House of Staunton - Coupon Code?

When placing an order, there is a field: "Enter you coupon code if you have any".  Is there such a code?  Maybe MAGNUS2021 or QBOUTIQUE for example.

SAVINGSCHESS worked with 15% off and free shipping.  I bought the Sinquefield Cup 2021 "normal person" set at $500.

There's Labor Day coming... if you can wait a week to see what's up. The last HoS sitewide 20% one was after the Sochi World Cup a month ago. I think it was co-sponsored by Chess24.

The 15% off one you listed is good enough. Not worth it to wait for an additional 5% and risk having the set sell out.

I'm glad you were able to grab that $500 Sinquefield Cup 2021 "normal" boxwood set. It looks to be sold out now. Same with the $500 Saint Louis Rapid Blitz "normal" boxwood set. That one sold out earlier, most likely because of Hikaru's historic undefeated win. 

On a side note, I emailed House of Staunton customer service twice to ask a simple question on the height of a piece on a $500 set. And both times they gave me excuses on why they couldn't measure one piece for me. A Five Hundred Dollar set and they couldn't be bothered to measure one piece for a customer. Unbelievable. 

That's absolutely incredible. Thanks for the info.

Yeah. I saw that 2019 Sinquefield set mysteriously pop up on the HoS site a few days ago when they redesigned the site. It looks like 2019 in stock, but then when you put it in your cart, it frustratingly says: "We don't have as many quantity as you requested, but we'll back order the remaining 1."

Yes. The 2021 Sinquefield Knight looks a smidge taller than the 2019. And there are subtle differences to the King's crown. 

I have mixed feeling about this practice. Change slightly something and call it 20XX version. So in ten years there will be another 10 versions all with subtle differences? As of now there are already that many versions as it is, it's just too confusing for me.

These are limited commemorative sets to honor the players involved. In my opinion, the collectibility is not in the tiny subtle differences of the sets which might not even be deliberate. Since the sets are 95% identical, I believe the collectibility lies in the Tournament year and the players involved. The tournament and year is stamped on the bottom of the Kings. And lasered on the box. The certificates bear either real autographs of all the players involved, or (in the cheaper $495 set) printed signatures. There is never any confusion as to what year and what tournament each set is from. No doubt, these are expensive sets. For price conscious collectors there are reproductions. Choice is always appreciated. 

Yes this is what I mean. Except for the 3.625 version, the rest are all 3.75" so if you put those 3.75" sets on a table it'd be tough to see which is what.

That's a bit odd because @TheOneCalledMichael commented when I was specifically talking about the 2 subtle differences between the Sinquefield sets. And he in turn was very specific and used dated sets (20XX) as an example. Which leads one to believe he is talking about the Sinquefield/Rapid&Blitz HoS sets. But whatever. Let's move on.

There are (in my eyes) significant differences in some of those sets you mention. But first and foremost, let's be honest here. These are all classically styled Staunton sets. Aside from the Knight, how much different can you make a classically styled Staunton set? To many people these "differences" are a non-issue. Let's proceed for fun though. Hah!

3.75" Craftsman sets. (not Cooke) This one sets itself apart with the Rook. The Rook is completely different than the other Sinquefield Knight sets with it's high battlements atop the Rook. I'm not a fan of this Rook. Some of the proportions of the pieces are also a bit "off" in my eyes as well, like the stretched Queen crown. This was an easy pass for me.

3.625 Camaratta Craftsman Cooke sets. These have the Rooks with the low battlements. The problem I had with some of the proportions from the 3.75" Craftsman (not Cooke) were "fixed" and look much better. The Sinquefield Knight has a low base to match the other pieces. Very nicely proportioned. Why the heck is the King 3.625 and not 3.75?? Yeah, i know that missing .125" is the thickness of a grain of rice. LOL. Am I insane to mention .125"? Maybe. Let's go on.

3.75 Camaratta Craftsman Cooke sets. Here is where things get interesting for me. The proportions are good. The King is a full 3.75". It's all good so far until you look at the Sinquefield Knight base. It's a high base that does not match the other pieces. What I think HoS did was they took the Knight from the previous 3.625" set and gave it a booster seat for this 3.75" set. Lazy. Just bad. But come on, who is going to notice this?? Me. Sorry HoS.

3.75 Sinquefield Cup / Saint Louis Blitz sets. Aside from the subtle change to the 2021 Kings crown as mentioned, these sets have everything going for it. Full 3.75 kings. Low Knight bases to match the other pieces. Recarved Knight to regain that .125" height for a proportional set without having to use a booster seat base. The first negative I see is the quality in the boxwood being used this year. Did no one else notice that the light side boxwood does not match in some of the sets being used in the tourney? Some pieces are a shade lighter or darker in the same set. During the tournament, I can clearly see the light side boxwood color is slightly off in pieces within the same set on the board during games. The biggest negative? They are all sold out. Hah!!

Now, what will the 2022 HoS Sinquefield set look like? Who knows. Maybe another subtle change? Maybe something completely different like the 2013 Sinquefield Knight set. A change every 5 years? We shall see. 

