I just bought an imperfect luxury set from House of Staunton this week as well. The only issue was one of the Genuine Ebony Queens had a slight scuff on the base. I swear I would have never noticed if it wasn't pointed out on the site. I even have to search for it with both queens in front of me. I also got one of the nicer boxes that had SLIGHT discoloring in one part. I feel I got an absolute bargain on this combo!
That's pretty awesome! House of Staunton is going to run out of merchenise at this point. I am glad you got a good deal. Thanks for watching, stay tuned for more content!
Absolutely stunning set. Attempting my own chess set I can say the craftsman that made this original set has created a masterpiece. I cannot even imagine attempting to carve a knight like that
When your knights look that good you'll be willing to sacrifice your queen to keep them on the board. Either that or leave them on their starting squares tucked away behind the pawns. Whichever tactic you choose you're going to loose the game. So it's a bit of a failure really. They should have maybe embedded some jewels in the queens crown to compensate.
What's going on my good chess friends! Found a moment to sit down and catch up on all the great comments you guys leave! These comments, people watching is what it's all about, if it wasn't for social media, I don't think I would be surrounded by so many great people such as yourself with similar interest to mine, out to build a true chess community. If you happen to come across this comment, I wanted to update you guys as to the recent changes I see happening with TH-cam. If you have started to see ads run prior to my videos, it means that TH-cam started to run ads for my channel, however, not until I hit the 1000 subscriber mark and 4000 hours of viewing time, can I monetize. Some of the more elegant and cooler chess set I so much wish to show you are outside of my budget so my intention is when I finally hit those numbers and youtube starts to pay me for the ads, then I can use those funds to get better chess sets, and show you guys so much more, find time to travel and even perhaps go to some chess events. Before I hit those marks though, you will see ads on my channel but the funding from ads is going to TH-cam only, which is fine, they need to be able to justify the HUGE amount of space that they have to make for all of my videos. With that being said, lets all make an effort to get subscribing and watching so we can get to the point where the ads you guys have to skip would translate to pennies for newer and better chess merchandise instead of just going only to TH-cam! If you like this channel, share it with your friends if they also enjoy chess, if they don't enjoy chess don't share otherwise I'll be swarmed with dislikes lol. Have a wonderful day everyone! Stay safe and enjoy being in the moment! P.S. I'll drop this same comment in some of my other chess videos so more people have a chance to see it! Cheers!!
Blood rosewood is really beautiful. Sometimes it looks more brown and sometimes more red depending on the light. I have one HOS set and I really love it. The only complaint I have is that one of the blood rosewood queens is a lot lighter than the rest of the pieces but that’s how the wood grain is.
And there is me, started playing Chess a couple of months ago and got a Rosewood board and a nice set of pieces, but I get this as a recommendation, and now I want those beauties over my Rosewood board.
I just had an imperfect HoS set delivered today. The “Tahl” set. This and the previous video were very helpful . Mostly cosmetic with poorly applied paint and scuffs. . Easily correctable. No baggies but secure in the foam. I love this set already and was on my want list. Great price too. Couldn’t pass up. Happy new year!
Oh that's great! I am so happy you got something you wanted and didn't have to spend a fortune! Sometimes if you looks hard enough you get something you are happy with for years to come! Happy New Year to you as well!
Hi Al, Thanks for a very detailed review and comparison. Those Modena chess pieces, especially the Knights, are a work or art. They really are very well made Chessmen. Blood rosewood, or bud rosewood is also my favorite color for dark chess pieces. If I owned a chess set like those, I probably wouldn't play with them for fear of breaking the mane of the Knight should I drop them. They will lose their function as a game piece, as I would just hold them and admire them. I also like the way you compare the pieces with something else, to highlight the contrast/differences. Keep up the good work, and I look forward to your next one.
Thanks a lot Armand! As I get more sets I definitely feel like I start to notice all these minor differences, that end up being important in the end, from either just an esthetical or a practical standpoint. I just wish I could get a hold of more things, more sets, more boards, clocks, I really want to come across a nice dgt electronic set and see how they perform, but they are a bit up there in price.
Great review! That's exactly what I do with my sets when I have the time: compare the weight, feel, and aesthetics. I've been pretty lucky getting imperfect sets in that there was no major damage, just a few machining marks. I got my dream set for less than $200. It's the Dragon Knight set from chessbazaar in boxwood and blood rosewood. One thing I do is coat my pieces with Tru Oil for that extra shine and protection.
I looked up the dragon knight set and I think it looks really nice, I love the knight, the bishop looks really cool too, I think you go a great deal on a wonderful set. Great job!
I appreciate the close up and angles of the dark pieces so I can gauge, before deciding whether to buy or not, the Blood Rosewood color. Chess sellers can leave the wrong impression of color based on the lighting and angles they use for the photos on their website. I have tried to read quite a bit on the actual wood and how it’s color/hue can darken over time, especially when exposed to sunlight or UV light, as well as it can bleed a white powder on the surface of the pieces.
I have been fooled by The Chess Empire and surprisingly lately RoyalChessMall who photograph all their Acacia (light walnut colour) or Sheesham Rosewood (same), Golden Rosewood (same), Gilded Rosewood (same) or Ringy Rosewood (dark chocolate) in a light to make their pieces look like Bud Rosewood or just label it as Rosewood. What should give them away is the price, about $125-150 less then it should cost or the size usually under 4”.
