Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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)

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!!

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.

It's a Chess set. The pieces are just what I ordered. Weighted, felt bottom, 3" tall peices. They are ideal for anyone playing a serious game of chess.

Everything was as expected. A bag to hold the pieces would have been a nice but inexpensive bonus, but other than that suggestion I am content.