Minimalist chess sets such as Chavet & Bundesform

Really beautiful result! Did you do just a knight, or is this part of a set? If the latter, what are the other pieces based on? And is the set available somewhere?

I have to apologise for my rant about the Chavet reproduction. In fact, I just learned that the set was based on a different original design, the B210 (even though it is not quite clear from the records, if it is authentic). Comparing these two, I have to admit that the reproduction is spot on. Also, TCE is one of the very good companies. I know Rishi Sharma well, he even visited me when he was touring Europe last summer - great guy!

This is part of a full set, the knight just served as my example showing how burdensome it can be to acquire accuracy in a reproduction. The 1885 catalogue I mentioned showed the full set. The set was available in two sizes, a smaller size with 8.5 cm kings and a larger size with 10 cm kings. But since I was not able to locate an original after several years of intensive searching, I decided to bring the set back to life with a reproduction.

Here is a picture of the final result. We went for the larger 10 cm king size. The pieces are weighted and absolutely perfect for playing.

It was a limited edition of 20 sets, so not available for sale unless you find one of the original 20 owners to sell it (but expect prices >1k US$, as the demand for one of these rare sets has been high after its release). Each box was imprinted with the logo and the individual number of the set. Here is #1, which I kept for my own collection.

We also imprinted the logo on the leather felts underneath the kings.

I actually found an antique set later, which is 95% identical to the catalogue engraving, but with different knights.

@WandelKoningin, sorry for having bombed your thread, which was originally about minimalist chess sets. It was not my intention to sidetrack from the original topic, but I tend to get carried away when talking about reproductions.

That alternate knight from the original looks like a forebearer of the Steiner Piatigorsky knight! Do you have more info about it or Steiner's inspiration?

I do not know anything about a connection to Steiner, but I always tried to connect it to the 1885 catalogue of Roegner in Leipzig and the "Augustea" set therein. Here is what I wrote on my website, which summarises my research so far:

"Here is a German chess set in the Staunton pattern, which is possibly a copy of the chess set which was illustrated as an engraving in the 1885 catalogue of Schachhandel Adolf Roegner from Leipzig. So far I have not been able to find an original, and I don't know anyone who knows of an original, so I commissioned - before I acquired this set - a reproduction of the chess set under the working title "1885 Leipzig Augustea Klub-Schach". The name "Augustea" refers to the Leipzig chess club "Augustea", which was one of the leading chess clubs in Germany in the 19th century. From Roegner's catalogue description it can be seen that he presented the design, which was worked out by a renowned atelier, to a committee of experts of the "Augustea" chess club, who rated the set as "splendid". In any case, the present Staunton set shows a very strong correspondence with the set shown in the catalogue, even if it is not identical in every detail. Especially the shape of the knights is strikingly different.Furthermore, the original is said to have been weighted with lead, while the set at hand is unweighted. However, the set was offered by Roegner in different sizes and possibly different qualities, so that it cannot be ruled out that the different sizes and qualities also showed differences in design. This is not completely unknown, as we know from Schmitthenner pieces from the same period, for example, which show significant differences between the different sizes. A further indication that the present set is either an original or at least closely related to the original is the fact that its history can be traced back to Leipzig. The present pieces come from the House of Conrady in Miltenberg, the former Mildenburg stables, the castle above the village of Miltenberg, at the foot of which the house is located. It was last owned by the recently deceased Dr. Ludwig Blanck-Conrady. The house was formerly owned by Wilhelm Conrady, who lived from 1829 to 1903. Wilhelm Conrady was a lawyer and later Reichslimeskomissar. He was the nephew and heir of Friedrich Gustav Habel, the former owner of the Mildenburg castle. Wilhelm Conrady had no children. Therefore his property passed to other parts of the family at his death. One of these family members was August Conrady, who was a famous sinologist. He studied and received his doctorate in Würzburg, but then habilitated at the University of Leipzig in 1891, where he taught as an associate professor from 1896 and as a full professor from 1922. The Conrady house in Miltenberg, from which the chess set originated, was August Conrady's summer residence."

Very cool!

I have to say I really enjoy my B210 reproduction, it’s minimalist as far as staunton design chess pieces go, but not as minimalist from an art perspective as some sets.

The angled cuts on the knight are really good.

