The Europa is a great solid basic chess set with hints of Chavet. Two big advantages over a modern Chavet set: I don't see any leaners! AND the wood looks to be better quality than modern Chavet. AND I prefer these Bishops with the thin miter cut over modern Chavet's clunky miter cuts. Oops, that's 3.
No need to worry about dings, drops, and slams. That 50mm board is a better size and looks like a much better match with the utilitarian nature of the Europa set. Enjoy the heck out of them.
These pieces really speak to me. So simple and elegant yet practical. Do you have a link to purchase the set? (searches at AlphaEchecs.fr for europa or staunton europa turn up no results) I'm not in the market at the moment but would love to keep this in my back pocket.
Kudos on the photography and the 50mm board. It's the true star here for me. chef's kiss
https://www.alphaechecs.fr/produit/pieces-dechecs-n-5-modele-staunton-europe
For any order outside mainland France, the Customer must contact the Seller by email at contact@alphaechecs.fr or by phone at 06 32 94 31 95
Here is a link:
https://www.ajedrezeuropa.com/piezas/131-89-staunton-europa.html#/70-altura_rey_europa-92
You can even choose the height of the king (70, 78, 87 and 92 mm)
Thanks and wow! Had I known about this a few weeks ago, I probably would have purchased the 70mm set as my small board study set instead of the World Championship pieces. That is, if I could have figured out a way to convince them to ship to the US. 
Nice set indeed, I also have them the FS-6 and FSE-6 (weighted). You can buy either one of them, the weights are practically useless as it doesn't add much weight really. It is based on old Chavet design with their own twist mainly the knights don't have manes, no eyes and smaller base. Other than that, they're solid massive sets made to play. I like it.
@Aernout_nl Nice set! I really like the queen in this set over the queen from a modern Chavet set. I also really like both of your boards especially the 50 mm one with a thin border.
Nice set indeed, I also have them the FS-6 and FSE-6 (weighted). You can buy either one of them, the weights are practically useless as it doesn't add much weight really. It is based on old Chavet design with their own twist mainly the knights don't have manes, no eyes and smaller base. Other than that, they're solid massive sets made to play. I like it.
Nice set! Which board is that?
Simple and beautiful. A lovely set and thank you for taking the time to post a review in such detail.
Thanks all!
@812Superfast Michael's board looks like Rechapados Ferrer's Walnut Deluxe Diagonal board.
Yes it is. I just realized I posted that in the wrong thread.
I've always thought this set was a copy or a version of a Chavet (since I know what a Chavet is), is made out of boxwood, They use local boxwood and from the south of France, and I know from my own experience that there are boxwood pretty white. Fortunately they let the wood to dry enough to not get any leaning piece!
. Nice set, this number 5 is nocer than the one on the pictures of their webpage.
Nice set indeed, I also have them the FS-6 and FSE-6 (weighted). You can buy either one of them, the weights are practically useless as it doesn't add much weight really. It is based on old Chavet design with their own twist mainly the knights don't have manes, no eyes and smaller base. Other than that, they're solid massive sets made to play. I like it.
May I ask where you got the No 6 set with weights ? I can't find them anywhere.
Nice set indeed, I also have them the FS-6 and FSE-6 (weighted). You can buy either one of them, the weights are practically useless as it doesn't add much weight really. It is based on old Chavet design with their own twist mainly the knights don't have manes, no eyes and smaller base. Other than that, they're solid massive sets made to play. I like it.
May I ask where you got the No 6 set with weights ? I can't find them anywhere.
I bought it straight from the manufacturer Mora. They don't have online store so i paid it through bank transfer. https://www.mora-play.com/mora/
I bought it straight from the manufacturer Mora. They don't have online store so i paid it through bank transfer. https://www.mora-play.com/mora/
Sweet ! Thank you very much for sharing.
Searching about Mora pieces and asking online retailers in France and Spain I discovered some things that may be useful for those reading this thread in the future:
According to a French retailer, Mora changed the way they make their Europa pieces. They used to make sizes 1 to 6 in buis (boxwood), but they weren't satisfied with the quality of the wood they were getting. Mora is now using guatambu wood, and apparently adding more weight to the weighted pieces. There is also the possibility to get them in either polished (matte) or glossy finish, in 3 colors for the black pieces: acajou, black and walnut. The new wood sets come with extra queens and are available up to size 5 according to this French retailer.
I got myself a size 5 matte black set to use with a Wengue Barcelona board by Rechapados Ferrer. I'm going to update this comment once it arrives.
It's a shame they're not making the size 6 with the new wood, weight and extra queens. I find their size 6 king and bishop much more elegant.
Dear all,
After seeing a picture of it on Reddit.com/r/chessporn (don't worry, it's SFW), I recently ordered a chess set by Tournerie Mora (Spain) called Staunton Europa No 5 from a French website called AlphaEchecs.fr.
Since I have enjoyed reading many of your reviews, I thought I'd return the favor! I even had a friend bring his camera for some nicer pictures.
It's a 3.5" set. The White pieces are made from a wood that is lighter in color than boxwood and features a warm, swirly, grain, while the Black pieces are stained. All the pieces are quite matte, which is quite easy on the eye. The pieces are "lightly weighted" (please see the table of measurements below). While the set comes with 1 Queen of each color, the website offers a set of additional Queens which can be bought separately.
The set reminded my a bit of the Chavet sets I saw on these forums, both in the shapes of the pieces and in the nice, swirly grain on the white chess pieces. I think it looks quite clean and solid (i.e. no small parts that will break easily) and especially like the Knight. The wood smells great (which unfortunately will probably go away).
I'm happy with the set. I think it's pretty and comfortable to look at. The only downside is that it is so lightly weighted (460 g total, even a bit lighter than my 3" German Knight set), which makes moving the pieces miss that bit of gravitas which I typically enjoy. Then again, it also wasn't that expensive of a set.
I took the following measurements:
I used a caliper to measure the sizes. For the weights, since the black pieces are made out of the same wood as the white pieces (I think), I weighed all available pieces of the same type together and divided by their number to find the average weight. (E.g. I measured the weight of 16 pawns and divided it but 16 to get the weight listed in the table.) I did not check weight consistency. The total set weight amounts to 460 g (16 oz).
And now: pictures! I have the pieces set up on a JLP maple and walnut 2-1/4" board from ChessHouse (which is gorgeous and feels extremely high-quality), and on my old 50 mm veneer board (which unfortunately is quite beat up--but I learned to play chess on it by my dad and it has a beautiful, warm patina). Bonus points for those who recognize the position on the 50 mm board.