Using Red Pieces in Tournament Games. Your Opinion? Post Your Red Set Pictures

Break out the red set, Ron, I'll play anytime.  Besides, it you like Russia -- well, at least Russian chess sets -- how can you not like red?  Before the owner decided to retire, The Little Russian Cafe in Denver had walls that were painted a blood red.  Excellent cuisine, great atmosphere, and even some Russian dancing on certain days.    

My first good set, long ago, was an ivory-and-red Gallant Knight model (3" King), similar to that pictured. I've always been impressed by the shade of red they used. I can never resist sets with red, and find white-and-black very dull.

Gallant Knight was my first chess set that wasn't small, didn't have pegs, and wasn't from Hong Kong, but it was the traditional 2-3/4 inch black one with a yellow and brown simulated wood board.  Yours is the rarer one, but are you sure the king stands at 3 inches?

I was with my mom in 1961 or 62 when she "purchased" the Gallant Knight for me with Pioneer Stamps.  Many at Chess.com are too young to remember stamps given away with the amount of groceries purchased.  You could use them for items at the local stamp outlets.  Pioneer stamps was one based in Colorado, and the building now houses an electrical contractor.

That was 55 years ago, but I remember it because I was so excited about a new, shiny chess set.  You know what they say, you never forget your first chess set ... oh, that's your first girl.  Talk about a trip down memory lane.

I remember well the S&H Green Stamp books we filled up, about 60 years ago. Don't know if we have any sign collectors here, but I saw a vintage metal "We Give S&H Green Stamps" sign you can pick up on eBay for around $250.

Thanks, Bob, I thought you might remember.  I think S&H Green Stamps was nationwide, and certainly the most popular.  I wonder if I can pick up that sign from eBay with ... S&H Green Stamps.

Can you imagine the number of stamps amounting to $250 in those days?  You'd have to deliver your booklets to the outlet in wheelbarrows.

The Racine, Wisconsin Chess Club played wth black and ivory Gallant Knight sets on hand-painted green and buff boards in the sixties when I played there. All the big tournaments in Milwaukee used black and cream plastic Windsor sets on black and buff linen boards. 

Hi Chuck,

Was it hard to see the black pieces on the black squares?  Also, do you remember if the Gallant Knight set you played with was 3-1/4 or 2-3/4 inch.  They just slapped on an extra half inch of plastic to the base, which made it look odd.  By the way, Gallant Knight jettisoned their design, which I liked, and went with the standard club set, but I don't know the timeline.  You can find both on eBay.

The Drueke 2-1/4 inch linen boards with green and buff squares were nice; I still have mine.  I picked up a 2-3/8 square linen from House of Staunton, but they no longer carry them.  It's all roll-ups for tournaments, but that's safer and cheaper in case some clod spills his drink all over it.

Oh, House of Staunton still has nice folding wooden boards.

HI Bob,

No, it wasn't hard to see the Windsor sets on those boards. They're pretty robust, except perhaps the undersized knight, which was less undersized on those plastic sets. 

Okay, okay, you guys have finally worn me down. I'll give up........!

..........just ordered a red chess set set with burgundy vinyl board from Wholesale Chess.

That set is rather striking in the photo, Lou, particularly with that board.

I checked. Including the cross, it just about makes 3-1/4 inches.

I acquired two different smaller sets (2-3/4" and one smaller yet) while trying to get one like my original.  I've seen pictures of some 5"-King Gallant Knight sets as well.

My parents bought my set at Marshall Field's in downtown Chicago, along with a nice, folding board. The set didn't come with a cheap board, so maybe this was an upgrade that was offered.

I'm pretty sure that the set that Waitzkin and Son use at home in Searching for Bobby Fischer is the 2-3/4" red-and-ivory Gallant Knight. As it's supposed to be something he'd put away and had almost forgotten about, it's a nice touch.

Then you do indeed have a rare set because the shape and proportion is just like the 2-3/4 set.  Here is what I mean by slapping on a piece of plastic to the bottom, which makes it ugly and ill-proportioned.

Your set doesn't look like this at all, which makes me wonder if it was specifically made to be sold at Marshall Fields.  I've never seen another 3-1/4 inch Gallant Knight, Black or Red, like yours on eBay.

Nope. The chessmen in all of my 3-1/4" sets look just like the ones in your photograph. Now that you mention it, they do appear to be identical to the 2-3/4" men on elevator shoes.

I always thought that their design was somewhat big-bottomed. I had no idea that there was a sleeker design available! (I just grabbed that other photograph from online to illustrate the color.)

This is a 5-inch-King Gallant knight set. Image on Picasa Web Albums, dwolf359. (I have to investigate why I can now paste pictures but not links!)

Talk about cherry red!

A lot depends upon the lighting. Those pics don't represent the slightly-darker red of my GK sets very well. 

But you can see that the styling does not include a pedestal, so that the chessmen don't appear skinny and bottom-heavy.

https://picasaweb.google.com/104923071696709969968/Miscellany#5507199217322126562

Got the link to work. Someone paid over $800 for the 5" set in an auction.

It's a novelty at 5-inches, but $800 on plastic?  Someone has money to burn.