The Chessmen themselves have been made from rosewood and boxwood, one of the first things that strikes me is just how good quality the wood is. The boxwood is all clean and free of dirty grey blemishes and the rosewood is rich in grain and uniform in shade. Naturally my attention is drawn straight to the Knights and I was pleased to see that both halves are well matched in colour and grain.

The design of these chessmen is classic Staunton. Make no mistake, we are not looking at a direct replica of a set from the 1800s but instead a modern interpretation that takes the design to a new level of beauty. The proportions of the set are excellent, there is no doubt that they have been designed with active chess playing in mind. The chess pieces are chunky around their bases, and very bottom heavy with a very good balance and center of gravity.

The King

The King encompasses all of the classic Staunton design elements. I am pleased to say that there are no ornate or strange aspects to him, just smooth curves and classic lines. He feels heavy and solid with a great finish.

The Queen

Like the king she has all the classic Staunton design elements, a slightly thicker shank relative to the rest of her but a very open crown, like a flower in full bloom. The ball on the top is very well detailed indeed, It’s been turned with such a fine tolerance as to potentially make this part of her quite fragile. Thankfully in my review set a total of four queens were included. I might be needing them!

The Rook

This is the piece that in lower quality sets one expects to see the production issues. Thankfully there are no problems here. The lines and recesses are perfect. It begs the question ‘Just how many of these did they have to throw away to get each one so perfect?’ The size of the rook is quite large in scale to the rest of the set but not enough to raise any eyebrows. There are authentic castle slanting bevels which add a very nice touch indeed.

The Bishop

The bishop is fairly plain and functional, the slot in it’s hat is a plain cut with no advanced bevelling, I guess that would be just too much to ask for the price! Very well proportioned and with a lovely deep curve to it’s shank.

The Pawn

When reviewing pawns I like to line up all 8 of a colour and check for uniformity. These are all completely identical in height, width and proportion. They have very round balls that have been finished perfectly. They are clearly very functional in that the shank is quite thick, which means snapping the balls off won’t be easy.

The Kinght

Saving the best til last of course, the Knights are excellent, some of the best I have ever seen on a set in this price bracket. We are looking at a well toned horse here with good muscle definition. Each tooth is carved to perfection, we have deep nostrils and a very good sense of character. Being the hardest piece to keep consistent I am pleased to say I didn’t notice any differences among the four Knights in this set.

The Board

The chessmen can be bought alone or as a set with a rosewood veneer board. I reviewed the whole set and while the board is nothing spectacular to look at it is very well made, has a zero defect level and uses very fine materials indeed. It’s an ideal partner for these fine chess pieces and makes for a lovely set. You could opt for a more expensive solid board but I personally wouldn’t.

Find The Regency Chess Company at the FSB

The issue facing fine luxury chessmen, and indeed all other luxury hardwood items is the ecological situation surrounding the woods used to make them. Ebony, Rosewood, & Red Sandalwood are the most commonly used woods and certainly some of the most desirable. Yet ever year the price of these woods goes higher as the socks run low and governments across the world impose restrictions on the further deforestation of these woods.

One issue we face is that the trees that bear these woods take many years to grow, indeed some can be over 100 years old when cut down and harvested. This means that any re planting schemes are extremely long term efforts that probably wont sure up any supply problems in the coming decades.

Already countries like India are trying to impose export sanctions on luxury hardwoods, countries like Brazil have completely banned the export of their precious rosewood much to the dismay of the luxury musical instrument industry. As pressure from the environmentalists mount, and governments bow down to the scientific consensus it’s realistic to assume that supply of luxury chess sets is going to shrink.

The UK’s most prominent online chess retailer is feeling the pain of this situation with the supply of their solid ebony chess boards. The boards come in a variety of sizes and are made from huge chunks of defect free black ebony. The results are quite stunning. Being the only retailer in the UK to offer such boards the demand is high, despite the very high price.

However obtaining enough stock to fulfil the orders is a constant challenge. Suppliers complain that it’s hard to source enough of the high grade woods and the prices are increasing every month. The costs of the wood are now scaring some wood workers out of using those woods through fear of making a mistake on a chess product and having to throw the item into the reject bin. Something that then pushes the overall price up further.

In the eyes of the consumer this situation isn’t having much of an impact yet. They can still buy excellent chess products at good prices, often artificially low at present due to failing chess businesses selling off stock cheap to maintain some cash flow. However this will be short lived and the days of being able to buy luxury wooden chess pieces at an affordable price will soon be behind us.

The only advantage to consider is that in future generations the finest chess sets made from the best grades of endangered hardwoods will increase in value and collectibility. One just has to look at the price of musical instruments that contain Brazilian Rosewood, in some cases they are worth thousands of pounds now! Given the price of classic antique chess sets these days it’s a fair assumption that the finest chessmen at today’s new prices will represent superb investment opportunities!

There seems to be a mighty casm between the price of these things in the UK against imported wooden products from countries like India. He went on the say that should we wish to commission him to make an identical chess board to the one retailing for £80 he would charge us a trade price of £250!

It does seem a little crazy but it would seem the cheaper imports are what is needed if luxury solid wooden chess products are to be brought to the mass market and made affordable to the everyday man in the street. It’s fair to assume that as stocks of wood like rosewood and ebony run dry and deforestation restrictions come into force the price and value of these woods will increase.

Will the day come when the scrap value of your large luxury chess board be worth more than you paid for the board? Either way, with the ecological problems the world now faces it’s clear that generations in the not too distant future wont be able to get hold of these sorts of products at a consumer price, so enjoy it while you still can!

Another increasingly popular chess medium is online chess software. Chess Boss for example offer a free chess download that allows you to play online chess against software. It seems the old days of two players sat opposite each other with a wooden chess board are changing rapidly. If this trend continues it will only be good for chess, we can watch the chess players of the world flexing their chess muscles more often and with more opponents. A sure sign of good things to come.