Lowly German Knight chessmen get an upgrade to first class.

There is no more common sight in chess than the lowly German Knight chessmen. They are classically styled, sturdy, playable, familiar, and affordable. Plain and comfortable like a pair of tan khaki pants. The Toyota Camry of chess. Still in use today at prestigious tournaments thanks to DGT and their Timeless pieces. It’s in use everywhere throughout the multiple stops on the chess tour schedule.

For the longest time I was holding out for a fancy German Knight variant set for my collection like the Kasparov Signature Set, or Meisterschach RCR Terry until along came this interesting German Knight set that caught my eye. Made from Rosewood. It will do for now.

Rosewood (Indian / Brazilian) is a deep dark chocolatey brown. A quick way to tell between the two is to check the pore density on the endgrain. A good spot is at the top of the King’s crown. More pores = Indian Rosewood. Not to be confused with the more moderately priced Golden Rosewood (aka Sheesham) that is a medium brown like a baseball glove.

3.75” German Knight set in Rosewood.

Purchased from longtime eBay seller and forum member @goodknightmike. Each piece was individually wrapped very securely. It literally took me 20 minutes to carefully unwrap everything. Beautiful condition. THANK YOU!

If anyone has a Kasparov Signature or Meisterschach RCR Terry set they are looking to sell, PLEASE message me privately and let me know. I've done a few transactions here on the Forum and a ton on eBay. 

***Update***  A few more photos of the Rosewood in bright sun to better show color and grain.

Good review, excellent photography!  Thanks very much.

Interesting review. 

I bought this for myself last year as a Christmas present a Gibson Games chess set and board. Wasn't expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised. Love the chunky pieces and they are nicely weighted and have a nice simple look that I find attractive.

Do you think the knights from this set are based on German knights as they look very similar?

https://gibsonsgames.co.uk/products/chess-set-3-king

The Kari wood used in that set is beautiful.  I'm not sure I've seen Kari wood before but it's very nice.

Your knights certainly look like the German knights to me, albeit a little happier.

Nice set indeed. There is beauty in plain simple set. I love that.

That's also simple but nice set sister! I agree with mister Grand, to me looks German yes.

I'm glad I've got happy Knights 😄

That's really convenient btw, foldable board with nice case. I did not see this.

Yes it's a nice little set 😊

Now we know what was into the parcel behind the door...,

Nice set indeed but I have to admit that I have some reluctance with the german knight...

Nice review! I love the simplicity of the set. The knights are a cross between a modern Chavet knight and a dogface knight. Overall it is a very nice set.

The simple German Knight sets are not everyone's cup of tea. In fact, it's taken me this long to purchase one for myself. The beautiful dark rosewood was a major factor for me. If it was sheesham (golden rosewood) or gilded/ebonized boxwood, I would've passed on the set. 

Thanks for all the kudos everyone. This is a set affordable and sturdy enough for me to play my son with. That is of course, if the Ultimate Butters set ever gets put away. Hah. 

Very nice! I absolutely love Indian Rosewood but sadly it's hard to take pictures that do it justice and properly represent what it looks like in person. Very nice acquisition @Pawnerai.  Interestingly the Rosewood seems to pickup a bit of the red, warm hues of the board in the second set of pictures. 

:ghost

These are really quite beautiful photos, well done! I prefer the DGT Timeless set, but this one is fantastic, as well. As a huge fan of german knights I'm really enjoying these great snouts and the body tapering.

Thanks guys. Since this thread got bumped up. I'll update with some additional info that might help others. 

King 95mm Height; 38mm Base; 1.8oz
Queen 80/36; 1.5oz
Bishop 73/32; 1.3oz
Knight 68/32; 1.3oz
Rook 58/32; 1.3oz
Pawn 48/29; 0.8oz

The board in the first set of photos is a 2.25" Drueke. The board in the second set of photos at the bottom is the prototype hybrid 2.25" VinylPad from ACE/Shelby.