Chess collection for some is a passion to preserve the history for the generations to come. Chess as we all know, dated back to 6th century BC, mostly played among the Kings and the idea behind the game was to make a war strategy. It is a 2-player strategy game and since then many modifications and new rules have been added and modified in the game.
Chess collecting like coin collecting has become an interesting hobby. Chess comes in many materials, size, color, and variety. Depending on your budget and your passion, you can choose any of these to start your collection. Most popular among the collectors are the wood chess sets and bone chess sets as these are handcrafted and their value increases by the course of time.
The other popular chess sets among the collectors are the Vintage chess sets, which are very rare and been exorbitantly priced, they are simply out of the reach among many chess enthusiasts. Here comes the concept of Antique reproductions where we create the exact replica of the vintage chess and sell it at the most reasonable prices. The best thing is that these sets do come with rarely used woods like ebony wood and some reproductions do come in bone sets, like 1849 reproduction.
Relate: Reasons Why Collecting Chess Sets is a Good Idea?
To start making the collection, according to famous chess collectors I interviewed, you must start with the reproductions of basic Staunton chess sets like 1849. We offer 1849 reproduction in 4.4” king size(antique) and 3.75” king size(non-antique). You can get a lot of information about the early Staunton chess and its design by a book written by Mr. Alan Fersht https://www.fersht.com/chess/ (highly recommended)
The most popular among the early Staunton chess sets are the J.Jaques 1849 Cook Type2, 1851 Morphy knight, 1852-55 Harrwitz, 1855-60 Anderssen Drop-jaw and later knights are 1875-80 Zukertort, 1880-85 Lasker and 1900-1915 Marshall. As you have started making your collection in Staunton range, then come to the basic French chess sets. We recommend the basic French Lardy and 1990’s Chavet chess sets.
The most popular and loved collection among chess collectors is Russian/Soviet collection. These sets are so rare that we have made a reproduction of almost all the sets, which were used during 19th century Russian and 20th-century Soviet era. You can start with the basic design and as per your choice, you can start collecting them. Here are our top 5 recommendations for Russian/Soviet chess sets.
1. 1966 Lanier Graham Reproduced Minimalist Chess Pieces
2. Reproduced 1924 Bauhaus Geometrical Abstract Chessmen
3. 90s French Chavet Championship Tournament Chess Pieces
The timeless European collection is the one not to be missed. The Dubrovnik and Austrian coffee house are among the most collected chess sets among the top chess collectors. The Hungarian and Romanian sets have also seen a huge demand not only with the collectors but among the players as well. The 1929 historic Barcelona chess set by “Joc Catalan” is also worth collecting.
Chess collectors very rarely collect the Luxury chess pieces, which are actually an art piece, mostly used for the display. They are worth collecting because mostly all luxury chess sets are crafted by very rare ebony wood and padauk wood. Before Padauk a.k.a Bud rosewood, Red sandalwood was used extensively. After it was banned, the Padauk came into existence. The person who possesses any chess set of Red Sandalwood can treasure it throughout his life and can proudly pass to the generations to come. Same for Ivory bone chess sets. With rosewood already getting partially banned and ebony being an expensive and rare wood, it’s worth collecting chess sets made of these two woods. We have some very fine collectible luxury chess sets to choose from. Our 5 picks are:
1. St. Petersburg Chess Set
2. The Indian Chetak II Chess Set
3. The Mustang Series Chess Set
To sum up, though knowledge is very important to start collecting the chess sets, you can start by reading some history about these sets from the Internet and collecting some reproductions, which gradually enhances your interest in this hobby.
Related: The Top 5 Iconic Chess Sets every Chess Collector Must Possess
More to Read: Why Luxury Chess Sets are Expensive and Why do you Own One?
