Walnut pieces (and perhaps ebony) can also be included in this discussion as they are very standard options, but I don't want to tangent off topic into wood-types (like rosewood etc.).
Your tastes in stain (black, brown, red) and why
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MCH818 wrote:
@MGT88 I am with you on the black-stained or ebony. It is the best for a walnut maple board. My analysis set is in sheesham. It looks great because it matches the board so well. However, it gives me a headache trying to distinguish the board from the pieces. I got use to it but it use to bug me before. Matching colors work well for furniture but it doesn't work well for chess sets.
Having said that, I have been contemplating on buying the Noj Dub 1950 set in walnut since I read this post... https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/noj-dubrovnik-chess-pieces-on-a-custom-folding-board. It is a walnut maple set on a walnut maple board. It looks really good to me but I am not sure i can stand it though. I might love the way it looks but I also might have a hard time concentrating. I might go with the brown stained version since it is pretty dark. I would go with the black but i want it to be as close to the original as possible. My suggestion is if you do not like brown and you don't have a good reason to get the brown, then get the red one.
Yeah you nailed it; walnut pieces are for example beautiful on their own but difficult to pair with a maple/walnut board. The thing about walnut is that it is the "original"/traditional choice for the dark pieces, which gives it a kind of special "official"/"historically accurate" quality. Brown-stain feels like an imitation of walnut and therefore enters the "matter of taste" zone in my opinion. Here is a brown-stained version of the set I posted in my original post; https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/noj-1961-soviet-championship-tal?page=1; it is quite beautiful and pairs well with this unusual (but very nice) board (because of it's square coloring), but I think I still personally prefer the red-stain. The thing about a deep/dark red-stain is that it is dark enough to contrast against walnut similarly to black, light enough to expose the wood grain, and not a shade of brown so no risk of it "blending in" with brown squares. I think a deep/dark brown-stain can be pulled off but the board coloring needs to be correct (as in the example I posted above).
Jun 23, 2020
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#4
I think Sheesham is a bit too light and too less contrast on a walnut board. But some 'regular' Rosewood can look very dark and fits perfectly on a walnut board.
Walnut is one of the few woods that gets lighter over time. That's why these old vintage Drueke boards look so light. Most other woods darken over time when exposed to sunlight.
That’s interesting about walnut getting lighter over time, I was not aware of that
Jun 24, 2020
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#6
MCH818 wrote:
Me too! I always thought the reason for the old Drueke board being lighter was just the normal varying shades of walnut.
If you google on walnut maple vintage boards you will notice that the light squares also got way more yellow over time. I really like the look. If I could speed up this process I would do it. I
The finish maybe also plays a role. What I know of guitars that certrain types of finish can make the wood more yellow over time.
https://www.roomandboard.com/blog/2015/03/wood-changes-color-time/
I have always gravitated towards black-stained (or ebony) pieces, which provide great contrast against a classic maple/walnut board, however, I've recently taken an interest in lighter stains (red/brown) which expose/highlight natural wood-grain. While I appreciate the beauty of brown-stained pieces, I can't seem to acquire a taste for them for some reason, probably because they resemble walnut a little too closely and blend into walnut squares a little too easily. I have been thinking about acquiring a deep/dark red-stained set (something along the lines of this: https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/noj-1961-soviet-championship-set-tal) at some point in the future and I'm pretty well sold on this idea, however, there is still a small-voice in my head wondering about a nice deep/dark brown-stain or a light chestnut brown-stain.
Interested to hear the thoughts of my fellow CB&E forum friends.