@@ferddiubaldo4324 Yeah thats unfortunate, and I can see how under different lighting conditions, the wood can look different. Even shooting under standard lighting for that matter, post processing can still be done to make wood different, or more appealing.
First lol. Great video mate, very informative and great demo of the different styles and colours. They all look great, however we all have our favourites. Great size of pieces too 👍😎
This kind of sets that is for waiting you and your guests on the table, it is not for moving and traveling. Additionally, this review made me understand the value of wood.
I just bought a set of USSR style boxwood/golden rosewood set and I haven’t gotten them yet, but I love the look of them. So often the knights have a funny look to them or just not quite what I like (unless you pay HUGE amounts for them), and so these are a bit minimal and still have enough detail that it’s premium. And the rest look so cool 😂 I can’t wait to play them.
Appreciate the beautiful and crisp close-ups! HOS should hire you to do 5 minute reviews of all their sets 🙂. Despite the minor imperfections and the disappointing packing you still got a great deal. A little too elaborate a design for my tastes, but the knight is indeed impressive. Is that the 4” Fischer plastic set or a different one?
Thanks a lot, it's tricky to get close ups without shaking, but I try to improve every time. I also feel like this was a great buy for the price! That's not the fischer plastic set, that's the same set I did a review that came with the nice blue bag, the quad weighted set, I don't think it had an official name. Thanks for watching!
The knights in this set is sooooooo amazing. Almost like the horses head and neck is almost like a dragon. A dragon knight. Just my imagination but still pretty nice. Hopefully someday I’ll get this set soon.
Most impressive Knights I think I've ever seen in a Chess Set! I always place them looking East and West on the board like most GM's do, more aesthetically pleasing, but may be a matter of opinion and viewpoint! Overall, a nice collectible Chess Set, although I do prefer the Bishop of the 1800's set.
Sorry I’m advance for the long reply…! Beautiful set, thanks for sharing! I have several HOS chess sets, but not this one. By the way, for comparison purposes look at the Hadrian Staunton set from The Chess Store, which is a very similar 4.4” set, the difference is that they don’t use the fancier Blood Rosewood, but Padauk. Still about the same $, although not the fantastic deal you got of course. For the broken mane of the boxwood knight, the first thing I would do is go over every inch of the box and wrapping material, and look for the broken piece, you might find it and could glue it back. If not, take a wood file and smooth it out, then lightly paint the exposed wood with Deft or similar lacquer finish to blend it. It will look fine. I’m sure that knight is why you got the set at nearly $550 off retail…! I actually like your 1852 Paulsen set very much, very classic. I have the 1849 Cooke club set they had on close out, 4.4” with kingside stamping, and love it, EXCEPT, they are also two piece knights and the antiqued boxwood white knights “lean” which bugs the hell out of me. The dark ebony wood knights are perfect, but the antiqued boxwood knight bases were threaded slightly off, or I should say the inserts were installed a tiny bit skewed, so the upper portions lean slightly. Most people wouldn’t notice, but unfortunately I notice everything. 😉 I’ll have to find a way to get the male threads slightly realigned. HOS exchanged them for me, and the new ones are better, but still lean slightly, and they say they don’t have anymore in stock. Finally, I have three plastic HoS sets and six of their wood sets, and every one of them came in cheap styrofoam and flimsy cardboard boxes. However at least the men were in individual compartments. I think they didn’t do it with your Modena set because they just didn’t have anything that fit the larger men, which is a shame, especially with those fancy finials and carved manes. Love those rooks by the way, the center “saucer” treatment is so attractive. If you have a 2.25” board check out the 3.5” Leuchars vintage luxury chess men from HOS. I’ve bought more expensive sets from them, but I think that is one of the nicest looking. I have several ebony and other exotic wood sets, but agree about the blood rosewood, which I chose for a 3.75” Dubrovnik set. I think it’s the most striking of all the woods, and contrasts beautifully with the maple and (burl?) squares of your board. Thank you again for the detailed look at some beautiful chessmen.
Wow Thank you for the long and thorough comment! Sounds like you have a chess collection as large as mine! Sometimes I notice some of the irregularities you mention like the tilting of certain pieces or the slightly off center screw placement, but I am not terribly bothered by these small things, and from where I am sitting, it might be something that I could point out to my viewers. The Modena set wasn't packaged properly and there was a small chip off the mane but it was very tiny and did not complete the entire chip that was present. I'll probably end up filing down the jagged area like you said and refinish to blend. I love the Leuchars 3.5 set, very lovely, reminds me of the cook chess set! Thank you for watching!
I bought the Savano Series Luxury Chessmen from HOS's outlet, it listed for $1200 I got it for $300. The only imperfection they stated wrong with the set was a white powdery residue on the Blood Rosewood pieces. My set arrived much like yours ( not packed very well at all). In addition to the 'white fungus' on the rosewood pieces, one knight had two large clips out of its mane. Both kings were missings basepads and they sent me nine rosewood pawns and only one rosewood bishop. I was very disappointed!
Oh wow, that's crazy. Did you call them to figure things out? I am not too surprised about the packing being the way it was, but to not have a bishop is not good. I wouldn't be happy about that either. Perhaps they can send you the bishop as well as a better knight. I would if I wanted to keep my reputation.
