Review - World Chess Official Academy Chess Set

Man, and now I'm tempted by the Leather Fiberboard!

https://shop.worldchess.com/shop/jsbbcrgglfbkk6ckzwkhtswvh4qdxq

I need to stay away from this site...at least until Shelby's new board is released.

The product descriptions and details on the World Chess shop and website are pretty bad. Borderline amateurish. You might have luck with sending their customer service an email. It took them a few days, but they answered some questions I had in the past.

I've been out for nearly a week and unable to post my "review" of the World Chess Club Pieces (Studio Set) so apologies after mentioning it earlier. Anyway, courtesy of @CAMikaze385, this is the link I made the purchase from:

https://shop.worldchess.com/shop/official-world-chess-club-set

The set shipped quickly and communication was prompt and clear. Despite paying VAT and the company residing in the UK (I think?), the package actually shipped to me in California out of Grove City, Ohio (?). In the end, I ordered on the 15th and the pieces arrived on the 18th. A+

Packaging was nice, though certainly no match for ACE's padded box used for shipping and storing wooden Ultimate Chess Pieces.

The pieces are described as "exactly the same as the famous Championship set pieces but slightly smaller...(87% of the full size)". This results in a 3" king with weighting that feels appropriate to the size. The white pieces are footed with decent white felt and the black pieces use black felt. The carving is not *quite* as perfect as I'd expect from the larger set (or any set costing over $200, to be honest) but the flaws are mostly around the tricky parts of the top bishop mitre cuts where sometimes too much was cut or too much wood was left hanging off a cut. I think it's a *gorgeous* study set that works well even on cramped boards (I think it's fine even on a 40mm square!) and I continue to find new things to appreciate in the knights, especially. This is a set I have come most full circle on ... initially when I first saw the design way back when I despised it, yet now it's up near the top of my list (especially or the knights).

My photography skills are so embarrassingly bad and I am having trouble capturing the character of the black pieces, so I'll only display the white side for the most part.

If anyone is interested in other pieces, I can attempt more photos.

Support-wise, World Chess has been super responsive. One of the spare white queens shipped with what appears to be some spilled stain over the top. I sent an email with a couple photos and they immediately responded and shipped out a spare the next day. A+ again.

Before I go, here are the weight measurements (in grams):

White Knight: 25,24
Black Knight: 24,24
White Bishop: 22,22
Black Bishop: 22,23
White Rook: 24,23
Black Rook: 22,23
White King: 24
Black King: 25
White Queen: 25
Black Queen: 25
White Pawn (random 2): 13,12
Black Pawn (random 2): 13,13

Let me know if you have any questions and I hope this will be helpful.

@lotsoblots Thank you for taking the time to write up a review and post photos. How many total pieces did the set come with? It came with spare Knights? Can you take a photo of the pieces on the 40mm board at a more "normal" angle with the pieces scattered about as if in the middle of a game? Regular "sitting at the table" height and angle. And lastly, what is the diameter of the King's base? Thanks!

FYI: Just in case anyone is interested in the full size Official FIDE World Chess set. They are available for pre-order at WorldChess and will be shipping in 2 weeks. BUT,,, you have to buy a bundled 50mm sq board with it. $499. Chessbaron is still out of stock. 

@lotsoblots - thanks for taking the time to post your review and no need to apologise for the photos - they work well. The pieces look excellent on the board.

I am one that really likes this set - I know it’s divisive but I like the simplicity and the look of the knight from front on - it’s a clever design, I reckon. There’s not much detail but the light and the angles make it look menacing.

For me this is like a modern take on a Chavet or some of the older, simpler sets - solid, functional and cohesive.

Is the knight one piece? I don’t think so but if it was, it would appeal to me. It would appeal because I believe (from my reading and what I understand) that one piece carving is harder and I like the contradiction in simple outcome but a little tricky in the manufacture. Great looking ‘simple’ is sometimes hard to achieve.

In the wash up - I doubt that I will buy this set - the price point is not right for me - but I can appreciate that many will purchase this set and be rightly chuffed. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it for years to come.

@Pawnerai

Total blunder on my part for "spare knight" ... I meant "spare QUEEN" and have updated the original post. So sorry for the confusion. It's the typical 32 pieces with an extra queen of each color (34 pieces in total). Just in case you're curious, here is what it looked like:

Now here is my attempt at an action shot. My lighting is VERY difficult in the house, especially where the sun is at the moment:

The board in use here is:

https://www.chesssets.co.uk/chess-boards/chess-boards-12-16-inches/walnut-amp-maple-chess-board-13.75-inches

The description claims 41mm but it's close...I measured 40mm with a cheap plastic ruler.

