Eyechess,
Would love to own a NoJ Dubrovnik II set one day. Regarding the colors, I'd like to see them do a rich burgundy. Why? Because that's the color that red sandalwood (no longer available) and African padauk turn to when aged. A beautiful blending of red and brown.
Here is the red that is available from Noj. It is a red stained European Maple.
Today we are snowed in from traveling to relatives and I am kind of happy to have the quality quiet time. I realized that using the BCE wood green board I normally use with my Walnut Dubrovnik II along with this red one and the red clock I have dedicated to this set makes it the perfect Christmas Chess set.
Doesn't it look festive?
Noj only uses 2 woods for all their sets, European Walnut for the natural wood dark pieces and European Maple for the light pieces and stained Brown and Red dark pieces. They handle no other woods and I certainly would not expect them to import or otherwise try to bring in other, more exotic woods.
For me what they offer is great.
I have a burgundy Dubrovnik that was made for me by a person who is a master chess maker in Eastern Europe but he does not work for Noj but has his own work shop. His skill and art are absolutely breathtaking.
Pictures, pictures, we want pictures.
I have a burgundy Dubrovnik that was made for me by a person who is a master chess maker in Eastern Europe but he does not work for Noj but has his own work shop. His skill and art are absolutely breathtaking.
Pictures, pictures, we want pictures.
😂
Yes, Ron, the green and red make it a perfect Christmas set.
Ron, your red set is the perfect color. It looked much darker in an earlier post. Merry Christmas!
you can't really trust photographs that are posted online I think. There are at least two layers of interference with reality there (I.e. the camera's propensities for exposure, etc. and your screen's way of handling colours and contrasts). I was more into the dark red posted elsewhere. Bright red too me looks slightly less desirable. Merry Christmas people!
you can't really trust photographs that are posted online I think. There are at least two layers of interference with reality there (I.e. the camera's propensities for exposure, etc. and your screen's way of handling colours and contrasts). I was more into the dark red posted elsewhere. Bright red too me looks slightly less desirable. Merry Christmas people!
Perhaps as this entry I made on a Noj thread I had posted a few weeks ago would better accommodate your taste for this red stained Noj Dubrovnik set, taken with an iPhone 6 plus camera...Merry Christmas.
I own a NoJ Dubrovnik II set and it is BY FAR the best set I've ever seen.
HOS deceitfully markets a "Dubrovnik" set, but it's nowhere close.
I see you have this set in Walnut for the dark pieces, very nice indeed.
I own a NoJ Dubrovnik II set and it is BY FAR the best set I've ever seen.
HOS deceitfully markets a "Dubrovnik" set, but it's nowhere close.
Spassky, I agree. The HoS is not in the same league as the Noj set, but for 1/3 the price, it isn't a bad alternative for those of us with shallow pockets. Better, IMHO, than the version by CB.
I have owned my Noj Dubrovnik II Walnut set for almost 8 years now. The Walnut always felt a bit too hard of a wood to the point of being brittle when handling it. So, I played with the set for the slower time control games only.
When I bought my Red dyed set from Noj, 2 1/2 years ago, the set played quite well, but I just wasn't motivated to use the Red color for most games as I just felt it might not be as accepted by my opponents.
When my Walnut Queens chipped in storage and Gregor was going to replace them for free, i decided to buy the Brown stained version of this set. Gregor told me he thought the European Maple would be more durable than the European Walnut. And he was right about that.
Since I received my Brown Noj Set, i have used it a lot more and for some faster time control games. Yes, the set holds up very well in regular play.
What became quite noticeable was how nice this Noj set is to play with. The pieces are slightly weighted and have a good balance to them without being too heavy.
Looking at the pictures and videos of Bobby Fischer with his Dubrovnik set, that Noj has reproduced so excellently, you will see Bobby literally tossing and banging the pieces on the boards, both vinyl and wood. When I played with the Walnut set, I wondered that he felt so confident to toss the pieces about so much. But now that I have the stained Maple set, I now feel confident in playing more roughly with the set.
So yes, the Noj set is excellent. And the Maple sets are a pleasure to use without concern of chipping.
Yes, it is more expensive, Lou. But I already have got more value and usage from my Brown stained set than a number of other sets by HoS and Official Staunton that cost less than half what I paid for the Noj Dubrovnik and I have owned those other sets a lot longer than the Noj set. Plus after 7 1/2 years, Gregor made and replaced both of my Walnut Queens for free. And since I sent him one of the Queens, he matched the wood perfectly for color and grain. In fact he sent the original, chipped Queen back with the replacements and except for the chipped collar, you can't tell the difference between the originals and new replacements. This is exceptional service, to say the least.
Gregor and his brother and father produce the best quality sets, period. And when you buy one of these sets that you find you can use a lot, you will get your money's worth.
... The House of Staunton has what they call a prototype of their Deluxe bag on sale for $30. This is like the original Deluxe bag with bandoliers or loops in the front compartment to hold a set. Well I got one of these bags and use it to hold what I call my Ultimate, Every Day Carry Chess Set Up.
So, in this bag I have put my original Ultimate Plastic set in the bandolier loops. My Brown Stained Noj Dubrovnik II set is in the main compartment in a well padded, flat Plano tackle box. I have the folding Walnut, 2.13" Ferrer board from Wholesale Chess in the board area and carry a Green Wholesale Chess Flex Pad board, a Walnut Butterman board and a Green thin flexible mousepad board from American Chess Equipment. If I feel the game might get too rough I will use the plastic Ultimate set. Otherwise the Noj Dubrovnik II will handle the play very well. I also decided to carry 2 Chess clocks as well. Both clocks are V-Tek 300 models. One is black with red buttons added and the other is the White color. So you see why I call this my Ultimate, Every Day Carry Chess Set Up.
@Eyechess; I've been reading and rereading this thread as I contemplate ordering a set of the Noj Dubrovnik II pieces (Red stained). Your comment about utilizing a "well padded flat Plano tackle box" got my attention. I too will be carrying mine regularly and have been wondering about options for protecting such a fine set. Any chance you would be willing to share a photo of the "well padded flat Plano tackle box" and how you have your set organized within? Thanks for all your terrific posts about chess equipment. They have been most helpful to me. I need all the inspiration I can get.
For storage, I use the Plano 3700 for all my smaller (less than 4.0" King height) sets. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E3C3OE/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I use something called Nu-Foam in the 1 inch thickness which I buy at Joann Fabrics.
Depending on the size of the pawns, I set the box up accordingly.
For the Dubrovnik II sets, I find the pawns sit or carry best in 2 of the compartments without padding. I also separate the Queens with a little strip of the foam to prevent the chipping I had happen.
@Eyechess - Thank you so very much for sharing this information and photos. El perfecto!
How about this? Brand new and NOT NOJ
In process of recreating another version of Dubrovnik chessmen with wider rooks.
@rsava: Well, you had me Chuckling...
@QtoQlevel 3: The Walnut seems to be a bit more hard or even brittle of a wood compared to the Maple. When picking up the pieces, the collars on the Walnut sometimes feel to have more of an edge or sharper. Both of my stained Maple sets feel as if they could handle rougher play better.
If I were going to do it from scratch I would “only” get the Red and Brown stained versions.