@@AlSuChess I contacted HOS, they did send me another bishop 'a close match, but not as robust as the original'. Being an 'out of stock item' they could not find me a matching knight. **NOTE** Because of this an imperfect item, all sales are final. No refunds, returns or exchanges are allowed... In fairness to HOS I have bought several items from their 'Outlet site' over the past year and have been very pleased until this last purchase. One can find great deals on their site, but its 'hit or miss', good luck.
@@davedonotwantshare1905 Well at least you got something! Still, being that the set did not match the description I would ask them to send me the right pieces when they become available!
Congrats, I have the same set from Staunton Castle, called Thebes series. FYI, mine builds up white dust due to the uncured Bud Rosewood, this is the only wood that has this issue, especially on the Knights. This is due the wood not completely drying out all its natural oils, the oils very subtlety seeps out of the wood then evaporating leaving a white dust residue, almost looking like white mould growing on it. The dust will return every 2-3 week after cleaning off the dust with soft cloth or soft toothbrush which is better for all the detailed crevices. You’ll notice as you’re dusting there will be a red stain on your cloth and toothbrush. Let me know if yours does this or you were luck enough to get a set that was properly cured. I have 6 luxury sets in Bud Rosewood, not all the set have this issue. I will be receiving 2 more sets in the next month, one which will include a clear lacquer, which is supposed to prevent the dust issue.
That's some really interesting information I wasn't really even aware, thanks for sharing. I will definitely clean the pieces in a few weeks and be sure to see if the curing process has been done properly or not, you got me curious! Thanks for watching!
BTW, I have the 1950 Soviet Latvian Chess Set coming in from Chessbazaar and a 55cm chess Board from Rechapados Ferrer Chess Boards from Spain, both were used in the final match btn Beth Harmon vs Vasily Borgov in the Queens Gambit.
@@ferddiubaldo7238 That's going to be a very aesthetic combination, I really like the set and it goes well with the board! Although the pieces are a bit elongated, they look really nice, congrats!
I know it’s not the exact pieces from the series that the sellers are producing but I’ve brought that to their attention and they’ve decided on their design and won’t be changing it.
I agree on the packing. Maybe skip the pawns, but everything else should have been rebagged. I disagree on real ebony looking like plastic. A nice ebony you should be able to see a bit of a gold or amber behind the black that allows you to make out graining. It doesn't photograph, but I can sure see it on my Ferocious Elite Series set from Chess Bazaar.
Yes I agree with you! In fact I was able to kind of show that on one of my more recent videos, the walter grimshaw set was ebony and you could see the grain a little bit more. I think proper bagging and packaging is essential as it speaks volumes in terms of the care that's put forth by the company into the product they are trying to sell. Packaging is the first thing that I usually look at. Thank you for watching!
Yep Bud Rosewood/Blood Rosewood is awesome. Another name is African Padauk. I have a Chinese Chess board made out of that wood. Not Chinese themed chess board. It is a Xiangqi board. Xiangqi is a variant of chess. Your set does look good. Not something you would use for club or tournament play. Rather a display set or just a slow casual game with friends or family. There is one luxury set Royal Chess Mall sells that I would like. I believe that it is the Sheffield in Bud Rosewood but for $350 it will have to wait. Awesome price for something that would be double on House of Staunton website.
Apparently I’ve heard that all Bud Rosewood or Blood Rosewood set are actually made of African Padauk, chess manufacturers called it and retained the name as Bud Rosewood or Blood Rosewood more for Marketing purposes.
The video on the Walnut and maple classical Tiroir Chess Board that I did, I store the pieces in there for now, I was planning on getting a large size coffer but haven't yet found one I am happy with!
You don't like that HOS coffin cases? I brought the Genuine Staunton® x The Camaratta Collection - The Definitive Morphy Series Luxury Chess Pieces - 4.4" King, I put it into the $319 coffin. Of course I got it for $100 less. Would you recommend putting the Modena set in their standard premium chess boxes?
Wow Henry, I am really excited for you and a bit jealous, that looks like a really nice set! I don't have that many high end luxury sets but at some point I will start to acquire some hopefully and I am interested to see how the overall build quality differs. Personally I think boxes smaller than a coffer might not be enough room for this set, especially with the knights being this large. Also, the intricate nature of the mane on the knights makes it to where you'd have to be careful with where and how you store them.
@@AlSuChess I decided to get a coffer to go with this set. I have placed the order last night and they should be shipping it to me later on today. I thought about how fragile those knights are, and I believe the coffers are the best. You should contact HOS and get your knight replace. It's not your fault for getting a damage piece because of their poor packaging.
Hello. What is the most expensive and at the same time aesthetic chess set out in the market? I'm writing a chess webnovel ("Swindle," on royalroad) and I need one character buying an expensive board for no reason. So far, my candidates are either the Modena set, or the Burnt Dubrovnik.
Both price and aesthetics are relative and subjective to everyone, what may be expensive for some, might not be for others. I personally find some sets above 600 to be priced beyond what I would reasonably pay for a chess set. That being said, some higher quality sets I have seen can be justified as far as their price, just maybe not within my budget range at this time. Aesthetics can also be a divided term, there is aesthetic and there is practical, some pre-staunton replicas I've seen such as the anglo dutch set from the House of Staunton are aesthetic in my opinion, but not practical for regular or tournament play, so the price being close to 1,500 I would probably never own one unless it was a gift, and would more likely spend that money on the genuine 1849 vintage luxury set, if that was ever in the cards. Sorry I can't be more precise, hope it helps! Thanks for watching!
