Originally posted by RahimK $5,000,000 Pounds or Euro chess set. Saw it the CHESS Magazine yesterday at our club.
The king has some 675 diamonds, 50 rubbies, and some kind of gem hidden in the base.
Gold bling bling.
Exactly the same one I have here, at home. I paid 4,000,000 pounds. My Queen has 617 diamonds
though, and 45 rubys and a gold nugget (4 oz ) hidden in the base. So it's almost the same.
Nope this one is different. Much better and more expensive then yours. The king had 4 things in it. Diamond, rubee, something else, and then the hiding thing in the base. I saw a picture of it, and funny it didn't see you in it, although I don't know what you look like.
Originally posted by RahimK Nope this one is different. Much better and more expensive then yours. The king had 4 things in it. Diamond, rubee, something else, and then the hiding thing in the base. I saw a picture of it, and funny it didn't see you in it, although I don't know what you look like.
Look underneath the black diagonal traveling bishop and you will see me.
I believe the most beautiful sets are wooden staunton sets, but I have a very nice-looking staunton set carved from soapstone that is stained to look like wood. It's quite remarkable.
Originally posted by RahimK Nope this one is different. Much better and more expensive then yours. The king had 4 things in it. Diamond, rubee, something else, and then the hiding thing in the base. I saw a picture of it, and funny it didn't see you in it, although I don't know what you look like.
I like the Isle of Lewes pieces a lot and have a few copies of the pieces I bought from the British Museum. My father once had a hand-carved set based on the statues on Easter Island...it was beautiful. My son can't live without his "Simpsons" chess set. However, for tournament or other serious play, a plain, old Staunton set is necessary for me not to be distracted.
I once saw a picture of Tal playing in an olympiad in Havana (I think) with a simple but beautiful chess set. It was wooden, kind of modern-looking (art decoish) and highly desireable. Never seen a picture of that set before or since. Can anyone help me out?
Oh, and my step father also has a beautiful Jaques travel set that comes in a box about 15inches long by about 12, and the white and red pieces are squat and made of ivory or bone, not sure which.
If I remember correctly, there is a button at both ends of the box that you can push to "lock" the pieces in place. Each piece has a brass pin on the base with a little ball on the end so that when you push that button a metal plate under the board slides across, fixing the pieces on their respective squares. Old but clever. It is definitely 19th century, probably from around about the same period as his main Jaques set. Really classy.
He said he has left both sets for me in his will. We'll see.
Good old Staunton, well-detailed is the best. I've yet to see a good chessplayer have a weird set. Sets I find particularly distasteful are ones that have politicians, generals, and cartoon characters for pieces.
Heartily concur!! I've played on sets that are so odd-looking that I spend most of the time trying to remember which piece is which.
I've had a classic wooden Staunton set for many years and it's still the best design.
Originally posted by pythagoras I concur that is is easier to play with black and white wooden peices or plastic tournament-style peices, but I still love unusual chess sets!
To me, Staunton will always be the best! For the best Staunton sets, refer to the grandmasters' preference to JACQUES of London. A side trivia article for you: Howard Staunton wasn't only the first to create his Staunton set, but he also (interestingly enough) compiled the first completel volume of Shakespearean works. I also owned that volume at one time. You can see his name in the front if you order the compilation of Shakespearean works from any major book store. His name is in the preface. How do I know this. I read it in THE GRANDMASTERS OF CHESS by Harold C. Schonberg. That's another book which is out of print. But, I suggest to every chess enthusiast that is a MUST READ! I could not put it down. Beautifully written biographies of the greatest players of all time are found within this volume. Your lucky if you find that book anywhere. It's a collector's edition in hardback. Oh, as far as the Shakespearean-Staunton trivia, I just would like to note that I am very fond of chess and English literature being that I have a B.A. and some graduate work in the field. And so, I was very excited to see my two loves touch base: Staunton in chess and literature. Likewise, I find Lewis Carroll's fondness for chess very interesting also. Supposedly, he was an A-class player.
Originally posted by pythagoras I want to know what everyone thinks about diffenent types of chess sets. I personally love marble. How about you?
I personally like the set made for the company Franklin Mint, simply called 'The Tutankhamun Chess Set'and over the entire board and pieces is a trianglar shaped pyramid to keep away the dust.
but then again, anything to do with Egypt I rather like.🙂
31 Dec '05 23:15
The most beautiful chess set is?
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