The ideal chess set

A little background I've purchased a $150~ set in past from House of Staunton that was wood lacquer and really caught peoples eye, and was pleasing to play with. I'm trying to find a similar set- with a flat wooden board (not fold up) which can be used for tournaments. I absolutely don't mind toting an awkwardly large board around- especially when the alternative is playing with people's folded up/wrinkled/faded or (OFF-COLOR) roll-out vinyl boards, which SUCK. 

At the back of my mind, I'm picturing like something they use in international major tournaments- that Magnus Carlsen would play on, but on a wooden board that is elevated a little bit but not much, with beautiful full size 4.5 inch queen lacquer pieces. I can't find it. I'm currently checking e-bay but if anyone knows what I'm talking about, please post it. Thank you.

UPDATE: I just found the Reykjavik II 3.75" king set: (NOT PICTURED BELOW)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/USCF-Sales-The-Reykjavik-II-Chess-Set-Pieces-Only-3-75-King-Ebonized-Boxw/171560883856?hash=item27f1d35690:g:BhAAAOSwzVpbGwmM

This is front runner so far.

Here's another beatiful combo set- VERY VERY close to what I'm looking for:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Combo-of-Reykjavik-Staunton-Chess-Pieces-Walnut-Maple-Chessboard-3-7-C0512/392128664551?hash=item5b4cb093e7:g:LpAAAOSwQYZWwsw9

^^^wait nevermind, just saw an up close picture of the absolutely terrible detail of the knight (AGAIN!) Note: this is $350 combo set and they can't offer more detail than this: If this set were $200 I'd not hesitate, but $350? F off.

 

This set below is ok, but the knight looks like it's on crack. Just don't like the crazy-eyed knight look

 I would probably pick this set... if it wasn't Zagreb. I don't know how to people feel about this set: I absolutely love the design of the knight. That is a piece that will hold up and not get chipped or broken over time. However, the King/Queen ends probably will. You know they actually design sets where they drill a hole on top, and fit the cross in- of course that never ends up staying put. (note: it's not wrong to design a set that way, it's just better if a carved wooden piece doesn't contain add-on parts.

Take a look at this- once again ANOTHER set where the knight doesn't fit in, unbelievable. This knight appears like it's on steroids. It's obviously thicker and larger than the other pieces, Again this is a nice chess set, not beautiful but nice.

 Now for the distressed knight look:

Hey BoilingFrog: Official Staunton has a Reykjavik under the name 72 series. They also have the Leuchars, Morphy and Steinitz, which are all very good. House of Staunton has the Players Series or the Dubrovnik at your mentioned price point. Shop around and have a look at those sets. Start w OS, then HoS. Nice handle btw! :)

Glad to know I'm not the only one who's often bothered by the looks of the knights (and occasionally other individual pieces) in chess sets ...

For a board + set combo to use at real tournaments, I recommend the following:

• Chess Board No. 6 - Exact Detail and Lettering for Professional Tournament Use - Mahogany and Sycamore Wood from Amazon - If you don't mind algebraic notation along the border, this board is reasonably priced and has standard 2 1/4" squares that are common at US tournaments.
• The Reproduction 1950 Dubrovnik Bobby Fischer Chess Set in Sheesham & Boxwood - 3.6" King from Chess Bazaar - This is the best price for a Dubrovnik set that I have found, probably because it's currently on sale. I prefer wood over plastic but would not bring an overly expensive wood set to a tournament. This set is priced low enough that I wouldn't feel too bad if it were damaged or stolen.

The above chess board + set costs $100 combined, about 1/2 of your budget.

One last note... for chess pieces and boxes, Chess Bazaar is worthy of consideration. If you live in the US, your order will arrive in under one week. For the best bargains, check out the clearance sale items. If you're a perfectionist, avoid the slightly imperfect items.

UPDATE: I just checked Chess Bazaar's clearance sale items. If you prefer a classic Staunton design, the 1972 Reproduced Fischer-Spassky Staunton Pattern Chess Set V2.0 in Ebonized Boxwood & Natural Boxwood - 3.75" King is nicely priced at $99.

Thanks for replies! I think I've decided. I'm going to get this board with this chess set. Tell me what you guys think- I'm going to hold off a day. I just want this to be a practical choice for tournament OTB play.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/USCF-Sales-Walnut-Maple-Wooden-Chess-Board-2-5/183160983645

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Triple-Weight-Staunton-Ebony-Wood-Chess-Set-4-2-4-queens-chessbazaar-India/273445732218

 

Are you specifically looking for a large set and board for OTB tournament play?

