Tuesday 29 December 2009

What makes for a quality chess set?

Chess, the best of the games in the world plays a vital role in imparting perfection among the humans. So the need for a quality chess set is necessary in order to make the player a quality producing player. The chess board must be of top quality which is an aesthetic that attracts the players towards the game. The chess board should be highly reliable and must produce a long life. The dimensions of the squares inscribed in the board should be standardized and should be perfectly designed during manufacture. It adds the beauty to the aesthetic game. The material to be incorporated to produce the board must withstand the adverse effects to the board. In case of wooden boards it should be highly polished and varnished.

Chess pieces should be stable, light weight and modern too. The design should add beauty to the pieces such that it attracts. The pieces should be highly distinguishable in their features based on their rank in the war of game. An easy identification to the players is necessary in case of chess pieces based on the ranks in the Warfield. The lowest or the eighth ranked pawns must be of same size and it should be the shortest of all the pieces available. Moreover the differentiation to the King and Queen pieces is important. The inclusion of manual about the pieces adds quality to the set as it may be used even by the budding artists of the game.

These are the attributes to be added in the manufacture regarding the pieces of the set and the board. Moreover an adherence to the international standards is an added advantage while manufacturing the chess set. Adherence to the international shapes with the above specified secondary attributes in higher proportion is an important feature of quality associated with the chess set. Thus the clear picture of the quality chess set is above specified attributes and nothing more than that. Manufacturers can be ethical for this ethical and the perfectionist’s game. 

Thursday 24 December 2009

Improving Ones Chess Game

If you are a newbie, this article would help you win through a game of chess. Basically one needs to get a better understanding of the game and the wise moves to make.
There are three stages of a chess game:

  • ·        First is the opening stage. Here you need to be prepared to make wise moves regardless of the coins you get to play with-black or white. The general rule however is: if you get to play black, do not go on to attack until you get an opening, just play a defense game. The aim of this stage is not to move all the forces out immediately. For instance, forcing ahead all your pawns is stupid. Save one or two to block your opponents.
  • ·        Next is the middle stage. Playing this stage involves a deep analysis of the coins on the board (a king and a pawn combinations works well most of the time). Your position of coins too plays an important role. Place and move the coins such that you target either more than one force of your opponent at a time or aim for a checkmate.
  • ·        Next is the end stage. What you are likely to (lose or win) should decide your moves. If you have more no. of pieces than your opponent, it doesn’t mean that you can win. A pawn reaching the end of the board on your side can well be a crucial checkmate while your powerful coins might be blocked from movement. So be careful. If you have pieces and are losing by position, try to aim multiple checks at your opponent which might force the game to a draw.

These strategies will certainly help but it is wise to play the game according to the concepts and adopt the strategies with the progress of the game.

Sunday 22 November 2009

Power of Chess

It’s all right for man to play God with  the name Scientist and penetrate the secrets of life, but I am supremely confident that the awareness response of two people quietly sitting will not be labelled or tampered with.

Take for example, silence which can be explosive and loud with possibilities.

This takes form in say, a nose twitch, or eye contact. Which is stronger? Well that depends... I clearly remember my brown eyes transfixed on sky-blue eyes, so much so I nearly had vertigo and with great difficulty I moved my Rook in the winning position.

Not a word was spoken.   Chess has taken me over ever since.

Friday 16 October 2009

Filipino GrandMaster, Eugene Torre

I myself am a big fan of chess. I was in 3rd grade when I learned this interesting sport. One of the figure I really look up to at that time was my older brother, Byron. He used to be a chess whiz and a champion himself. He used to compete in schools. When I was learning chess at that time, my brother introduced a very important person in the world of chess- none other Eugene Torre. Torre is one of the respected players of all time, being the first Asian GrandMaster. Many watched his games and even learn techniques from them. He is considered as one of the strongest and best-produced chess player in the Philippines!He marked the 80's-90's era in our history. By beating chess champions by champions, Eugene Torre brought us fame and created a name in the world history. We can proudly share our story that one of the greatest chess players in the world live in our country and in our hearts. We owed our love of the game from Torre.

