House of Staunton 3.875" Weighted Plastic Hastings Chess Set - Black & Ivory

by House of Staunton

Product Features

• Beautiful Plastic Chess set by the legendary <b><i>House of Staunton</i></b>
• 3.875" King with a 1.75" Diameter Base
• Consists of 34 Chessmen, 17 light and 17 dark (including two additional Queens)
• Includes a FREE Genuine <b><i>House of Staunton </b></i> 2.375" Vinyl Board - A $20.00 Value

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8 x 24 x 8 inches ; 4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• ASIN: B000ANUOOE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #272,166 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Product Description

The House of Staunton is proud to introduce one of the World's finest Plastic Chessmen - The Hastings Series Plastic Chessmen. Chessmen with Attitude! The distinctive feature of this set is our newest Knight design. The superb detail on this beast is simply breathtaking! This full-tournament sized set features a 3.875" King, weighs an impressive 42 ounces and includes 4 Queens (the additional 2 Queens are not included in the weight calculation.) The design and feel of these Chessmen make them ideal for both Tournament and Rapid Play (Blitz) Chess. As with all House of Staunton Chessmen, they exemplify the perfect combination of beauty and functionality. The design, quality and craftsmanship of this set is UNMATCHED by any set of Chessmen in its price range. Nothing even comes close! These Chessmen are new and each set consists of 34 Chessmen, 17 light and 17 dark (including the two additional Queens.) ALL HOUSE OF STAUNTON PLASTIC CHESSMEN ARE RECOMMENDED FOR US CHESS FEDERATION TOURNAMENT PLAY! Indulge yourself - Own a legend!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars House of Staunton makes THE BEST plastic, tournament sets, August 19, 2007

By 

Smaug "Jeremy" (Round Lake Beach, IL United States) - See all my reviews

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: House of Staunton 3.875" Weighted Plastic Hastings Chess Set - Black & Ivory (Toy)

I'm more serious about chess than a lot of people who will read this, but by no means a master. (I rate about 1130, according to my computer Chessmaster game.)

Compared to the "board game style" chess games, this one is 100 times more durable and intuitively-designed. What do I mean? Read on.

For one thing, the pieces are solid plastic, with weights in their bases. That this means is that every time you just barely brush a piece, you don't tip it over. Some of the $5 sets out there are hollow plastic. Not ideal in ANY playing conditions.

Compared to the old standby club special tournament sets, they are not any more durable, but are molded much more nicely. The knights are especially nice, and are the reason I chose this particular set. (House of Staunton offers at least a dozen varieties of styles, both in plastic & wood) Back to the knights: You can see their eyes, their teeth, their ears, all without having to use imagination. I know, as far as the game itself is concerned, this is not important. But what IS important is that it shows an attention to detail that is not often seen these days. With some pencil-necked business man making decisions based on production cost, and only giving about 1 minute of thought to actual design is pretty insulting to a serious chess player. That same lack of thoughtfulness can be seen in other places in cheaper sets. Felt that falls off the bottom of the pieces, sloppily printed boards with ink bleed-over, molding flashing all over the place... you get the idea. This is a quality set, through and through, and you will know when playing it that it was designed by a chess player.

Not only are the pieces of very high quality & of a good heft, but the roll-up vinyl board has nice, dark, even printing. I wouldn't believe without seeing it, but it is more classy than you would think for a vinyl board.

Also worth buying would be the corduroy drawstring bag that used to be included with HoS sets. (albeit at a slightly higher price)

This set is a great example of buying quality the first time. Resist the urge to buy something cheaper if you like chess. This one has all the right features: Weight, attention to detail, & durability. Don't bother with an unweighted set. I'm sure House of Staunton's is nice, but man are the weighted ones so much nicer!

One other advantage of the weighted pieces is that you can play outdoors. At my company chess club, we play outdoors, in the shade, on a picnic table whenever weather permits. There is no better way to spend a lunch. For reference, the tournament collectors set is heavier, and especially the 4" set. (though the 4" one crowds the squares a bit more than the 3 3/4" set)

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cheap, good and beautiful!, April 3, 2007

By 

J. Soria "bravesoul" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: House of Staunton 3.875" Weighted Plastic Hastings Chess Set - Black & Ivory (Toy)

Dont forget you get also a free vinyl board with this order. It's perfect if you dont want to spend a lot of money. The vinyl board is excellent, 34 plastic chessmen are very good and beautiful (and heavy!) It's a pleasure to play with this chess set. One more thing: shipping was fast and arrived in perfect condition. I'm really happy with my order from House of Staunton and Amazon!. Thankssss!!
More: after one year since I bought it and playing standard chess once or twice a week (3 hs minimun) everything is like new!!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars, July 31, 2007

By 

RonL. (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: House of Staunton 3.875" Weighted Plastic Hastings Chess Set - Black & Ivory (Toy)

Even though we are just taking an interest in chess, it is nice to have a "tounament" feeling game. Beautiful sturdy pieces, without paying an arm and a leg.