Personally, I prefer the standard 2.25" inch square board and 3.75" king set with 1.6" base for a tournament combination.

The problem I envision with a larger board is that at some tournaments, the tables are narrower than usual which leaves very little elbow room. Chess players sometimes like to cross their elbows on the table in front of them or, when going into a deep think, place their elbows on the table and use their hands as a shield above their eyes.

But, if your heart is set on a 2.5" square board + set, I see nothing wrong with your choices.

@ BoilingFrog: Just a bit of advice regarding that set: It's got undercut bases, which usually partly defeats the purpose of weighting a chess set (i.e. it sacrifices stability a bit). You probably should also be able to find a slightly better looking set for that money. If it's going to be used as your everyday knockaround set, then no problem. For your main set, I'd go with something else.

Brother7's recommendation is spot on. Although the wood board isn't ideal for travelling. I would go with the walnut thin mousepad board from American Chess Equipment. Goes extremely well with Sheesham/Golden Rosewood wood set like the Dubrovnik set from Chessbazzar. I hope this helps 

 

 

if I was to buy a new chess set would get NOJ Dubrovnik 1950s  as it such a nice set !

With a nice price to match .

https://www.noj.si/?mod=catalog&action=productDetails&ID=181

For now can only dream of one !

I would take you time shop around look on ebay for what you want .

In a lot of instances you really get the quality you pay for.  The lower priced Chess Bazaar sets are lower in a lot of ways.  Sure there are some that like theirs but there have been a lot of people on this forum that have compared this company's sets to other companies.  And for a few dollars more, the other companies' sets give better quality.

For use in tournaments you can still get a nice set. And it won't be that expensive.

Check out The House of Staunton's Fischer-Spassky set which sells for less than $150.  https://www.houseofstaunton.com/clearance-the-fischer-spassky-series-commemorative-chess-pieces-3-75-king.html

I own this set in both available woods and it is easily the same high quality of sets closer to $400.

If you want a larger size set look at their Wild Knight Series with a 4.4" KIng.  It lists at $159 but if you call them there always is a discount available:  https://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-wild-knight-series-chess-pieces-4-4-king-17472.html

Also the more standard Jaques design type of Jaques will be more acceptable in tournaments.

I suggest you also buy a flexible board to go along with your wood setup.  If you get a 2.25" board for the 3.75" type of size, I highly suggest one of the thin mousepad boards.  American Chess Equipment has some with very nice grain patterns:  www.amchesseq.com  Arguably the best of these boards in the green is The Chess House FlexPad board:  www.chesshouse.com

If you get a larger board and set size, then just buy a vinyl board with the larger square size to match.  The Chess Store has some in different colors that you might like:  www.thechessstore.com

Good luch and don't settle for the cheaper stuff.

From what I've seen, to get decent detail on the Knight in a wooden set, you have to pay about $600. Which I can't complain about, since after all the Knights have to be individually carved. But since this is not an issue with mass-produced plastic sets, I'm really annoyed that some plastic tournament sets use a cheap wooden set as their model.

For one instance, let us all know what flaws did you see with CB lower end sets if you have purchased any from them? I've recently bought there Bohemia ebonized at the sale price of $99 all including from India to my doorstep here in NY in 3 days flat and their quality is BETTER than HOS Fischer Spassky which I've also bought from them earlier this year. I actually find chess bazaar a very VFM store for chess lovers. 

In answer to your interesting assertion that Chess Bazaar provides higher quality Chess sets than The House of Staunton:

 

I have three sets from CB, one is very nice, the other two I had problems from the beginning.

Both that I had problems with I had to argue with them to get the issues corrected. 

One of them, "The 1950s Soviet (Russian) Latvian Reproduced Chess Set in Ebonized Boxwood & Natural Boxwood"

https://www.chessbazaar.com/the-1950s-soviet-russian-latvian-reproduced-chess-set-in-ebonized-boxwood-natural-boxwood-4-1-king.html/

 

Was orange, actually orange in color for the whoite pieces. 

When  I complained they said that was just the way it was. When I complained some more they agreed to replace it. Three months later I got my replacement set. Now the finials did not match, but at least they included new finials for the monarchs. The problem is, they did not fit. Since it would be another several months to get replacements, I did the work myself. 