Monday 7 September 2009

Chess Sets like the X2028 Earl Anthony


When we first looked at the design prototype of the Earl Anthony chess set for inclusion into our product line - we were astonished with the quality and it's almost live appearance. Funny - just a chunk of wood - but the skill and dexterity our artisan carvers have is admirable. We hoped that the result of the prototype would be something excellent and of course, we were not disappointed.

It's interesting how the market for chess design has changed in the last few years. The UK used to be just a market for standard staunton style chess pieces - but now the idea of staunton with a flair - a staunton piece with something extra is very popular. Deservedly so.

Tuesday 1 September 2009

G2004 Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster 2 Chess Software

If you loved Fritz and Chesster 1, you'd love this too. The theme is King Black's Castle. The mission - to rescue Chesster. The aim of ChessBaron - to  as a winner with this new product too that has 20 mini games all set to create magic and make planning, challenging, and attacking come alive to engross you in an ultimate chess battle. The programme delivers instructions and chess lessons in simple, easy to understand language and makes the game and learning about the game fun with the cute animations used. A creative and effective way to instill in children the values of thinking ahead, analyzing other's moves and protecting themselves. The best part is that every skill sharpens your skills so that you are well prepared for the final showdown.

G2003 Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chesster 1 Chess software

If you think that your children should be introduced to the world of chess so that they can start young or if you, since childhood had an inclination towards being part of the royal kingdom and do what kings do best, choose this chess software. It's not only fun and magical but helps you relive your childhood with your children. The animation is really cute and yet does not take the focus away from the game itself. There are 7 games for 1 or 2 players. If you play right and get your moves in place, you could have an exciting match with King Black himself. This could prove to be a good tool for parents who want to teach their children to analyze, plan, think clearly and to think ahead.

Sunday 30 August 2009

Why do some chess men's wood crack?

It's all in the environment - as Greenpeace might agree. But this environment is the one inside your home in most cases. The average home humidity in the country of origin (which for most good, fine chess sets is India) is high. The average home humidity in, say, North Dakota, USA is low, as they seal their homes against draughts, heat them up and inadvertantly deprive the home of moisture, or humidity. Same with the average home in Toronto, and oddly enough, even California, where the reverse is true - moisture is kept repelled by cooling rather than heating.
But in Europe it's more of a mixed picture  since some countries are cold, some not so cold. Chess pieces rarely crack in the UK where there is a constant weather change with little build up in dryness. The alloy in the bases expands and contracts, and if there is no 'give' in the wood, or a layer that expansion can occur - the wood is the weakest link - and cracks. Good manufacturers allow for this by inserting a layer of softer material between the alloy and the wood to allow the expansion. All of ChessBaron's range for example has this architecture.

Wednesday 19 August 2009

How Do Chess Grandmasters Think Differently Than The Rest

Chess Grandmasters have been thought to think differently than others for quite some time, but after a recent study conducted that compared Grandmasters to amateurs, there is actually some truth to the thought.
According to research, Grandmasters are able to use a part of their brain that is not commonly used by amateur players of chess. Usually during a game of chess, the regular player will use the middle section of their brain. However, with Grandmasters, they use the frontal section. The difference between the two sections is that the frontal part of the brain can process thoughts and actions at a much faster rate and can also store more information than the middle section.
If anyone has ever seen a Grandmaster play in chess, they know that the skills the Grandmaster has when it comes to processing moves and figuring out the best approach to the game comes at a very fast speed. Now we know why – it is because Grandmasters are able to use a different part of their brain which allows them to process their skills at a much faster rate. Not to mention that almost all Grandmasters have a rather high IQ compared to the average person.

Monday 17 August 2009

ST2026 Sea Life Chess Set

If you know anything about me, you are probably expecting me to say something about the queen's naked boobs in this chess set (or, if you haven't seen the pictures of this set yet, and your a man, you are currently going to the product page in anticipating excitement) but I decided to hold myself back from the trap of male preverstion and talk about something different......um....um...the pawns are kinda nice. (See, this is what guys would be like with out girls. Thanks ladies.)