Hi, just discovered your channel. What's the name of the plastic set? I dont really like sets with natural wood colour and it's very hard to find plastic or painted sets that don't have ugly knights
Hi Daniel! Thanks for watching and commenting! The plastic set here in this video I purchased last year from ebay I believe, together with the case, really solid choice overall. I've done a video on that set, be sure to check it out: th-cam.com/video/jXVoB7RGXHs/w-d-xo.html I have to agree with you on the fact that when it comes to plastic sets, you don't have a lot of choices, not much variability!
I have a small collection of chess sets and have bough from HOS a few times. Since that knight was damaged in hippping I would think they should make it right with you. At least sell you the knight top at a very cheap price. Give them a call or emal.
You are right! I probably should have acted on that when I initially got the set. It's less likely I would get anything now since it's been a couple of months, but you never know. Thanks for watching!
Hi can you tell me the name of the set and color on the right side of the video the slightly cream color plastic set? and website please? Thank you =) Nice sets Btw =)
The light color plastic set on the right side I bought on eBay, I'll send you a link. www.ebay.com/itm/SET-4-HEAVY-TOURNAMENT-CHESS-PIECES-VINYL-BOARD-DELUXE-BAG/250398325119
It would be so much easier to turn the base for the knight by itself, rather than turn it with the knight. Bases are a piece of cake with the right tools. They have a custom-made lathe tool for that. You got a great deal on that set, the knights alone are worth double what you paid.
Unfortunately HOS won’t sell individual pieces. I slightly damaged a rook crown by dropping it, and that wasn’t replaceable. I ended up fixing it with a file and high grit sandpaper though, thank goodness.
House of Staunton has this set in stock, it's $675 for this blood rosewood, I somehow got lucky and stumbled on this in the imperfect section for $190.
I definitely want to expand into other web sites and stores, as well as chess related things other than just sets, but I have been familiar with HOS stuff, and like some of their chess sets more than others. I am not biased however, I'd talk about the good and the bad as fairly as I can.
I've only recently discovered my affinity for quality wooden chess sets . I have purchased a few set's from HOS and honestly I prefer my customer experience with Chess Bazaar.
I'm afraid I don't like these sets at all!! The overly ornate knights are quite ugly and horrible. They look a bit like those distastefully decorated trucks from India. The rest of the pieces are a bit weird too. They've just added some extra rings to the Staunton, but the spacing of the rings is not uniform. Made by someone who can turn or carve wood, but doesn't understand good design.
This man is my inspiration, more people need to subscribe! Keep up the good work!
Thanks a lot! Means a lot coming from my viewers!
All I want is to fuel this mans chess piece addiction
Hahaha Thanks sam!
I just bought an imperfect luxury set from House of Staunton this week as well. The only issue was one of the Genuine Ebony Queens had a slight scuff on the base. I swear I would have never noticed if it wasn't pointed out on the site. I even have to search for it with both queens in front of me.
I also got one of the nicer boxes that had SLIGHT discoloring in one part. I feel I got an absolute bargain on this combo!
That's pretty awesome! House of Staunton is going to run out of merchenise at this point. I am glad you got a good deal. Thanks for watching, stay tuned for more content!
@@AlSuChess They almost are. I'm looking at Village Luggage to get my set.
The quality control they have for their luxury items are so good it is nearly insane. Any slight imperfection, it gets sold as imperfect.
Absolutely stunning set. Attempting my own chess set I can say the craftsman that made this original set has created a masterpiece. I cannot even imagine attempting to carve a knight like that
When your knights look that good you'll be willing to sacrifice your queen to keep them on the board. Either that or leave them on their starting squares tucked away behind the pawns. Whichever tactic you choose you're going to loose the game. So it's a bit of a failure really. They should have maybe embedded some jewels in the queens crown to compensate.
What's going on my good chess friends! Found a moment to sit down and catch up on all the great comments you guys leave! These comments, people watching is what it's all about, if it wasn't for social media, I don't think I would be surrounded by so many great people such as yourself with similar interest to mine, out to build a true chess community. If you happen to come across this comment, I wanted to update you guys as to the recent changes I see happening with TH-cam. If you have started to see ads run prior to my videos, it means that TH-cam started to run ads for my channel, however, not until I hit the 1000 subscriber mark and 4000 hours of viewing time, can I monetize. Some of the more elegant and cooler chess set I so much wish to show you are outside of my budget so my intention is when I finally hit those numbers and youtube starts to pay me for the ads, then I can use those funds to get better chess sets, and show you guys so much more, find time to travel and even perhaps go to some chess events. Before I hit those marks though, you will see ads on my channel but the funding from ads is going to TH-cam only, which is fine, they need to be able to justify the HUGE amount of space that they have to make for all of my videos. With that being said, lets all make an effort to get subscribing and watching so we can get to the point where the ads you guys have to skip would translate to pennies for newer and better chess merchandise instead of just going only to TH-cam! If you like this channel, share it with your friends if they also enjoy chess, if they don't enjoy chess don't share otherwise I'll be swarmed with dislikes lol. Have a wonderful day everyone! Stay safe and enjoy being in the moment! P.S. I'll drop this same comment in some of my other chess videos so more people have a chance to see it! Cheers!!
yeah. that is a good buy. I like that set too.
