FIDE Official World Chess Set - changed?

Hey guys, have you noted that the design from 2013 has changed lately (maybe for the 2018 tournaments, I don't know exactly when I noted the difference)?

This is the original design I remember, with the slim knight..

One pic Carlsen vs Anand.. (Update: I've seen another photo of Carlsen vs Anand, maybe in another tournament with the new knight version..)

But now, the knight body looks really similar to the one that many manufacturers reproduced

( https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b445d028448ba2313c471d73e4887ed3823f25a7/0_123_4380_2628/master/4380.jpg?width=1920&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=94f149c1010e5b13876c41affa1d360b )

Like this repro

So, there were more than one version of the FIDE Chess set? Maybe it was always made in India after all?

I certainly dont think it has changed but it might be possible!

Just got my set yesterday and the knights look to have been subtly changed from the pictures on the box. But it's in a good way. Much less of a pronounced neck scoop and overall seems to be a more balanced looking piece. 

Here's a pic of my knights:

Really digging this set!

K.

Is that the official FIDE set? If that's it, so royalchessmall repro is accurate today..

Yup. this is the official FIDE set.

Looks like RCM has the body proportions right but the knight's snout on the FIDE set is a bit less "pointy".

K.

grownupboy, perhaps you can tell us where you got the "official" set from - is there any indication on the box that it is the 2019 batch (which would mean you bought it directly from Fide site? There are chess shops selling this set as the World Championship set - in the official packaging, so they are authentic Fide sets - but not necessarily from the 2019 batch (of which, I vaguely recall, 500 sets were made) 

I got my set from ChessBaron. There's no indication on the box that it's the 2019 version that I can see but it's definitely an official set.

I was speaking with Baron before making my purchase and he indicated that he sells about one of these sets a week so chances are it's not particularly old stock... 

K.

That is not a safe indication. I am not sure whether the 2019 sets have been released to retailers. Did ChessBaron say they were? During the recent WC they were available only on the WC site (the 500). Did anyone on this forum buy directly from this site during or after the WC - a photo of the knight from such a set would be decisive. The knights above have that vertical "corrected" orientation of the House of Staunton version ...

sorry, a correction : "The knights above have that vertical "corrected" orientation of the House of Staunton version ..." can't really judge from these photos, I take that back

As I recall, they've been saying these sets were limited to 500 since they were introduced... No idea if they've actually implemented this for the 2019 season but the year of manufacture wasn't part of the discussion when I bought my set.

Yes, the set did change. We used to sell the original one but stopped after the original company that distributed them went bust. They were then produced for another authorised distributor using the same supplier (in India) but for some reason he changed the design slightly. We realised they were different when we sent some spare pieces to someone with a new set, and they didn't match.

I'm not even sure that the changes were deliberate, more just an error in the second and third batches.

We stopped selling it a while back.

Oh my!  50 years from now I can hardly wait to see the debate about which version of the Official FIDE set is the best.  

Why wait? We can have the debate now. This chess thing is only a passing fad, after all....

The style of this set has definitely been devisive in the chess community... It's one of those love it or leave it kind of things! The reference to new design is based on the fact that the nights seem to have evolved since this set was first introduced a few years back.

I ended up returning my set because the white bishops were super unstable and wiggled at the lightest feather touch. Considering purchasing again from the WorldChess site and will keep you posted.

Looks like the 2019 limeted edition comes with an all black slip cover:

As opposed to the original white version that has pictures of the chess pieces on it. Waiting to hear back from WorldChess with a couple of questions before making my purchase.

But then again, maybe I'll just get a Reykjavic II set from HOS and be done with it. LOL!

K.

I bought the HoS version of this set.  While it looks good in the photos I do not like it because it is not very stable compared with other sets.

I do not love the design enough to spend the higher prices of the original.

I hear you!

I'm actually a fan of the design but seeing how unstable the white rooks were in the set I just sent back has kind of made me wonder if it's worth trying another set. There are so many options but I really do like the way this set looks... Guess I'll chock this dilemma up to 1st world problems!

K.