ST2025 George and the Dragon Theme Chess Set

This is a pretty silly set here. Some interesting pieces. I love the kings nose, and I especially love the queens boobs. I mean come on! Those are massive. That shirt has got to be on the edge of ripping right off from the strain. And that's what annoys me in real life. How do girls think that's attractive? There is a firm line inwhich boobs go from hot to 'what the hell is that?'. O, but I loved it in high school were every once and a while 2 girls would get into a fight and start ripping their clothes off, then they realize they arn't really mad at eachother, but love each other, and start kissing naked in the middle of the hall. (YA! You all jealous of America now? we might outsource everything, but we got all the hot chicks over here!)

ST2016 American Independence Chess Set

This American Independence chess set is very interesting in the pieces. So many layers of clothing and detail on all the characters. I don't even know how they get the pieces like this. For example, check out this queen. Look at that massive dress! That's ridiculous. How in the world did they do that without screwing up 75% of the ones they tried? And it doesn't look like a mold either because I wouldn't think a mold could do that many layers with out cracking and ripping the figure. Some things I'll never understand.

ST2015 Christopher Columbus Chess Set

Eh, this set is alright. Nothing to special to talk about. It does have some nice features though. The set is about a man names Christopher Columbus, who was a famous explorer who explored tons of American land. I don't see much of the relationship between his expeditions and the characters in this set though. It has him as the king, but not much of the other pieces make much sense to me. But oh well, can't like 'em all can I?

ST2014 Range Wars Chess Set

Great set here! I love all the pieces. It's based from the American range wars, but that's not what interests me. I usually don't pay much attention to the story. Just the pieces. It's like playing a first-person shooter game on your xbox - there is a reason why this guy is in an Iraqi jail, but nobody cares enough to listen to the story of the game. They just want to shoot things. So with chess - I usually just look at the pieces. And these look pretty interesting to me. Cowboys, sheriffs, ranchers, ect, ect. Pretty neat.

ST2013 Jazz Chess Set

O, we're gettin' jizzy with it now! This jazz-based chess set has some pieces in it you just never see. Like the sax players having there knees bend with a twisted position. That is something you don't normally see. Most characters are standing straight up and have no inflections in there face. But not this set. Even the base guitar players have big sun glasses on their eyes, and that crazy serious look on there faces that exists in real life.

Wednesday 12 August 2009

CL2023 DGT10102 XL Beige


Yet again, another amazing DGT XL chess timer from that funky company DGT. The reason I say amazing is because it not only times each turn of chess for you, but it offers features that have nothing to do with chess. (okay, maybe not, but it sure does have a lot of features packed into one simple device.) This model is the same as a previous model yet this time it's beige instead of red. (Because it makes such a big difference ;)) But I'm not one to sarcastically insult a product in an article about the product itself, so I guess I'll shut up now. Like my mom always said, if you don't have anything nice to say about something, don't say anything at all. BAM! (anyone catch the added insult there at the last sentence? anyone? Just makin' sure)

CL2022 DGT10102 XL Red

Here's your state-of-the-art chess clock. It's got a sleek look, fancy buttons that do stuff you didn't even know you needed, and a gigantic LDC screen with so much info on it, it makes your head spin. I hate when things have too many features that you don't even know what to do with them. Like "Save and retrieve five user defined settings" Ahaha, all I need is for something to beep when my turn is up. Not a robot to make me a sandwich and end world violence. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for cool stuff....but cool stuff I can actually use. Unsurprisingly - this chess timer is mainly for the DGT Electronic Board - connects to the PC, that's why it's so funky.