Blood rosewood is really beautiful. Sometimes it looks more brown and sometimes more red depending on the light. I have one HOS set and I really love it. The only complaint I have is that one of the blood rosewood queens is a lot lighter than the rest of the pieces but that’s how the wood grain is.
came and subscribed as a courtesy, staying because I am enjoying the channel.
And there is me, started playing Chess a couple of months ago and got a Rosewood board and a nice set of pieces, but I get this as a recommendation, and now I want those beauties over my Rosewood board.
These I feel would look nice on just about any board, just not a small board! Thanks for watching!
I just had an imperfect HoS set delivered today. The “Tahl” set. This and the previous video were very helpful . Mostly cosmetic with poorly applied paint and scuffs. . Easily correctable. No baggies but secure in the foam. I love this set already and was on my want list. Great price too. Couldn’t pass up. Happy new year!
Oh that's great! I am so happy you got something you wanted and didn't have to spend a fortune! Sometimes if you looks hard enough you get something you are happy with for years to come! Happy New Year to you as well!
@@AlSuChess Total was $109 total, including delivery!
@@albertcadiz7000 wow! Great deal! Congrats!
EXCELLENT review! So thorough! Really enjoyed it. Your passion for the subject really comes through!!
Thank you very much! I'll be sure to keep it going!
Keep these awesome videos coming, only discovered you today and already loving the channel, one love, Jamaica.
That's great! I am really happy you enjoy the channel! If you have other chess enthusiasts, be sure to let them know where to find my channel!
These are some great comparisons, great video!
Thanks a lot, I am glad you enjoyed the video!
I have the same plastic pieces. I am be no measure a collector of fine pieces as yourself. Very beautiful set.
Thanks a lot! That plastic set is nice!
Please keep these coming!
For sure! Thanks for watching!
amazing set, super! wish it wasn't so expensive! great work!
It really is! Thanks for watching!
Love those knights!!
Thank you!
Hi Al,
Thanks for a very detailed review and comparison. Those Modena chess pieces, especially the Knights, are a work or art. They really are very well made Chessmen. Blood rosewood, or bud rosewood is also my favorite color for dark chess pieces. If I owned a chess set like those, I probably wouldn't play with them for fear of breaking the mane of the Knight should I drop them. They will lose their function as a game piece, as I would just hold them and admire them. I also like the way you compare the pieces with something else, to highlight the contrast/differences.
Keep up the good work, and I look forward to your next one.
Thanks a lot Armand! As I get more sets I definitely feel like I start to notice all these minor differences, that end up being important in the end, from either just an esthetical or a practical standpoint. I just wish I could get a hold of more things, more sets, more boards, clocks, I really want to come across a nice dgt electronic set and see how they perform, but they are a bit up there in price.
That was a very helpful video, I'm looking for a high-end set right now.
Thanks a lot David! Thats exciting, let me know which set you like most!
Amazing knights!
Thank you! They are really detailed!
Beautyful chess set
Thank you!
Ok same
Great review! That's exactly what I do with my sets when I have the time: compare the weight, feel, and aesthetics. I've been pretty lucky getting imperfect sets in that there was no major damage, just a few machining marks. I got my dream set for less than $200. It's the Dragon Knight set from chessbazaar in boxwood and blood rosewood. One thing I do is coat my pieces with Tru Oil for that extra shine and protection.
I looked up the dragon knight set and I think it looks really nice, I love the knight, the bishop looks really cool too, I think you go a great deal on a wonderful set. Great job!
My Dragon Knight Bud Rosewood set will be here this week.
@@ferddiubaldo4324 Congrats! I am sure it will be lovely!
I appreciate the close up and angles of the dark pieces so I can gauge, before deciding whether to buy or not, the Blood Rosewood color. Chess sellers can leave the wrong impression of color based on the lighting and angles they use for the photos on their website. I have tried to read quite a bit on the actual wood and how it’s color/hue can darken over time, especially when exposed to sunlight or UV light, as well as it can bleed a white powder on the surface of the pieces.
Thanks a lot, I agree, it's always hard to gauge when trying to decide by looking at the pictures in the chess stores online.
I have been fooled by The Chess Empire and surprisingly lately RoyalChessMall who photograph all their Acacia (light walnut colour) or Sheesham Rosewood (same), Golden Rosewood (same), Gilded Rosewood (same) or Ringy Rosewood (dark chocolate) in a light to make their pieces look like Bud Rosewood or just label it as Rosewood. What should give them away is the price, about $125-150 less then it should cost or the size usually under 4”.
@@ferddiubaldo4324 Yeah thats unfortunate, and I can see how under different lighting conditions, the wood can look different. Even shooting under standard lighting for that matter, post processing can still be done to make wood different, or more appealing.
First lol. Great video mate, very informative and great demo of the different styles and colours. They all look great, however we all have our favourites. Great size of pieces too 👍😎
Thanks a lot Kirk! I really enjoyed making this video and I know it's a bit long, but hopefully people will enjoy the close ups.
