Ron, my current favorite is probably this 4-1/8" New American set in blood rosewood from The Chess Piece. Top quality at an affordable price (it's on sale). Fits best on a 2-3/8" board.
http://www.thechesspiece.com/proddetail.asp?prod=The-New-American-blood-rosewood-Chessmen
That's very nice, Lou. By the way, I know you have had your borderless boards made in different sizes. Where were they made?
Thanks, Ron. The set is near perfectly proportioned (Kd= 77.9%, Pd = 58.9%), and nicely weighted at 57 oz. Head on, the knights look like they're ready to attack!
I had my 2.5", 2.125" and 2" boards made at Bill's Woodpile on ETSY. I'm not seeing any chess boards advertised on his webpage at the present time. If you're interested you might want to contact him through the site.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/BillsWoodPile?section_id=14070166&ref=shopsection_leftnav_1
My favorite is the 2.5" padauk and northern ash. I love how the grain pattern on the ash runs contiguous across the board (by request).
My fourth board, the 2.375" board shown with the set above, was made by somebody out in Colorado. Unfortunately, the board arrive warped (2nd from the bottom in the photo below).
After many hours of refinishing (it's still warped), but I was able to work it into a playable condition. The guy offered me a choice of a full refund, or a 50% discount. I took the discount.
Of the wooden sets I still own, my favorite is the Players, but the set I really want is this ---->> The Frank Camaratta Signature Luxury Chess Pieces - 4.4" King
It's way outside my price range but I just love the looks of that set! I would have it on permanent display here at La Palais Crappov! For now, I must settle for my Player's set ---->>
That signature set is really nice. I don't usually care one way or the other about rooks, but that rook caught my eye, nice.
I ended up giving my first Players set to a young guy that had just turned Master. I bought a Classic Series in 3.75" thinking it was a lesser priced version. After owning and playing with it, I realized my error.
It's easy to look at other sets, past the Players, thinking they will be nicer or just as nice especially when you own the Players. I think the Players is a real sleeper and can be easily overlooked.
Kind of like asking what's my favorite beer (The Next One 
). This is my latest addition. The 5" King Drueke #38 set. But my Soviet era Grandmaster set runs a close second. Cheers -Ronbo 
I've got two 'serious' chess sets, one simple design that looks a lot like the dgt pieces (german knight) and also one players' series from HoS. I thought it was striking when I read these posts here that more people thought the players' series set was underrated. I couldn't be happier with mine. Great value, even considering the fact that I live in Europe and shipping from HoS plus customs inflated the total costs by a bunch. Initally I had the players' series set up on a veneered mahogany/maple board, but somehwere in the summer last year I ordered a 2,25" maple/walnut hardwood board to go with it. Very pleasing combination, imo.
Maik1988, nice board! Is it custom or store bought? Looks like a maple and...walnut?
Of the wooden sets I still own, my favorite is the Players, but the set I really want is this ---->> The Frank Camaratta Signature Luxury Chess Pieces - 4.4" King
It's way outside my price range but I just love the looks of that set! I would have it on permanent display here at La Palais Crappov! For now, I must settle for my Player's set ---->>
Crappov, I love that set too!
Apparently, they're no longer offering the Signature set with the antique finish, which to my eye is stunning. And it has the best traditional knight I've seen in a Staunton style set. Also, it's the one knight that most closely resembles the Elgin Marble knight (notice the double mane), which had a major influence on the Staunton design.
This was the set that triggered my neurosis for collecting chess sets. HOS posted it on eBay as a "Make an Offer" listing. Though expensive, I figured it would be the last chess set I would ever buy, so I made an offer. As it turned out, it wasn't enough. But I had developed an 'itch' that I just had to scratch, so I bid on a limited edtion BCC reproduction set (in ebony) that HOS was offering on eBay...and won! Of course, I needed their wooden briefcase to hold the pieces and a custom 2.5" chess board. And so it began. I was off to the races!
That was a little over 2 years ago, since then I've purchased more than two dozen chess sets, varying in size from 3" to 4.5", which (or course) required a collection of chess boards ranging from 1.75" to 2.5". You get the picture. Over time, I've sold off or given away a 6 or 7 sets, leaving me with. . .still way too many!
All told, I've spent almost three times what I bid on that Camaratta Signature set. But hey, I've got a wide variety of sets, in wood and plastic, that I can use with seven (7) different size chess boards! So, wherever I'll be playing, I have a set to fit the venue.
P.S. My only (small) criticism of the Camaratta Signature set above is that the knight is slightly undersized -- it should have been a 1/4" taller.
My favorite set which I own is my 1980s Soviet Russian set (you can see it in the 'show you chess sets' threads here on the forum). As for my favorite of all time, I'm going to have to go with the Dubrovnik. :)
@ loubalch: It's store bought. It's sold as "amish chess board" at the USA branche of chess baron, although you can also get them cheaper, albeit with smaller squares, from the producers themselves. See http://jkartisans.com/games/chess-boards.html. They list the 2,25" size as out of stock, and I suppose that is because they supply that size to chess baron. Are your boards from Etsy workmen?