CL2021 DGT960 Digital Chess Clock


Here is another great chess clock from DGT. Only difference is that it's an entire new model than others from the manufacturer. Still mini and still looks great. But I just can't help but notice it kind of looks like the nintendo DS. Well, at least to me, which doesn't mean it really does look like the DS. It may just be my prosopagnosia kicking in. (anyone gonna be curious enough to look up what that means? eh, probably not)

CL2018 Garde Digital Chess Clock

Are you into the classical look of old chess clocks, but like the convenience of digital stuff? If so, then this product is for you. Its got the old wooden look and frame, yet in place of the physical clocks, there are now digital LCD screens with number timers. Very high class huh? I'm pretty easily impressed though. Like I almost cried the day they made a high definition TV that had 1080p from the previous 720p models. Pretty lame and geeky right? I need more chess clocks in my life

Tuesday 11 August 2009

CMD2005 Excalibur Grandmaster Chess Computer

At a first glance, this looks like and old ordinary chess set, right? Wrong! This is a state-of-the-art chess computer system. Very fancy and hi-tech computerized systems. You can play against a computer in the game of chess. *gasp* And the processors in these things run so fast, and create so much massive heat, they have to be cooled with liquid nitrogen, and the power these circuit boards eat up solving 5,000 teraflops of equations per second is the equivalent of the power used in one day for an entire skyscraper every 20 seconds! P.S. Yes, I am being an a$$hole, but it is a nice electronic chess set regardless.

CMD2004 Novag Carnelian II Chess Computer

This is one of the more classical chess computers. It's case is technically made of plastic, but is painted to look like polished, high quality wood. It has a strong 16 KB operating system infrastructure, and it's got an 8 MHz system clock, which is pretty fast for a low-calculation program. (If you feel stupid after that sentence, don't worry. It just means your not a nerd like me. Congratulations, you have a life!) So if you need some practice, don't have any friends, trying to impress girls with your fancy chess toys, or whatever the reason, this product is perfect for you.

CMD2003 Saitek Kasparov Chess Challenger Chess Computer

If you ever wanted to amp up your chess skills without having to hiring a good chess player to help you (or ordering my patented lessons on "how to become a millionaire with chess" for only £299.99 - all proceeds go to my pocket) then you may want to consider this electronic chess set from Chess Baron in which you can practice against an extremely smart computer and tune up your skills to hustle all of your friends and make some big money. It offers all the features of a regular chess computer, though it's interface seems better for practice than anything else.

CMD2002 Novag Citrine Chess Computer

Well, you could defiantly say this isn't like most chess computers. I mean hell, might as well just be a normal chess set. But I'm not the one to judge. I just thought that the point of electronic chess boards were to be small so you can travel with them. But anywhozle, it's creative. It has a full-scale chess board with full scale pieces and an LCD screen. It has all the great features of a small one, only on a much larger scale. By the way, for all the 'techies' that bothered to read the description on the site about the set, don't ya think 56 KB is a bit small even for a chess set program? I'm just puttin' that out there.

CMD2001 Excalibur Master Chess Computer

How do I know this is the very best electronic chess set in the whole entire world? well the answer to that is very simple - I'm American. I know everything. It's a well known fact. So when I tell you that there is absolutly nothing better on the market, and never will be, I would be right. Or when I tell you that this set is also uber cool, yet again - right. And especially when I tell you that you should only buy this from ChessBaron, and Chess Baron should split the profits, yet again, I would be right. (No, but in all seriousness, I didn't even pass algebra II the first time in high school, but I did the seventh time)

CM2013 Saitek Travel Chess Computer

If you're looking for an electronic chess set, there are two ways to go. You could go with the newer hi-tech touch screen devices, or you could go for the actual physical electronic board. Now, you're probably expecting me to make some joke, but I have no witty comment on that one. It's all up to you on what kind of computer you want. But if your the guy (or girl for that matter) who likes the physical electronic board, then this looks like a nice product to go with. It has tons of cool features that a lot of others don't.