@@AlSuChess Love the close ups, can get really into them much more that way. Look forward to future videos mate 👍
Nice set
Thank you! It's one of my more expensive sets!
@@AlSuChess i can imagine it's high quality so yeah
That's a sweet set.
Thank you!
@@AlSuChess Love this video... love it. Please keep them coming
perfect as always. 👍 :-)
Thank you!
This kind of sets that is for waiting you and your guests on the table, it is not for moving and traveling.
Additionally, this review made me understand the value of wood.
Thank you for watching, I agree with you, this is the type of set you keep at home and take out for only the really good friends haha!
@@AlSuChess Golden friends only! 😂
I just bought a set of USSR style boxwood/golden rosewood set and I haven’t gotten them yet, but I love the look of them. So often the knights have a funny look to them or just not quite what I like (unless you pay HUGE amounts for them), and so these are a bit minimal and still have enough detail that it’s premium. And the rest look so cool 😂 I can’t wait to play them.
Congratulations on your purchase, I am sure the chess set you ordered will be wonderful! Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for watching!
where did you buy ? Please let me know item name / supplier / cost also ?
Very very beautiful. It’s not the type of set I would usually be drawn to, but now after having seen it… I am very tempted.😅
Thanks a lot! I think this set definitely has a lot of detail!
Appreciate the beautiful and crisp close-ups! HOS should hire you to do 5 minute reviews of all their sets 🙂. Despite the minor imperfections and the disappointing packing you still got a great deal. A little too elaborate a design for my tastes, but the knight is indeed impressive. Is that the 4” Fischer plastic set or a different one?
Thanks a lot, it's tricky to get close ups without shaking, but I try to improve every time. I also feel like this was a great buy for the price! That's not the fischer plastic set, that's the same set I did a review that came with the nice blue bag, the quad weighted set, I don't think it had an official name. Thanks for watching!
Amazing video!
The knights in this set is sooooooo amazing. Almost like the horses head and neck is almost like a dragon. A dragon knight. Just my imagination but still pretty nice. Hopefully someday I’ll get this set soon.
Most impressive Knights I think I've ever seen in a Chess Set! I always place them looking East and West on the board like most GM's do, more aesthetically pleasing, but may be a matter of opinion and viewpoint! Overall, a nice collectible Chess Set, although I do prefer the Bishop of the 1800's set.
Atm there's only a black-white Modena chess set available on the website. Hope they will bring this dark brown set back at some point.
Yeah seems like they are out of stock on a lot of different sets, just have to check periodically!
Sorry I’m advance for the long reply…!
Beautiful set, thanks for sharing! I have several HOS chess sets, but not this one. By the way, for comparison purposes look at the Hadrian Staunton set from The Chess Store, which is a very similar 4.4” set, the difference is that they don’t use the fancier Blood Rosewood, but Padauk. Still about the same $, although not the fantastic deal you got of course.
For the broken mane of the boxwood knight, the first thing I would do is go over every inch of the box and wrapping material, and look for the broken piece, you might find it and could glue it back. If not, take a wood file and smooth it out, then lightly paint the exposed wood with Deft or similar lacquer finish to blend it. It will look fine. I’m sure that knight is why you got the set at nearly $550 off retail…!
I actually like your 1852 Paulsen set very much, very classic. I have the 1849 Cooke club set they had on close out, 4.4” with kingside stamping, and love it, EXCEPT, they are also two piece knights and the antiqued boxwood white knights “lean” which bugs the hell out of me. The dark ebony wood knights are perfect, but the antiqued boxwood knight bases were threaded slightly off, or I should say the inserts were installed a tiny bit skewed, so the upper portions lean slightly. Most people wouldn’t notice, but unfortunately I notice everything. 😉 I’ll have to find a way to get the male threads slightly realigned. HOS exchanged them for me, and the new ones are better, but still lean slightly, and they say they don’t have anymore in stock.
Finally, I have three plastic HoS sets and six of their wood sets, and every one of them came in cheap styrofoam and flimsy cardboard boxes. However at least the men were in individual compartments. I think they didn’t do it with your Modena set because they just didn’t have anything that fit the larger men, which is a shame, especially with those fancy finials and carved manes. Love those rooks by the way, the center “saucer” treatment is so attractive.
If you have a 2.25” board check out the 3.5” Leuchars vintage luxury chess men from HOS. I’ve bought more expensive sets from them, but I think that is one of the nicest looking.
I have several ebony and other exotic wood sets, but agree about the blood rosewood, which I chose for a 3.75” Dubrovnik set. I think it’s the most striking of all the woods, and contrasts beautifully with the maple and (burl?) squares of your board.
Thank you again for the detailed look at some beautiful chessmen.
Wow Thank you for the long and thorough comment! Sounds like you have a chess collection as large as mine! Sometimes I notice some of the irregularities you mention like the tilting of certain pieces or the slightly off center screw placement, but I am not terribly bothered by these small things, and from where I am sitting, it might be something that I could point out to my viewers. The Modena set wasn't packaged properly and there was a small chip off the mane but it was very tiny and did not complete the entire chip that was present. I'll probably end up filing down the jagged area like you said and refinish to blend. I love the Leuchars 3.5 set, very lovely, reminds me of the cook chess set! Thank you for watching!
