by Chris Kantack
As I received a very nice chess set from Excalibur some months ago, I thought it would be interesting to put a few photos of it up on my site. This is not really a formal review but just my way of saying, "I really enjoy my fancy chess set"!
The inlaid chessboard is from Spain and made of maplewood. Square size is 2 1/8". A fine varnish and ultraviolet drying process are used to create a very nice and durable high-gloss finish. My wife is especially impressed with the way the board can "mirror the pieces".
The pieces come from India and are made of boxwood. The King's height is 3.75". They are lacquered to a very smooth and deep finish. Each piece is well-weighted and has a green-felt bottom cushion. Indeed I have found these pieces to be very well cushioned. You can truly play a completely silent game with this set as normal placement of the pieces on the board will result in any audible sound.
From my own pictures, along with Excalibur's own photos illustrating their Hall of Fame "Collector's Edition" Chess Set, it may appear that the pieces are essentially red and black. But in reality the "red" pieces are a deep brown in color.. Somehow in both Excalibur's and in my own photography, the pieces in our photos appear more red than they really are.
Every good chess set deserves a nice box for piece storage. My wife picked up an unfinished box at a craft shop for 6 dollars. We then sanded and stained it and added a latch for the door. The inside was then lined with felt and a center divider was added to create two compartments. With a total investment of around $10 and a few hours of work, we created a very nice piece box.
Pictured below: a chess encyclopedia, my piece box (opened) and the Excalibur Hall of Fame "Collector's Edition" chess set.
I really enjoy owning my Hall of Fame set. Owning a fancy chess set does not make you a better player. But it sure is nice to be able to pull out such a fine set when having a guest over for the evening.
Excalibur also makes a "Windsor Edition" version of this set. You can purchase the set above for $169 from "The Chess Piece" by clicking here.
Note, The Chess Piece also sells a number of other quality sets that are considerably less expensive than the Hall of Fame one. I recently received their quality classic Staunton chess set with storage box and board. It's a very nice set and a bargain for only $69! In fact, I'm so impressed with this wooden set from The Chess Piece, that I'm likely to write a review about it sometime in the spring of 2004.
If you have any questions or comments, about this or other chess sets, feel free to send me an email. Just direct your email to Chris Kantack. My address is chessinfo@kantack.com. Or just click on the envelope icon below.