CM2012 Excalibur Talking Touch Screen Hand Held Chess Computer

Imagine this in your head - You're at the end of a chess championship, and there is $500,000 at stake, but you're about to go up against the best player in the entire world and you know you can't beat him. So what is a guy to do? Well don't worry young lad, I'll help you out. Here is what I would do: 1. Take out your fancy Excalibur Talking Touch Screen Hand Held Chess Computer from ChessBaron. 2. Hide it under the table. 3. Set it up to one player, level "impossible". (This way the computer will beat any human) 4. Let your opponent go first, and copy his exact move into the electronic game. 5. Simply copy the computers response to the real game board, and repeat. This way, you will never loose! (By the way, you owe me half of that prize money)

CM2010 Saitek Kasparov Expert Chess Computer

So lets say you're on a plane or maybe traveling by boat (Do people still do that?) And your bored to death and desperately need something chess related to do. Now if you were me, you would pop the headphones on and pass the time with a movie. But you're not me, you're you. And you don't want to watch a movie or stay in your seat and read the safety instructions in your seat-back pocket in case of an emergency stop or landing. If you're more of a chess nerd then you would pull out your hand electronic chess board just like this one chess baron offers on their website, which has dozens on fancy features. And at a low price too.

CM2008 Einstein Wizard Touch Chess Computer

Wow! what a beauty of a device. Stylish, thin - looks almost as good as an iphone. Great LCD screen, wonderful black casing. Now don't get too excited my young chess nerds, there are some drawbacks to this electronic chess set. For one, it lacks in features, only 56 levels, (compared to some with over 200) and no other fancy features like long drawback and nothing said for long battery life. But oooh does it look sexy! P.S. The same doesn't go for girls though. Remember, she may look sexy on the outside, but she may be the biggest pain in the world on the inside. (Sorry Pamela Anderson)

Monday 10 August 2009

TH2045 Hand Painted Celtic Chess Set

This is another set in addition to other sets that's based off of the Vikings and Norsemen battle near Dublin. These decorative chess pieces do help me with my history. It's a wonderful set as it stands, but even better with some vibrant color on it. Both of the king pieces are magnificent (I know, what a complicated word coming from a guy like me. I even had to argue with my spell checker for almost 10 minutes just to spell that) and it looks as if that's exactly what it looked like in real life back in those times. It's one of the nice sets here on Baron. A little pricey, but I like it. To me it would be worth it.

TH2044 Celtic Chess Set

Pharaoh, pharaoh, Oooohh baby let my people go Uhh! *ahem* sorry for my singing. That song reminded me of this set. (for all you old people who are like 'what?', that's a song us 20 year old youngsters use to sing when we were kids about the Roman times) Technically, this set is not based off of any roman theme. It's actually about the Vikings and Norsemen, but sometimes, what my little brain does is completely disregard everything, and imagine what it wants. How do you think I saw my first naked girl? Anyway, It's a nice 'classical' set for the classical kind of people.

TH2041 Hand Painted Richard the Lionheart Chess Set

Here is another Loinhead set from the guys over at Chess Baron. It's a nice looking set and a nice paint job. Now that I've got my complements out of the way - if you will take a look over at the main documentation page which is pictured on their website, it's a page describing all the pieces. What I would love to know is why does the king description take up almost the entire page? How much could you possibly find to write about one chunk of wood? Hats off to that dude. Well, anyway, I'll get back to the set because I sense this doesn't have anything to do with anything. It's on the upper price range of most of their other pieces but, the 'finish' quality looks good, an' it's still pretty cheap.

TH2040 Richard the Lionheart Chess Set

Ah, a much different looking set than alot I have seen in my life before. I'm not sure how this set looks neat, (besides the obvious fact they have no bodies) but this set just stands out. My favorite piece is the lion head (I'm not even going to bother looking up what piece he is - must be the knight) but he does look pretty fierce. And the two kings remind me of the Lord of the Rings. Not quite sure why...but nice set anyway. By the way, I use alot of parenthesizes don't I..., but I like to make it conversational...