 

Of the other 16 sets I have, some used, some new from OS, HoS, Wholesale, or Rochester I have had one issue - on a set from Wholesale. They did not even question it, I sent pics they sent a replacement set priority to me. 

The sets from OS or HoS, whether they be new or used (purchased from  users here) have been excellent quality. In fact I purchased a set for a close friend from Wholesale and played several games with it with him. A beautiful set. My OS sets are absolute works of art, flawless in my eyes. I paid more but then when I look at them I understand why. 

Some people love CB, others do not. Put me down on the side that does not. 

This thread is about the ideal chess set, not just a set that's nice or whatever.

What is it that makes up an ideal Chess set?  And in this case the OP wanted an ideal Chess set for playing tournaments.

First you need a design that is acceptable to the rules governing the tournaments you play.  In this case it would be US Chess and FIDE.

The Staunton design is recognized as the standard.  The design of pieces more like those produced by Jaques over the years is the norm.  Sure Lardy,, BCC and a host of others have designs very close.

The ideal Chess set would be well weighted and balanced with the best handling during play.

The Chess Bazaar Bohemian set that was mentioned as being better than the Fischer-Spassky set from The House of Staunton objectively has a number of problems in its design disqualifying it from ever being an ideal set for tournament play.

First the set weighs just under 32 ounces.  That is about 2 lbs.  The Fischer-Spassky set sold by The House of Staunton and Official Staunton weigh in at 52 ounces.  That is 3.25 lbs.  The Fischer-Spassky set is 1.25 pounds heavier than the Chess Bazaar Bohemian set.  That is a much heavier set for a lot better handling during Chess play.

The Bohemian set is nice but certainly not of the same design caliber as the standard Staunton design, especially when we are talking about tournament play. 

So this set, only considering its design and weighting, certainly would never fall under the category of ideal, in most every case.

Chess Bazaar does have the history of selling and delivering sets with various problems.

Their finish work cannot be of the same high quality of The House of Staunton or Official Staunton.  Now, I am talking about Chess Bazaar's lower priced sets.  But that is what the posters on this thread have offered as an example of what would be ideal from them.

Chess Bazaar has recently, in the last number of months, increased their quality as well as their price on these newer produced sets.

The House of Staunton's Fischer-Spassky set which is on clearance for $149 is an exceptional deal.  It is a set that easily is of the same or better quality of others costing up to $450, and this is also from the same company.

I understand that Robert_Philley thinks this is not as good of a quality as the cheaper Chess Bazaar set he mentions, but I argue that he is and will be alone in such an opinion.

I have had a high number of experienced Chess people comment on how nice the Fischer-Spassky set, in both Ebonized and Sheesham (House of Staunton calls it Golden Rosewood), looks - design, feels - finish work, and handles - weight and balance.

So, at this low price The House of Staunton offering of this set that Official Staunton has also offered at a higher cost does fall under the category of ideal..

At this time, the Staunton Design set that I feel is the best is the House of Staunton, Camaratta Signature, Craftsman Series set in Bud Rosewood.  But that is a lot more expensive than the Fischer-Spassky set.

Nice find! Here's the link on USCF Sales for CLEARANCE - The Fischer Spassky Series Commemorative Chess Pieces - 3.75" King for $149.95

From my point of view, the ideal chess set would not be made of wood. Given that ivory is no longer an option, therefore, I'm content with a well-made plastic one. But if I wanted something fancier, you can get a set made from camel bone, for example.

My ideal set if plastic is The Ultimate Chess Pieces v2.0. Yeah the yellow is something most people hate about the new UCP but I happen to like it more than the original.

My ideal wooden set is House of Chess Supreme Staunton. It is slightly patterned after the plastic Drueke 832.97 chess set. Love the light blub head design for the Bishops and the Knights look more chilled out.

This set looks really good. Could you take a couple more pictures please?

I think the ideal set varies depending on use-case. I would not want to use an artisan carved expensive set for blitz. By the same token, a solid heavily weighted plastic set (the House of Chess set mentioned a few posts before this one comes to mind), which is ideal for blitz, might not be as desirable as the artisan set for longer time controls. I’ve met that in the middle by putting together a set with a nice leather board and a heavy set of fancier pieces made of metal for regular coffee house play. Ultimately, the ideal set will be wholly subjective based on the player’s taste. If you can afford to own more than one set, the question becomes moot.