@ loubalch: It's store bought. It's sold as "amish chess board" at the USA branche of chess baron, although you can also get them cheaper, albeit with smaller squares, from the producers themselves. See http://jkartisans.com/games/chess-boards.html. They list the 2,25" size as out of stock, and I suppose that is because they supply that size to chess baron. Are your boards from Etsy workmen?
Yes, I got three boards from Bill @ Bill's Woodpile, although I don't see any boards on his Etsy page at the moment. A fourth board (also through Esty) was from a guy in Colorado.
I like some of the higher end HoS offerings also. However, the design I like best is actually the one used by Official Staunton in their 1870 reproduction sets. I think those heavy, squat pieces with broad bases just look appealing and comfortable to play with. Very nicely proportioned pieces as well. My problem with sets like that is that I like 3,75" kings best, and if I were to deviate from that size, I would rather go smaller, i.e. 3,5", than bigger, since I like smaller sets. I suppose the set I would like to have, and which I would consider close to 'favourite', would be a smaller size 1870 reproduction. I haven't seen anything like this on the market though, and the ones I have seen (I believe CB sells some smaller repros) I simply haven't been motivated to buy for one reason or other. The players' series I posted earlier is also supposed to be a reproduction of a popular design from the past, and perhaps that's one of the reasons I like it.
@ loubalch: I'm very much a fan of the borderless boards also, and I think I've visited the etsy pages of the artists you mentioned.
My uncle makes this board: https://odetowood.com/product/wood-chess-board-and-pieces/ and it is probably my favorite board to play on. When I had a smaller apartment I used the chess table (https://odetowood.com/product/wood-chess-table/) as my kitchen table. Then when my friends came over it was easy to start a new game. Everything is competion size and the pieces are weighted maple and rosewood so it all has a nice feel. I'm probably a little bias though when it comes to this board since it is family made :)
My uncle makes this board: https://odetowood.com/product/wood-chess-board-and-pieces/ and it is probably my favorite board to play on. When I had a smaller apartment I used the chess table (https://odetowood.com/product/wood-chess-table/) as my kitchen table. Then when my friends came over it was easy to start a new game. Everything is competion size and the pieces are weighted maple and rosewood so it all has a nice feel. I'm probably a little bias though when it comes to this board since it is family made :)
Both the board and table setup look very nice indeed.
I would say you have good family pride, not bias.
My uncle makes this board: https://odetowood.com/product/wood-chess-board-and-pieces/ and it is probably my favorite board to play on. When I had a smaller apartment I used the chess table (https://odetowood.com/product/wood-chess-table/) as my kitchen table. Then when my friends came over it was easy to start a new game. Everything is competition size and the pieces are weighted maple and rosewood so it all has a nice feel. I'm probably a little bias though when it comes to this board since it is family made :)
You should be proud of your uncle, ryano; it's always gratifying to have a craftsman in the family. This is a very attractive board, and at a good price too.
I posted a 2-1/4-inch square curly maple and walnut inlaid board a friend made in the early 1980s at another thread; it was my Christmas present. The varnish has yellowed a touch, but the patina is not unattractive. I'll post it again here with my favorite play-at-home set.
The set is the House of Staunton Capablanca, now marketed as part of the "luxury" series. I paid full price for the 4-inch Ebony and Boxwood set, displayed here, but was able to win a 4-inch Blood Rosewood and Boxwood set on eBay for much less. Yes, I have one of each. I call the Capablanca my "Audrey set" because the bishop and knight remind me of the slender, stylish appearance of the late Audrey Hepburn; what a charmer she was.
By the way, I would never take the board or set to a tournament and have some careless player spill water or coffee all over it. That would certainly put me off my game. Use a vinyl, roll-up board if you want to keep your mind on the game.
Best,
Bob
P.S. I will save my absolute favorite, a set I will never be able to afford, for another post.
This thread is for everyone, those who play Chess a lot, those that play a little, those that only collect, and even those that do not own their favorite set.
And unlike the other thread where you have to imagine only one set for everything, this can be a set that would not be used for certain types of time controls or play. In other words, your favorite set might be one you only use for Blitz or slow time controls or something.
What is your favorite Chess set?
My favorite is the HoS Players Series. Some have come close to catching this spot, like the Noj Dubrovnik II and HoS Fischer-Spassky Commerative. But the Players Series remains for me.
The set is not as expensive as a lot of other sets that I own or are available out there. The Rosewood version that I have lists at $179. But when I bought my latest version of this set just over a year ago, I paid well under $150 including shipping, with sales and online discounts that HoS has a lot of. And the Ebonized and Golden Rosewood versions of this set both are listed at $139.
This set plays and looks as nice or better than most of the more expensive sets. Of course this was one of the first sets that Frank Camaratta designed and had produced in the 1990's. When I bought my first set from him, the Collector's 4.0" King in Rosewood, he told me that I needed to now get a set to bring to tournaments to play with. The Players Series was the one he had produced to fill this bill.
In the last 6 years the Noj Dubrovnik II and then the HoS Fischer-Spassky Ebonized stepped up to contend for the favorite spot with me. They came close but not close enough. This Players Series set looks AND feels perfectly. I contend this set is too often overlooked as a good set to buy because the price is not more, a lot more.