Wednesday 5 August 2009

TH2061 Battle of Trafalgar Chess Set

Well - it's not your average set. That's for sure. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but there is just something about these characters that just makes them look so different. Maybe it's their extremely skinny body frames, and hollowed out faces. Or the fact that in most sets, the king is the taller piece because he is standing on a higher platform, but that in this set, the king is taller, only he is not standing on any platform, making everyone else look like migit-slaves, (sorry - 'short people slaves')

TH2060 White Tower Hand Painted Chess Set

Ah, well how could I be against this beautiful set. It doesn't necessarily have anything big that sets it apart from other sets, but it does have a really nice polished looked with dolled-up faces that have some good detail on to them. It's simple - no fire breathing dragons - but that's what makes this set nice. It's the simple 'finished' look of all the pieces. And by the way - YES! First article of the day were spell check didn't scream at me, call me stupid, and ask me if I need help spelling all my mistakes. Yay me.

TH2059 White Tower Chess Set

Eh, This set's okay. Could be better. It's basically just a bunch of fat guys and two crows. Half gold, half black. Now of course the sales script on their website polishes up what I just said alittle bit (and as in 'polish up' I mean just delete everything I just wrote and replace it with alot of fancy words) but I do have some nice things to say about this set. It uses pretty sturdy materials, so they can withstand a little more abuse than other sets around that break and chip if dropped.

TH2057 Lord of the Rings Hand Painted Chess Pieces

Ahaha, another Lord of the Rings set. Well, not so scary as the other ones, but it's pushin' the limit. It still has the freaky guy with the scar down his face. And bald characters that look like they have six-pack mussels on their head. And of course they just can't put arms on these guys. No, no, that would take away from there freaky freakishness....if that is a word....but besides freaky - I love the set. Just wouldn't want it sitting in my bedroom at night.

TH2056 Lord of the Rings Chess Set

Oh heck! FREAKY! I think these pieces may just have been in that nightmare I had the other week. This looks like a 1990's horror film, or that one movie were all the humans besides Will Smith turn into dark-seeking monster/zombies. The set is suppose to be resembling Lord of the Rings, but I don't remember these guys looking so scary. But if the maker was trying to make these things freaky, well done sir. You did it. Ewww, I don't like the guy with the big scar down his face. I mean he really must have had social problems in high school with that thing.

Art Deco Chess Pieces

YES!! Finally a chess set where I don't have to compliment its amazing detail! First set like this of the day. I like this set better than the other sets with confusing characters and trees and random turtles/dragons poppin' out of nowhere. I may actually be able to name the acuall pieces this time! Plus this set is pretty contemporary, so you don't need a bunch of nerdy action figures on shelves for it to look like it fits in to your homes' style. I love the solid paint job on these, and the simplicity.

TH2051 SAC Hand Painted Canterbury Cathedral Chess Set

Ahaha, what neat-o looking individual pieces for a chess set. I love the platform underneath each of them. It kind of universalizes all of them. (If you know what I mean (you probably don't. (It's okay. Sometimes I don't even understand myself. (Just like right now)))) I also like the characters themselves. Especially
the guys kneeling on the floor either begging not to be killed by the king or praying to their god. Either way it looks nice.

TH3008 SAC Hand Painted Warrior War including Board

Hmmmm, This set is pretty impressive. The acual value of the set isn't much. No fancy materials were used in making the pieces, but the set has a big gee-wizz factor added in. When you buy this thing, you not only get themed pieces, but a themed board and a themed carrying case. All fit together pretty well and look good in the process. Every section looks like it was made for itself. Especially the carrying case, which turns the actually chess characters into real-life animated works of art on the front.

SAC Hand Painted Robin Hood War including Board

I was never much into the Robin Hood movies (or maybe they were books?), but this chess set was apparently made to resemble after the Robin Hood themes and British folk-lore. So like any other normal person who wants to sound like they actually know what they are talking about, I went over to my trusty Google account and researched on the themes that are represented in this set. I found some interesting sites, and they resemble the pieces pretty closely. Plus, any chess set that has an oak tree with an extremely detailed tree-house, complete with a door noob, and veins on the leaves is a winner.

