Ownership Review - Chessbazaar's 1904 Cambridge Springs International Congress Tournament Chess Set

"It's back after a century" they said when announcing this chess set a few days back. There is no denying that this chess set has never been reproduced before. Truly kudos to Chess Bazaar & every single person who was involved in reproducing this beauty. Passion for reproduced chess sets run deeper into me since I've played with this chess set. I like this set mainly because it is free of religious symbolism. Tired of seeing so many kings with crosses, You can say it's an oasis in the desert. The original chess pieces used in the well-known chess Congress tournament held in Cambridge Springs 1904, the same tournament that also hurled GM Frank Marshall to fame. The quality and accuracy of this chess set have remarkably exuded beyond my expectations. You absolutely cannot get a better workmanship at this price point.

We all like the heavy premium feel we get when we hold the wooden chess set and this chess set is no different. It feels premium & heavily weighted in hands. Pieces have perfect tournament base size and they have weights in them. Despite the set weighs 1326 grams, pieces still feel very heavy and cannot fall easily, perhaps due to wider bases & proper proportioning.

Flawless workmanship at the mane of knights. These small details are sure to add that feel good factor to it.

The antique finish of the white pieces is the best one seen so far. On top of that, the surface is covered with buff polish & I'm regretting now why I didn't choose lacquer option. I'm sure they will look stupendous in it.

I must say that Chess Bazaar has come a long way in the terms of quality and service. Their chess sets are now nowhere less in the quality compared to the players like H.O.S & official Staunton. I am proud to own this 1904 Cambridge Springs in my collection.

Spire topped King itself is the "state of the art" in this chess set. 

Low profile dome on the queen's coronets.

Rooks are always pleasant to look at.

Literally Museum Quality! Knights are just perfect to hold.

The bishops are elegant as well.

Original style bases

Verdict- Just go for it, you won't be disappointed! It's a "state of art" chess set at the dirt cheap price.

PS - Now my eyes are on the painted 1849 chess set, what a gorgeous chess set it is & my wife also sort of agreed to shell out some money for it.

It is not my cup of tea but I'm glad you like it. Right now the less the number of chess sets that I love the better. There is only so much money and space that one can throw at chess.

Gotta' say Manfred......You have great taste! I thought I only had "one" more set to add(on order from Era Retro) but now I might add this one.......It's really outstanding!    Thanks for posting it. -

Great set. Great pictures. Thanks. 

Great display.... But you may just may want to wait for our version! Since we had this in the pipeline before Chessbazaar, we see no reason not to launch our version of this wonderful historic set. Thanks to Mike V and Alan B for all their kind assistance 

Which company is that?

Is it? Are the ones with the pointy hats not really Bishops in this set then?

Official Staunton

Gosh, do you sell chess sets then?

thank you we will certainly try. 

Hi Carl, when is the approximate arrival date for the CS 1904 set?  Great that you will go ahead with it. 

I just received this set as well, so I'll throw in my two cents worth. I really liked the look of all the pieces in this set, particularly the king. Last week I received some good personal news and I decided to buy the set as my own commemorative as it were. Anyway, as my first purchase from Chessbazaar I kept my eye on tracking and was simply amazed. They shipped it from India on Monday and I received it today, Wednesday!

The pieces. Amazing. I couldn't be happier. No need to post pics as @manfred_scriba_ms07 has already done an excellent job. The packaging was superb, tightly wrapped and padded. The finish is excellent, the ebonizing quite black (as opposed to other chocolate-colored ebonized pieces I have) and the antiquing is a pleasing, warm shade. 

The king is as regal as he looks in the photos, the finial sharp enough to do damage to the unsuspecting player. The queen is fantastic with the flattened crown, reminiscent of medieval paintings of royalty. The bishops stand proud and the knights are posted on pedestals. The rooks were the best surprise for me, wide and chunky towers which are a pleasure to grasp. 

I find the wide bases and tapered shafts very stylish and the weight is perfect.   

Understandably, not everyone will feel the same. I had some trepidation about the look of the knights, too many knights have simple circles for eyes. But after seeing them first hand and moving them on the board, the uneasiness has vanished. 

I am very pleased with this set! 

Chess Bazaar never seems to get the knights right on the reproduction sets (Dubrovnik, Cavalier, Piatigorsky, Soviet Era set, etc.). They always seem just a little bit off.

I am interested too on the ETA for the OS version of the CS 1904 set. 

They got the knights right on their FIDE Championship reproduction, but agree about the Dubrovnik... knight there is too large and not detailed enough. Regarding that FIDE set, mine is due to be delivered Monday. The Bishop King and Queen look a little plump, should be slightly more slender and tapered. But I'm partial to good Knights.

Lou, you have been a critic of chessbazaar, but trust me all the repros they launched this year speaks in itself. Be it a Bohemia, the Baku, the petrolopis, 1849, Chavet and so many. It seems that they have upped their game in terms of quality and if they can able to show their consistency, they can definitely be the king in this game. I do have a lot of HoS sets and from TCS and yes, CB has been able to superseded them in terms of quality and price of course. I do agree that some of their repros are little bit off but then it seems fine with the value these sets have. But with more than 18 CB sets I possess, I must say that all are really nice playable sets and I have received a lot of appreciation when I took them to the chess clubs.

My only point was that now there is a better prototype to work from.

Manfred, You're right, I have been a critic of CB in the past, and I do admit that the quality of their latest repro sets has increased dramatically. So much so, that I actually purchased their Romanian-Hungarian Tournament and Russian (Soviet Era) sets (both in sheesham), and I've been very pleased with both sets. Who knows? Perhaps all the negative feedback (not just mine) has had a positive effect.

Your pics made me order mine. It just shipped  !!!