I bought the Savano Series Luxury Chessmen from HOS's outlet, it listed for $1200 I got it for $300. The only imperfection they stated wrong with the set was a white powdery residue on the Blood Rosewood pieces. My set arrived much like yours ( not packed very well at all). In addition to the 'white fungus' on the rosewood pieces, one knight had two large clips out of its mane. Both kings were missings basepads and they sent me nine rosewood pawns and only one rosewood bishop. I was very disappointed!
Oh wow, that's crazy. Did you call them to figure things out? I am not too surprised about the packing being the way it was, but to not have a bishop is not good. I wouldn't be happy about that either. Perhaps they can send you the bishop as well as a better knight. I would if I wanted to keep my reputation.
@@AlSuChess I contacted HOS, they did send me another bishop 'a close match, but not as robust as the original'. Being an 'out of stock item' they could not find me a matching knight. **NOTE** Because of this an imperfect item, all sales are final. No refunds, returns or exchanges are allowed... In fairness to HOS I have bought several items from their 'Outlet site' over the past year and have been very pleased until this last purchase. One can find great deals on their site, but its 'hit or miss', good luck.
@@davedonotwantshare1905 Well at least you got something! Still, being that the set did not match the description I would ask them to send me the right pieces when they become available!
That really sucks. Were you able to clean the pieces?
Congrats, I have the same set from Staunton Castle, called Thebes series. FYI, mine builds up white dust due to the uncured Bud Rosewood, this is the only wood that has this issue, especially on the Knights. This is due the wood not completely drying out all its natural oils, the oils very subtlety seeps out of the wood then evaporating leaving a white dust residue, almost looking like white mould growing on it. The dust will return every 2-3 week after cleaning off the dust with soft cloth or soft toothbrush which is better for all the detailed crevices. You’ll notice as you’re dusting there will be a red stain on your cloth and toothbrush. Let me know if yours does this or you were luck enough to get a set that was properly cured. I have 6 luxury sets in Bud Rosewood, not all the set have this issue. I will be receiving 2 more sets in the next month, one which will include a clear lacquer, which is supposed to prevent the dust issue.
That's some really interesting information I wasn't really even aware, thanks for sharing. I will definitely clean the pieces in a few weeks and be sure to see if the curing process has been done properly or not, you got me curious! Thanks for watching!
BTW, I have the 1950 Soviet Latvian Chess Set coming in from Chessbazaar and a 55cm chess Board from Rechapados Ferrer Chess Boards from Spain, both were used in the final match btn Beth Harmon vs Vasily Borgov in the Queens Gambit.
@@ferddiubaldo7238 That's going to be a very aesthetic combination, I really like the set and it goes well with the board! Although the pieces are a bit elongated, they look really nice, congrats!
I know it’s not the exact pieces from the series that the sellers are producing but I’ve brought that to their attention and they’ve decided on their design and won’t be changing it.
I agree on the packing. Maybe skip the pawns, but everything else should have been rebagged.
I disagree on real ebony looking like plastic. A nice ebony you should be able to see a bit of a gold or amber behind the black that allows you to make out graining. It doesn't photograph, but I can sure see it on my Ferocious Elite Series set from Chess Bazaar.
Yes I agree with you! In fact I was able to kind of show that on one of my more recent videos, the walter grimshaw set was ebony and you could see the grain a little bit more. I think proper bagging and packaging is essential as it speaks volumes in terms of the care that's put forth by the company into the product they are trying to sell. Packaging is the first thing that I usually look at. Thank you for watching!
Yep Bud Rosewood/Blood Rosewood is awesome. Another name is African Padauk. I have a Chinese Chess board made out of that wood. Not Chinese themed chess board. It is a Xiangqi board. Xiangqi is a variant of chess.
Your set does look good. Not something you would use for club or tournament play. Rather a display set or just a slow casual game with friends or family. There is one luxury set Royal Chess Mall sells that I would like. I believe that it is the Sheffield in Bud Rosewood but for $350 it will have to wait. Awesome price for something that would be double on House of Staunton website.
I have the Sheffield set in Bud Rosewood, absolutely Gorgeous and large set.
Apparently I’ve heard that all Bud Rosewood or Blood Rosewood set are actually made of African Padauk, chess manufacturers called it and retained the name as Bud Rosewood or Blood Rosewood more for Marketing purposes.
Those knights are hand made.
Yes, they are quite elaborate!!
Nice chess set. I'm planning to buy this set. How are you storing them? What kind of box did you buy with it?
The video on the Walnut and maple classical Tiroir Chess Board that I did, I store the pieces in there for now, I was planning on getting a large size coffer but haven't yet found one I am happy with!
You don't like that HOS coffin cases? I brought the Genuine Staunton® x The Camaratta Collection - The Definitive Morphy Series Luxury Chess Pieces - 4.4" King, I put it into the $319 coffin. Of course I got it for $100 less.
Would you recommend putting the Modena set in their standard premium chess boxes?
Wow Henry, I am really excited for you and a bit jealous, that looks like a really nice set! I don't have that many high end luxury sets but at some point I will start to acquire some hopefully and I am interested to see how the overall build quality differs. Personally I think boxes smaller than a coffer might not be enough room for this set, especially with the knights being this large. Also, the intricate nature of the mane on the knights makes it to where you'd have to be careful with where and how you store them.
