Noj Dubrovnik Minceta weighted or unweighted?

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jsto

Dec 14, 2020

In your opinion, which one is more fun to play with? Why? Also, are weighted Noj pieces more prone to cracking?

Eyechess

Dec 14, 2020

The weights in all Noj sets are the same and not too heavy. I have never heard of any of their pieces cracking at all.

Fischer had a set that was not weighted. You can see videos of him on the internet handling and moving the pieces. Some people on here have bought their Noj sets unweighted and they are happy.

My Dubrovnik Minceta is weighted and it’s great as well. You will also find people on this forum that have weighted sets and are very happy with theirs as well.

Sorry to not give you a solid answer one way or the other. For what it’s worth I would get mine weighted again in a heart beat.

forked_again

Dec 14, 2020

As far as authenticity, in terms of an accurate reproduction, weren't the original 1950 pieces unweighted?

nojchess

Dec 14, 2020

Original was unweighted. Since 2008 we made 736 chess sets. Never got any cracking feedback.

OptimusBlunders

Dec 15, 2020

nojchess wrote:

Original was unweighted. Since 2008 we made 736 chess sets. Never got any cracking feedback.

Thank you for your reply.

Does that include no cracking even from weighted sets? Cracking due to moisture and the wood contracting that is. Not from rough handling of the pieces.

nojchess

Dec 15, 2020

No cracking on weighted or unweighed.

Take care

jsto

Dec 15, 2020

Thank you all for the very helpful answers! I'm still debating which kind to get, but now durability is no longer on my mind as that was answered by Noj themselves. Now, I'm mainly wondering if unweighted would be ok for occasional games in the yard, and a lot of study/games in my room. How stable are the unweighted pieces?

Eyechess

Dec 15, 2020

The design of the Dubrovnik pieces are quite stable without weights due to the design. This can be seen in the videos of Bobby Fischer with his version.

Personally I would get the weights in the Noj sets. Noj does not put heavy weights in and the weights can only add to the stability of the pieces, especially in outdoor use.

maik1988

Dec 15, 2020

Holymoly @nojchess! That's a hugely impressive run of sets without any cracks. This is actually really significant for me, since I've ordered from a number of other vendors before and all sets always had some pieces that were cracked. Presumably the woods do stabilize over time so if you get replacements I guess you're good but still, some of the sets I ordered from those vendors were not exactly cheap either...

jsto

Dec 15, 2020

#10

At this point the only vendor I'm comfortable ordering quality wood chess pieces from is Noj. They definitely know what they're doing! I can't wait to get my own set from them, no matter if it's weighted or not.

zagryan

Dec 15, 2020

#11

I would recommend getting the unweighted version of Dubronik Minceta, especially if you want a tournament sized set for analysis and for traveling. It is fun to play with after getting used to their lightness. There was an internet article somewhere that mentioned unweighted chess set being preferred by travelling GMs because of these reasons. Maybe it was Izmet, I'm not sure.

Having said that, unweighted pieces may feel odd at first. You must adjust how you handle them to avoid pieces from falling over, although Dubrovnik by design is quite stable without the weights. I have found that putting the pieces down "vertically" and "accurately" onto a board helps keep them stable and not fall over. If there are no pieces along the path, you can of course simply slide them without lifting. There's a reason why Bobby Fischer handled his unweighted Dubrovnik pieces the way he did, banging them down hard onto a board. (There are several youtube videos showing him analyzing with his unweighted Dubrovnik pieces so check them out if you haven't done so).

What I mean by putting pieces down "vertically"... Compared to weighted pieces, unweighted pieces wobble a bit when moved. Wobbling is okay, and is part of the charm of playing with unweighted pieces. Wobbling means they will no longer tip over. You want to avoid putting them down at a slight angle, which may tip the pieces to go over their threshold and fall over. You can minimize that by putting them down "vertically".

Now, for putting down "accurately," it simply means putting pieces down on their intended square such that they would not bump into other pieces. If it does, one of them, usually itself, may trip over. You can avoid that by putting down "accurately" onto a spot on the square such that it would not hit other pieces. Sometimes your fingers may get in the way and accidentally bump other pieces, making them fall over. I think that's why Bobby banged down the pieces the way he did. He was essentially throwing the pieces straight down from a certain height so his fingers would not have to go down to the level of other pieces, minimizing chances of contact.

There aren't many manufacturers who offer unweighted wooden chess pieces. Jaques of London used to offer unweighted version of their Staunton chessmen in the early days but not any more. Get the Noj unweighted Minceta if you plan to use the set for analysis and/or on vacations. My second Noj would definitely be a weighted version, but that would primarily be for home use.