.

Enjoy your gem....You're becoming quite the collector.

A bit of variation in the wood colour would be nice, but I'd want to see some samples.

Yeah it’s a good point Greg because too much wood colour variation would be distracting - this example of Kamagong is a reasonable amount of variation for my taste. It’s a fraught topic because taste is subjective … I can totally see why solid black is sort after too. If I ever went down that path - it would be out of interest to see the natural wood more than anything else.

I like that colour too. If I am going to have wood I want it to be somewhat woody. Shiny solid black doesn't appeal as much.

@greghunt - If your job or life brings you to Melbourne, the standing offer of an ale still …. stands. I hope all’s well. And here is another set circa 20-30 years old where the character of the wood shines - without being shiny.

That said, this upright style is elegant and wonderful and a nice break from the stock Staunton style.

Alas, I wager that a true antique from the 1800’s would be perfect but out of my range.

Your first chess set looks like this one:

https://www.chess-store.org/en/details-1822

The lily is the symbol of the city of Florence. 

Yes, thank you. From memory there’s another retailer selling it in ebonised boxwood too. It’s a lovely design - as best I know (from the person I purchased it from) - it was originally bought in New York in the maybe ‘90’/2000…

Here’s a thread that discusses that set. https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/fleur-de-lys-new-york-circa-2000

Bravo, three cheers!

One thing I forgot to mention was the inclusion of a velvet’ish bag in the box. Nothing special but a nice gesture and useful for someone like me who rarely orders boxes or bags - rather waiting to find and re-use as second-hand container. So - in the absence of an immediate storage device - having this bag on hand was appreciated. I’m long past standing my pieces in boxes worried that they bump into each other - it’s a game to be played and pieces look better for the playing. That’s said, I’m not throwing bags around - I remain careful carrying the pieces and decanting them for play. Here I have tried to show the grain in the boxwood and the subtle carving shown in the play of light on the ebony pieces.

I should add … that if I had my time again … I’d probably turn the gift bag inside out and give it a good shake before putting pieces in… I noted some pieces had a coating of fine black dust after I put them in the bag. A minor inconvenience to wipe away and hardly a concern but in the spirit of relaying the whole experience I thought I should note it. On the upside - it made me check my pieces for any imperfections, again …there is none that I can see. But… if you’re going to use such a bag … give it a shake first. 👍

Beautiful chess pieces and cute dog in the background contemplating the next move. 👍

@DelphinSnow … he thinks long and hard about his moves … like, how can sneak away and eat a piece! 🤦‍♂️I might let him near some plastic pieces - not so much the ebony uprights!

Reincarnation of my wife's dog, when we dated. It wouldn't answer to the name Coco, would it?