Herman Ohme & Drueke Board

Cool!

always been a fan of Drueke, but......is there some discoloration on the b4 square

Nice pieces of art, however I personally prefer the classical sets more, standard Staunton. Not that there can't be exceptions to that, I like some Gothic sets.

just curious - this board looks like it's not a vintage Drueke but one of the new boards that the grandson, Bill Drueke, is manufacturing and selling under the old Drueke name?

Hey alexmares50, that's a nice set. What year was it produced? I see that those pieces are weighted and felted. Are they plastic? Ceramic?

I think this Drueke is the newer produced ones.  I purchased it from WholeSale Chess during one of their sales, i am hoping to snatch an original but the 2.25" ones are getting rarer and more expensive.  And yes the colors are slightly off...i had not really noticed the discoloration so thanks for pointing that out.   The pieces are from 1960, plastic and weighted.  

I am definitely a stodgy guy when it comes to chess sets, preferring classic Staunton designs. In this case, though, I think the designer did a great job of making a modern set that is clean and simple and 'modern', while also perfectly retaining the pieces' identities. That is a cool set, alexmares50.

The colors in your board are not so different from late stage vintage Druekes that I have. I also have some variation in the coloration of the walnut squares. I don't own any of the grandson's sets, but from what I've seen on the web, the craftsmanship hasn't caught up. And then there's the beveling difference.

But your board looks very much like my latest vintage ones both in terms of color and craftsmanship.

In the spirit of the vintage moderns, an olive wood set from Israel.

Man, that set definitely has a vibe to it, UpcountryRain. Sort of somber, and stately. Interestingly, the Bishops look like tall pawns; that is, there seems to be no big difference to their looks, other than being taller and thinner than the pawns. Also, I think I'd have a tough time telling the light pieces from the dark pieces after a while! Pretty cool set, though.

@Chuck, thanks, i was starting to get worried.

I totally agree, JonThePawn. The set gives me the feel of a dystopian society, one run by philosopher priests. The Bishops look like holy men, but so do the pawns; like lesser monks.

The color difference isn't that bad, but yes, it's best to have sufficient light.

I use the set for shatranj.

@upcountry

i like it! it's got a little goth appeal to it, but......i feel the Bishop(as Jon described it = tall Pawns) "killed" it? sorry 😔

Killed it? Nah. Just look at the pawns as little bishops.

I guess I prefer Staunton style the most is because it is hard for me to distinguish between pieces. They definitely are artistic sets. Also beautiful.

Thanks for sharing them.

I love those Herman Ohme sets. Sadly, he died around Christmas last year.

I wrote up a little biography / history of his set. If anyone has any more information, please share. http://pickary.com/2017/05/31/herman-ohme-chess-set/

Hi there!

I thought I would throw a quick one here as I have used this post (thx Alexmare50!) as I was digging for more information about the Hermann Ohme Drueke's design.

I have revisited this design and am now producing different sets using Jesmonite and concrete for the board and parts although I am about to try to prototype a solid walnut board as the last picture below will show.

NB: @Pickary your link seems to lead to a Chinese Packaging website I'm afraid. Shame I was really keen to read more about Drueke's Hermann Ohme design. Please let me know if there is any way to have the biography you have written about it. You can send it to ludobdesign@gmail.com if this finds you well.

Many thanks

@Ludobdesign what material are the pieces made out of ?