@mister Pawn I was talking about the 20XX because the latest sets that came out with the same knight all have 2021 in their name. I only see subtle differences from the 2020 version. My point is, next year we will see at least 5 2022 versions all with subtle differences?

I agree, variations and options are good but this to me comes over as milking out the same product. Change the hight of rook battlement and we call it 2021 Special Edition this, change the hight of knight base and let's call it 2021 Players Edition that....etc... Don't get me wrong, I'm not obliged to buy but that doesn't mean I can't say what I think what kind of practice this is.

This is the list of sets with the same knight. I don't even count the DGT version. I get this from the price list from high to low.

The 2021 Sinquefield Cup Official Chess Pieces
The 2021 St Louis Rapid and Blitz Official Chess Pieces
The 2021 Sinquefield Cup Playoff Chess Pieces
The 2021 Sinquefield Cup Commemorative Chess Pieces
The 2021 St Louis Rapid and Blitz Commemorative Chess Pieces
The 2020 Cairns Cup Commemorative Chess Pieces
The 2020 Cairns Cup Player's Edition Chess Pieces
The 2021 Sinquefield Cup Player's Edition Chess Pieces
The 2021 St Louis Rapid and Blitz Players Edition Chess Pieces 50 sets only
The Camaratta Collection - The Craftsman Cooke Series Luxury Chess Pieces
The Craftsman Series Luxury Chess Pieces

Edit, I overlook the 2019 edition: The 2019 Sinquefield Cup Player's Edition Chess Pieces

I agree, I also don't like this. To make it worse, it's tapered so you can't have a felt covering the whole bottom base.

I disagree. Reread post #11. These limited annual commemorative sets honor the specific Tournament, year and players. Even if the carving of the pieces are 100% the same exact pieces with ZERO changes, the set is obviously different from each other. It's a souvenir of the tournament. 

Same exact ball year after year going back decades. It's a souvenir of the game. 

I respect your opinion, but to me that commemorative edition doesn't hold much value when it happens every year. That's just marketing. In my opinion, a commemorative edition is something special, like a historic event that happened once in 50 years or so, not something that reoccurred every year. I would call it just like you said, a souvenir. That's more appropriate

Every iteration of these souvenir sets sell out every single year. This year's "regular" $495 sets are all gone. Better luck next year. I would like to think that people buy these Sinquefield sets because it's actually a beautiful, well designed, solid set to play with. The fact that they are labeled by HoS with the tournament and year is secondary. 

Aside from the first year and maybe the 2019 Sinquefield set I doubt these sets will gain in value. It's rare that ANY modern era chess set gains in value. I implore anyone to re-evaluate one's wisdom if he or she thinks buying modern wooden game pieces is a wise and sound investment opportunity. Hah!

Well it is a beautiful set and then I'm talking about the cooke luxury 3.625 version .

I think there are people out there that bought this year version X of commemorative 2021 edition thinking it's special edition only to find out a new special commemorative edition 2022 comes out the following year. The same set with slightly bigger knight nose hole. Then they will realize HoS is selling the same product in different box every year.

Oh yeah, how about that limited 25 sets edition in each color but there are 10 other iterations of the same set out there that you can buy any day of the year?

Pawnerai wrote:

Every iteration of these souvenir sets sell out every single year. This year's "regular" $495 sets are all gone. Better luck next year. I would like to think that people buy these Sinquefield sets because it's actually a beautiful, well designed, solid set to play with. The fact that they are labeled by HoS with the tournament and year is secondary. 

Aside from the first year and maybe the 2019 Sinquefield set I doubt these sets will gain in value. It's rare that ANY modern era chess set gains in value. I implore anyone to re-evaluate one's wisdom if he or she thinks buying modern wooden game pieces is a wise and sound investment opportunity. Hah!

I will admit that I was at the right place at the right time. On Aug 22, I emailed support and asked how many sets they had.  The reply was that 10 were available.  I thought that only 10 were made so I set into high gear to buy one.  On Aug 25 HoS sent me an email wanting to verify my credit card.  They had charged $0.67 and $437.38, so I replied back with that info and the order went through.

I fell in love with the set when I saw it on YouTube being used around the 2017 Sinquefield Cup..  The massive rook is the first thing that caught my eye, a true "heavy piece".  The knights had a unique downward pointed muzzle.  The 2021 rooks and knights look fantastic.

I'm super excited to get this set as I only have the standard USCF plastic set with rollup board.  I'm keeping this and hope to still be using it when I'm 90 years old and hustling some park players .

The sets Include a House of Staunton Premium Chess Box.  I'm not sure what that exactly looks like but I would assume it's the least expensive one or a custom one with the Sinqufield Cpp. logo.

--
Asher Kobin

It's been 2 weeks. Hopefully it comes any day now. An "unboxing" video or photos would be awesome for prospective buyers like myself. If it wasn't for the lousy HoS customer service that I experienced twice regarding this set, I would've purchased one as well. And now they are sold out. I guess I"ll have to wait for next year.

The funny thing is that even waiting a year for the NEXT Sinquefield Cup is still faster than the NOJ waitlist. Hah!

ah it's back.