Chessbazaar's Vintage 1950's Circa Bohemia Staunton German Chess Set Pictorial Review

Recently I decided to get back into chess forums and I thought it would be a great idea to review my recent purchase. I was a bit reluctant to go for this set because a few weeks back I've already owned the superior CB limited edition Romanian-Hungarian chess set which is somewhat similar to my recent purchase, vintage 1950's Circa Bohemia Staunton Series German Chess Set. But after the recommendation from Mike Ladzinski, I pulled the trigger on this beauty. It is a reproduction of a historic set and it really is beautiful and has a nice feel and weight. The varnishing is of a very high quality and the felt is good quality on the base. Price-wise, I am not quite sure how Chess Bazaar is able to produce these high-quality sets for under $200 including international shipping.

In some of the online forums, Chessbazaar has been criticized for several "errors" in their reproductions, mainly the carving of the knight. But I was so surprised as they have hit a home run with this set. In fact, IMO CB is introducing the best reproductions nowadays in the Chess world be it in the terms of accuracy or workmanship. They are as close as to the original ones. I went through the set piece by piece, I must say they are meticulously carved, particularly the dragon knights. Quality I was pleasantly surprised and could not find fault with the set. Some of the pieces had problems when the set arrived but CB was very helpful in sending the replacements for free of cost. Thank you. I couldn't be more happy with this set. I've clicked a couple of shots of the set.

Every inch and corner of each piece is crafted superbly to keep its original intent.

For the haters, let me just say that this set is 95 percent of the quality, fit and finish of a HoS set, but for something less than half the cost. How can you lose?

Exceptions are always there & yes this set has a design flaw and that flaw is in the bishops. I'll say the bishop's head lacks the sharp aggressive quality, may be due to the absence of mitre cut.

Rooks are graceful and have 4 cuts

Dragon knights.

The dark knight rises

It played well at the chess club as I played several games with it and all challengers liked the set a lot. I have a lot of wooden chess sets which are more pricey but this for me is the best. For the price that this set is selling for you absolutely cannot get a better deal than this set. This set is a winner in all aspects.

It has elements of the Romanian championship set and the wood grain on the dark army is beautiful. Smoothly turned and nicely carved pieces. It is almost identical to the original Bohemia design with the exception of a broader more pronounced Knight's chest giving it more heft to the set. I like it, especially how the sheesham grain on the dark army knight projects a fiercer appearance on the board from this promotional photo on CB website of the set. Good purchase, enjoy it for many games going forward.

 Thanks Manfred for your wonderful review and pics of the ChessBazaar Bohemia set. Its a great reproduction for sure. And a great collectible and playing set. The "dragon" Knights are so gorgeous.  ChessBazaar continues to raise the bar with its high quality reproduction  sets.  Here's a link to my Youtube  video on this fabulous set: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNq-86hj6FU

Great review! Special thanks to Mike Ladzinski for working with ChessBazaar to ensure the authenticity and accuracy of the reproduction. Manfred, the original bishops have no miter cuts, so if this is a defect, it's in the original design. Personally I have no problem with this element.

Thanks for your compliment Chuck, its much appreciated

And well-deserved.

Here are some shots of original bishops.

 "Quality I was pleasantly surprised and could not find fault with the set." 

 "Some of the pieces had problems when the set arrived but CB was very helpful in sending the replacements for free of cost."

These two sentences contradict each other.  You clearly had problems with the "quality" of the set if you needed to request replacements for multiple pieces.

Thank you George!! Yes I do like sheesham grains a lot.

Thank you Mike & all credit goes to you for bringing out this tempting set. Really enjoyed your video.

Thanks, Chuck for showing me the original bishop. Yes, you are right it's the matter of taste. 

When I received the set, 1 white rook & 1 brown pawn were damaged in transit. When I shared the pictures with CB they promptly sent me the replacement. I bought a paperweight from their store so that they can send me the replacement via DHL. On the other hand, I really really like the quality and workmanship of set.

I somewhat agree with you that making reproductions from pictures is quite a task, but CB did the impeccable job which needs to be appreciated. All thanks to Mike and other great chess collectors who collaborate with these companies to come out with some great sets so that every chess enthusiast can enjoy the game with them.

Wow, this guy has to quote himself because everything he writes is wrong in this universe.  Only he agrees with him.

Thanks Julius D. I've bought this chess board many-many years ago from eBay. I don't remember the seller name but it's a solid wood chess board made from blood red bud rosewood.