TH3006 SAC Hand Painted Waterloo War including Board

As I was sitting here thinking about how I'm going to start this article about this chess set, and what I'm going to talk about, I realized that I usually tell about the good points of a set, then make fun one or two of the pieces then end the article. But this set - I really don't have much to make fun of. So I don't really anything funny to say, but what I can say is the pieces prefectly match what the maker was trying to resemble, and the set turned out just perfect!

TH3005 SAC Hand Painted Egyptian War including Board

Wow, what a great theme for a chess set. This whole thing is based apon all the old Egyptian stuff. When all the slaves of the pharoahs were buildin' the pyramids and the big cat structure. The set is pretty accurate to all the actual pics of these things. But I think they should stick a lil' speaker up in the cats mouth to make it meow every time you touch it. Haha, wow, my spell check is goin' crazy. It's like "Are you five???". But anyway, nice gold color finish, and I absolutely love the theme.

TH3004 SAC Hand Painted Crusades including Board

This chess set has a religious war setting. The characters have the same detail as in the other pieces in this line of chess sets from Chessbaron, but this time, the characters look like different races. One side looks like a handful of mini-sized Iranians, and the other side looks like Chinese Monks. Pretty neat, but the Iraq guys kind of scare me because you can see the detail in their face, and they look pretty mean. Nothing against them. Just sayin'.

TH3003 Hand Painted Samurai including Board

Ahhhhh, what happened to the good old days were chess pieces were simply chunks of wood with carved balls on the top of them? Now-a-days I can barley tell what's a king and what's a pawn. Not insulting work of the people who make these. Don't get me wrong - they look really cool. Like this set from Chessbaron. But I still do think they should come with stickers stuck to their heads telling me what they are. Else I'm just lost. But the detail and paint job on these guys are crazy. You can tell the expressions on each of the characters faces.

SAC Hand Painted Camelot including Board

This is one of a few King Arthur sets that ChessBaron has rollin' right now. It's the same make as all the others, but the only difference is the characters. Acually, I can't even tell any similarities between the sets. I think they just shove them into a set just to get hard core collectors to buy more than one set. But ignoring that fact, I like the characters. particularly because I think the queen just might be exposing herself to me. Or it could be my fantasy flarin' up again because I could never get a girlfriend in high school. *cries*

SAC Hand Painted Trojan War including Board

In my opinion (or as the youngsters say, IMO) this is a great chess set. I really love the detail of the whole thing. It really brings out the window appeal of these things. Some of their outfits are pretty neat looking. And especially the kings' get-up. It's a bit short on him I believe. Almost short enough to reveal a lil' somethin. But oh well. He's the king. I'm sure he's proud of what he has got. I would personally be a bit selfconcious to wear something like that.

Monday 27 July 2009

X2010 Traditional Camel Bone Staunton Chess Set

Eh, this chess set is alright. Pretty black and white to me. And I don't mean that in the metaphorical sense. I mean literally...very black and white. Most pieces are shaped in the contemporary chess style (which I guess is normal, but sometimes I need a king that shooting rocket propellent out the top of its head to get me going nowadays) but I can say that the paint used is extremely polished. I can almost see myself in these things. Which brings me to an off-track point if I may for a second - they should make chess pieces completely out of mirrors. That would be pretty cool. Anyway, back to this Camel Bone Staunton Chess Set. Very nice classical look.

X2009 King Cross Staunton Chess Set in Camel Bone

Ya know - these kind of chess sets are always fun to write about because I always get to gripe about how insanely detailed they are. Most sets (even detailed sets) are only carved wood, but these guys look like porcelain with imprinted symbols stamped all over them. But these arn't even made from porcelain which can be partially melted and imprinted with a stamp. They are made of camel bone which cannot be melted, which means all of these imprints were hand engraved. Even the king has a hollowed out top. And that cant be easy to do. That Chess Baron store - they keep making these cool sets.