@@AlSuChess I decided to get a coffer to go with this set. I have placed the order last night and they should be shipping it to me later on today. I thought about how fragile those knights are, and I believe the coffers are the best. You should contact HOS and get your knight replace. It's not your fault for getting a damage piece because of their poor packaging.
Hello. What is the most expensive and at the same time aesthetic chess set out in the market? I'm writing a chess webnovel ("Swindle," on royalroad) and I need one character buying an expensive board for no reason. So far, my candidates are either the Modena set, or the Burnt Dubrovnik.
Both price and aesthetics are relative and subjective to everyone, what may be expensive for some, might not be for others. I personally find some sets above 600 to be priced beyond what I would reasonably pay for a chess set. That being said, some higher quality sets I have seen can be justified as far as their price, just maybe not within my budget range at this time. Aesthetics can also be a divided term, there is aesthetic and there is practical, some pre-staunton replicas I've seen such as the anglo dutch set from the House of Staunton are aesthetic in my opinion, but not practical for regular or tournament play, so the price being close to 1,500 I would probably never own one unless it was a gift, and would more likely spend that money on the genuine 1849 vintage luxury set, if that was ever in the cards. Sorry I can't be more precise, hope it helps! Thanks for watching!
Hi, just discovered your channel. What's the name of the plastic set? I dont really like sets with natural wood colour and it's very hard to find plastic or painted sets that don't have ugly knights
Hi Daniel! Thanks for watching and commenting! The plastic set here in this video I purchased last year from ebay I believe, together with the case, really solid choice overall. I've done a video on that set, be sure to check it out: th-cam.com/video/jXVoB7RGXHs/w-d-xo.html
I have to agree with you on the fact that when it comes to plastic sets, you don't have a lot of choices, not much variability!
@@AlSuChess Thanks for the link!
I have a small collection of chess sets and have bough from HOS a few times. Since that knight was damaged in hippping I would think they should make it right with you. At least sell you the knight top at a very cheap price. Give them a call or emal.
You are right! I probably should have acted on that when I initially got the set. It's less likely I would get anything now since it's been a couple of months, but you never know. Thanks for watching!
Wowowow
Beautiful set! Did you find the piece that broke off the knight? If so glue it in place.
Yeah I found the piece but it wasn't a complete fragment, so I couldn't glue it back.
Hi can you tell me the name of the set and color on the right side of the video the slightly cream color plastic set? and website please? Thank you =) Nice sets Btw =)
The light color plastic set on the right side I bought on eBay, I'll send you a link.
www.ebay.com/itm/SET-4-HEAVY-TOURNAMENT-CHESS-PIECES-VINYL-BOARD-DELUXE-BAG/250398325119
do you have a chess piece store? Could you indicate a set at low prices?
No I don't have a store!
It would be so much easier to turn the base for the knight by itself, rather than turn it with the knight. Bases are a piece of cake with the right tools. They have a custom-made lathe tool for that. You got a great deal on that set, the knights alone are worth double what you paid.
I would be mad at this set too, the spaces between the rings of the kings and rooks are difrent in the medena set betwen the white and rose wood
Interesting observation! Other than that it's still a quality set! Thanks for watching.
@@AlSuChess yea for full price if i found more pices like that, like between same pawns ...... anger incoming lol
👏👏👏👏👏👏
just purchase a separate knight to replace the damaged one, then you have a complete nice set for a good price
That's true, if I can find a separate knight for this set.
Unfortunately HOS won’t sell individual pieces. I slightly damaged a rook crown by dropping it, and that wasn’t replaceable. I ended up fixing it with a file and high grit sandpaper though, thank goodness.
How can I buy it ?
House of Staunton has this set in stock, it's $675 for this blood rosewood, I somehow got lucky and stumbled on this in the imperfect section for $190.
Medena set may be luxurious, but man, I like Paulsen more. Sometimes too much detail ruins the aestetics
Do you have a chess set discord server?
I don't think I do, what's that all about?
@@AlSuChess it's a cellphone / computer app where people can discuss hobbies and interests. A lot of TH-cam channels have them.
@@neiloppa2620 I see, I'll have to look into it, maybe once the channel grows a bit.
I'm noticing a pattern with HOS........
I definitely want to expand into other web sites and stores, as well as chess related things other than just sets, but I have been familiar with HOS stuff, and like some of their chess sets more than others. I am not biased however, I'd talk about the good and the bad as fairly as I can.
I've only recently discovered my affinity for quality wooden chess sets . I have purchased a few set's from HOS and honestly I prefer my customer experience with Chess Bazaar.
@@r.d.1056 I agree with you, I think good customer service is key when it comes to running any business.
Soy. De Argentina...Muy bonito los juegos el problema es que no entendí nada de lo que dijiste...😂
Just change the location!
I will not buy from House of Staunton from your report!
I prefer to build with Woodbex plans.
is this the sleeping room of your parents^^
That there's my room :)
Chess sets sale old wooden by collectors tempe az
Good set,bad packaging
I agree! With a set priced at 675 dollars, they really should take extra time with packaging!
I'm afraid I don't like these sets at all!!
The overly ornate knights are quite ugly and horrible. They look a bit like those distastefully decorated trucks from India.
The rest of the pieces are a bit weird too. They've just added some extra rings to the Staunton, but the spacing of the rings is not uniform.
Made by someone who can turn or carve wood, but doesn't understand good design.