where to buy good chess set

Hello, I got the slightly weighted set below with 3 inch king and folding board for around £60. This does not have notation though and in hindsight if I could do it again would buy a set with it.

I bought a plastic tournament size set and silicon board with notation that I really like from Chess and Bridge shop, London I think it's called. It's the Gambit weighted set. That set weighs around 900g so about twice the weight of wooden pieces.

Photo of that below too.

Yes there is a lot of information and quite a recent post you could look at 🙂. Sorry keep clicking I wrong place and it posts then i have to go back and edit doh!

Meant to add as you are from UK not sure how many of those posts would be relevant if you're like me and only want to buy from within UK.

Go and have a look through recent posts.

Rude and uncalled for. 

Probably an off-meds day.  You never know what you're going to get with that guy.

Things like Chess equipment stores change.  For instance Carl of Official Staunton is semi-retired now.

On here we have tried to help others find the product they want no matter at what budget or level of interest.  And as QueenClaudia has done we try to help them have it the easiest where they live.

I don’t think you were being rude.  I do think you were not being very nice, but that’s another thing.

If you would not have posted that comment and complaint at all, this topic would be just fine.

I would say if you can get to the London Chess Center, you could actually see and handle the various sets.

My friend Eyechess is too diplomatic with people like sound67 who are not courteous to others and therefore do not deserve any courtesy in return.

As I have often said, the chess.com forum is a zoo. Instead of posting a link to information that might actually help the OP, or making a recommendation, or just saying nothing. sound67 makes insulting and useless posts and then calls others rude, lazy and narcissistic.

To OllieBell7 - I have not purchased anything from Etsy, but I was searching their site recently because I was looking for a nice, affordable wood chess set. The vendor I communicated with through Etsy was very nice and her prices were affordable, but because she was shipping from Poland the shipping price was too much for me. If you are in the UK, maybe this vendor might be a good bet for you. I'm pretty sure her name is Claudia. Just look for her on Etsy. I think she actually makes the chess sets herself.

If you have a friend in the US who is willing to shop for you and mail it to you in the UK, I can tell you that I recently had a pleasant shopping experience with the Rochester Chess Center at www.chessset.com.  I found a wood travel set with annotation printed along the sides for about 35 dollars. Exactly what I was looking for. The shipping was very fast. I would shop with them again.

@OllieBelle7: You don't say what your price range is, so it is difficult to answer your inquiry specifically. I was in the same position as you and am still learning about chess sets. Here are some threads (and there are some others as well) that had comments that I found helpful, especially about retailers and direct sale manufacturers: https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/etsy-hit-or-miss  https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/house-of-staunton-messed-it-up-again-and-again  https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/need-help-w-a-1st-set  https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/post-youre-chess-sets Although most of these threads started on other topics, they sometimes morphed into discussions of vendors. If you take the time to browse the vendors' sites, you will see that many have good products in all price ranges. For example, I just purchased two sets, one was a set of very nice wood pieces for $100 on clearance and the other was an expensive board/piece set from a vendor who also had very nice wood piece sets for just over $100. And the thread above on purchasing your first set has lots of suggestions for complete sets for under $100. You can also use the Forums' search bar to check a specific vendor before your purchase. But like anywhere, there are always complaints and positive experiences. Also, with regard to some vendors, you might see declines or improvements over time. Also, you can sometimes find different prices for the same set by the same vendor on the vendor's site, Etsy and eBay.

Whatever you decide on, if you are a new to chess, make sure your board has the algebraic notation on all four sides; it will help when you greatly when you take notation and when you analyze your games.

If you're in the UK, then I second @Eyechess' recommendation about Carl at Officialstaunton.com. I think if you are unsure about the style that you like then I would go with a silicone board and plastic set as suggested by @QueenClaudia2003. This will help you get in the door and then you can figure out what you like and where to go from there.

Crownes Chess Set | DesignNest.com

if your into plastic or metal chess sets

Taking the risk of spoiling this forum, neglecting perfectly good answers in previous threads and furthermore irritating some of the more experienced members here, I still would like to humbly ask for your opinion regarding my search for a good wooden chess set:

For a while I had my eyes on a couple of sets from HOS (Congress and Sussex luxury chess pieces among others) but laziness stopped me from actually deciding what to buy and now Queen's Gambit has obviously made things even more complicated. Since all HOS sets take months to come back in stock and after reading promising reviews about The Chess Bazaar and other Indian based companies I am considering buying elsewhere.  

Question: comparing chess sets and boards from The Chess Bazaar (or other Indian brands) versus The House of Staunton, how would you rate an original Staunton chess set from HOS versus a similarly priced Staunton reproduction from (for example) Chess Bazaar in terms of quality and finishing? Based on people's experiences, I understand HOS (usually) comes with outstanding service and craftsmanship and many must proudly own an original Staunton set, but if similarly priced sets from other companies are actually in stock and equally or even better manufactured, then I'm wondering if I should stick to HOS.

Budget's around 200 USD. Any thoughts and comments much appreciated!

Where did you get that first wooden set?

Hello there, I've put the link below but it's out of stock at the moment I think. Seems to sell between £60-£80 so worth shopping around. I've seen it on Ebay as well.

https://www.mastersofgames.com/cat/chess-draughts/classic-chess-set-3-inch-king.htm

My experience is limited. I mostly purchased sets from HoS but I do have one set for OS, CB, SC and Noj. I can tell you HoS, OS, CB and SC are all the same in terms of quality and finish. The Noj set is the best hands down. Right now, it doesn't matter who you buy from you might experience some issues. It could be quality issues and manufacturing defects. It could be customer service issues. It could also be both. I would say pick the set you like and then buy it. Just make sure you expect some issues and then you won't be disappointed if something happens.

I like the Congress set you mentioned. There is a similar one called the Championship series from SC. I happened to look at that the other day because someone here at CB&E mentioned it. https://stauntoncastle.com/products/championship-series-3-5-ebony-wood-staunton-chess-pieces?_pos=2&_sid=2e28e1aae&_ss=r

Before buying from anybody try to check as many reviews as possible. HOS USED to come with outstanding service (based on their old reviews) but if you check their Facebook page and other recent threads here you'll see that since around November last year there seems to be a problem answering emails and phone calls.

It's always worth contacting the seller and asking a specific question (e.g. what is the diameter of the pawn's base?). The speed of their response will give you some idea of what service you might get later.

That is a lovely set as, other than the specified height being 3.5" not 3.75", it seems identical to my Leeds Luxury HOS set:

https://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-leeds-series-luxury-chess-pieces-3-75-king.html

My pieces are definitely 3.75" so this would be a good opportunity to contact the seller and ask them to measure the King and confirm the size.

It is also a good example of HOS pricing. Buyer beware, shop around and all that.