Edit: One more note. I think my appreciation for the knights skyrocketed once I learned from a @fekali youtube video (where he placed the piece in his list of best knights) of the detail around the "eyes" ... even though there are no eyes carved in, it's the shadowing that makes the eyes appear from the front and I think the effect is just so clever and elegant.

I am in total agreement with you regarding your take on the knights and Chavet. In terms of being one piece, I am having a very difficult time determining this. It *appears* to me to be a single piece with no seam but I am not a wood turning expert (or even novice) and I would not venture a definitive statement either way.

@lotsoblots Thanks for the followup and clarification. It would've been VERY strange if they sent spare Knights instead of Queens. LOL Very nice action shot of a game in progress. Although I love glamour shots just as much as the next guy, "game in progress" shots give a much better idea of how the set looks in actual play. The lighting is fine! Thank you!

PS. You really should follow up on that VAT charge. They should not have charged you that. It might've been a simple misunderstanding. Something they can correct with a quick partial chargeback to your credit card. It's worth a quick email over to customer service.

@lotsoblots, can you show those pieces on 50mm square board? Since I was recently thinking if maybe I should buy the smaller chess set, while the normal, wooden one is unavailable. Because I think that my existing pieces are slightly cramped on the World Chess Board (50mm) so therefore I though about this 87% of original size version.

I found interesting review here:
Anyone have a World Chess Set? I have a few questions : chess (reddit.com)

With images:
Imgur: The magic of the Internet

So they weigh the same as the plastic chess set. But the plastic chess set is 100% size of the original wooden set.

Here's the same shot as before, only on a 50mm square board:

https://www.chesssets.co.uk/chess-boards/chess-boards-17-20-inches/walnut-amp-maple-chess-board-17.75-inches

Oh, and to answer a previous question from @Pawnerai that I missed, the base of the king measures between 29mm and 30mm using my cheapo plastic ruler.

I see this comment included in the responses:

"The bag I received with the pieces was not the canvas one pictured, it was a incredibly cheaply made, single stitched, synthetic bag. Any force applied to the bag will be applied directly to the pieces. It doesn't feel nice to handle. I was kind of oddly excited about the bag myself? I really liked the idea of having something that would last. It won't last. I'm going to make my own at somepoint."

I somewhat agree with this. It's synthetic and single stitched and I would expect it's relatively inexpensive to produce but I have little experience with these things. I don't like the feeling of handling it but I also don't dislike it. I probably won't use the bag much or at all, as this will mostly be my study set and I would likely travel with an ultimate chess set and vinyl/mousepad board, but the bag played no part at all in my decision to purchase the set and so it's not a disappointment for me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

BTW. I forgot to mention that World Chess reshared my review on their website!
Customer Review of the Official World Chess Academy Set

BUMP - I just wanted to make a comment that I think that this set is a great Christmas present for people who want to get into the world of chess . World Chess has now new World Chess Championship Set (Academy Edition):

Official Sets — World Chess Shop

The differences between that one and the one which I have reviewed are:

- Slightly more expensive but...

- ... You get extra queens

- The chessboard is bigger now with 50mm squares instead of 48mm.

The old one is still being sold by the way .

@lotsofbots, can you post more pictures with the studio set? How is the handling of it? Regarding the similar weight to the plastic set - the wooden one is slightly smaller, therefore I wonder if you have any weight issues with the studio set. Can you post a bit more different pictures, from different angles, with 50mm square chessboard? How is the quality of the chess set? Do you have any issues with the black pieces?

I'll try to capture some photos if I can later today. I *love* the studio set and I think the weighting feels great. Easy to pick up and place but stable on the board. I usually play with it on tight 40mm squares as I don't mind a cramped setup at all, especially when playing through games and positions from a book (as is my main use of a physical set these days).

In terms of issues with the pieces, no, I don't really have any remaining. I do think that Daniel Weil's bishop mitre (?) design is fundamentally flawed. Perhaps it's too ambitious or too ornate, but in the 13 bishops I own (from the studio set, wcc set + replacement, and dgt set), there is not a single bishop that has a clean cut. There is always at least one flaw in the circular cut-out leading up to the main slice. I wish he would have just gone with a single flat slice as most bishops have without the circular bit at the bottom.

For example, and this is just the first WCC bishop I picked up, there are 3 minor flaws in this one:

The studio bishops are even a little rougher in that area...I imagine it's even more difficult to carve that bit at a smaller size. This would be the first question I'd have if I ever had a chance to talk to Daniel Weil..."what were you thinking?"