Some other sets that cpuld be considered minimalist in design, yet still playable

1. Noj BCE https://www.noj.si/?mod=catalog&action=view&group=47&lang=en
2. Play Magnus set was fun, kind of like if IKEA designed a set https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/chessbazaar-introduces-magnus-carlsen-chess-set
3. Biro’s Hungarian design https://caissa.ro/ChessSet/

Stuff like this are more artis but less playable

1. https://www.chessbazaar.com/1940s-art-deco-series-weighted-chess-pieces-ebonized-boxwood-and-boxwood-3-8-king.html
2. https://store.moma.org/products/panisa-chess-set
3. I love this one https://www.chesshouse.com/collections/man-ray-chess-set
4.  

or the

For me, BCE is one of the most elegant minimalist sets out there... too bad they are so expensive now, I can't justify...

https://www.noj.si/?mod=catalog&action=productDetails&ID=165&lang=en

Yeah, beautiful! What do they actually cost? I’ve never seen a price mentioned anywhere.

I’m not certain. NOJ went up in price over the years, so you’re probably looking at around 1k. I wouldn’t know for certain and i’m basing it off other sets they make like dubrovnik and tal. I owned a dubrovnik and it cost around that.

NOJ makes the BCE set, but the design is owned by ifekali. He’s active here so you could reach out to him

https://bestchessmenever.com/

So there may be other makers . For example here he was having them manufactured by playmagnus in plastic https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/introducing-best-chessmen-ever-blitz

Ahh in searching for the 3D-printed Blitz version, I actually found a price list of all variants: https://bestchessmenever.com/buy/

Wow, such a stunning chess set! Sad that it had such a limited run.

The BCE Stage 1 Eastern Kerrock was by far the coolest IMO

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/best-chessmen-ever-kerrock

Before starting the project, I asked among collectors who would be interested in buying such a set. The feedback was not too great. I then had to decide how many copies I wanted to commission, because I had to pre-finance the entire production without being able to estimate exactly how many I would be able to sell later to refinance it. I had less than 15 pre-orders. To avoid taking too much of a financial risk, I decided to limit production to 20 sets. At the same time, of course, this also had the desired advantage that this set would be a collector's item that would remain something special and not be available in mass production for everyone at any time. Later, once the set was released and the 20 copies sold, the interest in the set grew rapidly and many more people wanted to buy.

Oh yeah, I came across it last week. Beautiful!

I’m curious, why was the initial interest so low? I do tend to favor getting sets with some historical significance if possible, but I’ve also acquired several modern sets simply for their beauty.

I wish I knew. Perhaps people were reluctant to order before they could see the final result. But even when I was able to show sample pictures, the responses were still very limited. Only when all 20 sets were sold, interest increased significantly. People always seem to be more interested in sets that are more difficult to acquire.

I am actually planning more reproductions in the near future, once I am in a position to dedicate more time to the design and process. Maybe the next repro will receive more attention in advance.

Is it possible to find that recessed Chavet chess board with the slide storage on the side? It looks like such a fun set! I think the only images I've seen are ones you posted.

I'm probably a bit late, but if you have the source that attests to the work of the 50s to 60s to arrive at the illustrated copy, I'm interested.

Henri Chavet 1887 - 1966
Max Chavet 1916 - 2015
Alain Chavet 1953 -

These are the three generations who from father to son have managed the Chavet workshop created by Henri Chavet and Alfred Gonnet in 1912. After 1926, Henri will manage the workshop alone.

Max will manage from the 50s, while Alain will take his first steps in 70 and will manage in 80 til recently.

It is Alain who is at the origin of this set at the beginning of the 70s. Faced with competition from Lardy, whose new knight was strongly inspired by the old one of Chavet (not to write copied ...), he created a first version. I note about 5 to 6 variations of this set over the next 30 years.

Here is a proposal of the evolution of sizes 6.

And a small mix of sizes 1 to 10 from different periods (1970-2000)

Regarding the copy, I must admit that it is very close to the original except for two characteristics: the king's cross and the placement of the knight's eye. It's this eye that allows us to recognize a set used for the WCC1990.

The proposed comparison by @EfimLG47 is a bit swapped because it's based on two different size series (size 2-3 vs size 6 - copy). On the other hand, I would be endless in compliments for his entire presentation on the main subject of this thread!

It is very interesting to read this thread. It’s a joy to read the thoughts of experts who’s knowledge and passion shines through - as it does with Walter and Holger. And then the humility to acknowledge errors while trying to find the facts … great stuff. Thanks for the thread.