X2008 Margaret Anne Knight 4 inch King Triple Weight Ebony Chess Set

This set is a set of full ebony chess pieces from ChessBaron, and apparently, some great time is put into making these. As I've heard, the entire set takes over two weeks to finish! That's pretty amazing seeing that I would most likely die of boredom making these things, and end up pretending they were golf balls and flying them across a field with a nine-iron for fun. The manufacturer also claims the material used is pretty resistant to cracks and brakes. If I had the money I'd test this out by packing up a hand full of firecrackers and see what happens. Unfortunately the price is set at 170 so I don't think it would be worth the investment for a potential 15 min. worth of fun.

X2006 Ami Elizabeth Staunton Chess Set - Ebonised Black

When I first took a look at this set I said "oh great, yet another ordinary set", but I took another look and realized that this is actually a very nice set. I took a look at the pictures and especially liked the carving on the knights as usual, but also noticed they had a great fancy leather foot pad on the underneath of each of them. No pot leafs growing underneath like some other sets (Maybe that's optional for the stoners) but still a nice foot pad. The pieces are made of ebony (or as the manufacturer says: "These pieces have been ebonised" as if they have been slapped with a palm full of awesomeness) and have a nice paint coating to them.

X2005 Stallion Knight Ebony Staunton Chess Set 3.5 inch King

Your pretty average chess set here. All pieces are pretty short and just about the same height for each. Although I'm not sure if the lines on the back of the knight are suppose to be hair or a spine. Maybe I have bad eyes, but either way, nifty carvings. I still feel bad for whoever is carving this though. These things seem to keep getting more and more detailed and that's gotta suck. But fantastic paint job on one of the sides. Pure shiny black. Very nice looking. But I would still add some crazy color like purple to the other side for fun.

X2004 Carved Chamfered Base in Rosewood Staunton Chess Set

No complaints for this set. All pretty nice looking pieces...except for the king. Most kings have a pretty little cross on their heads, but not this one. I think he sinned and got some satanic looking thing stuck on his head. Might as well slap a swastika on him and call the piece the dictator instead of the king. See - this level of creativeness is how new games are created. Anyhow, on a serious note, the pieces look nice, and look pretty polished and nicely carved. Also cheaper than most I've seen, and that's always good.

X2003 LARGE Lotus Carved Weighted Chess Set

This chess set looks like something vagly from the Disney world magic. Set them up on the chess board and the first line pieces look like castles and the back line looks like some kind of magical wizardry. It's also got an extremely tall king that will make you wonder how they got it that tall without it tipping over. If your a guy, just don't stick this particular piece in your pants. Probably not the best idea. But either way it's an interesting little set. Nice pieces and it looks like nice quality material.

X2002 Carved Chamfered Base Ebonised Staunton Chess Set

A nice set with yet another detailed knight piece. This company seems to be quite into making their knight pieces look as sexy as possible (if a knight can be sexy) But the knight has a tad of a smirk on it's lips that makes me feel like it's gazing at my beauty. But it's nice to be complemented. Raises your self esteem. Maybe it will help you win more. Or you could just get a date. Whichever. Either way it's a nice set with some nice pieces, especially the king and queen. All in pure ebony. Pretty fancy hu? ...well, that is if you think a carved chunk of wood is fancy.

X2011 - Exotic Christina Staunton Chess Set in Camel Bone

Heres another on of these fancy "hard-to-believe-they-cared-that-much-to-draw-all-those-lines" chess sets. Their also made from camel bone which has to suck in carving and shaping. But more on the positive look on things - whoever made this did a pretty nice job. Especially without any mess ups along the way. Although if your not a fancy kind of person, I wouldn't recommend them. They are pretty classical looking to me. But all together, nice style and very nice work on the individual pieces.

X2001 - Margaret Anne Knight Chess Set 3 inch King Ebony

This pretty chess set is made from ebony, which is a bit softer than plain wood but their coated in solid paint, and have a great carving. The knights are especially well carved. They even include teeth unlike lots of other sets. In a way they even look like they have buckteeth. Quite amusing if you think hillbillies are a nice punching bag. The manufacturers are also very quick to point out that the caftsmans' they hire pay great attention to detail in the carving process. So I guess you pay for what you get.