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Opinions on "Plastic Collector" series from House of Staunton
vs. one of their wood sets? For tournaments?




Plastic, all the way. I have the plastic HOS set and it's the best in
the world. My opponents look at me in this envious way when I bring in
this set. It's priceless to see. We're talking about the plastic set and
these to date (the one I have...hasn't had the bottoms fall out and no
rattling like other lesser expensive sets which are usually manufactured
in China. The HOS sets are made in the US...quality design) My only
regret is the king is only 4". I wish HOS would create bigger sets using
this model say 5" and 6" kings would be fabulous.

In article , An Metet wrote:
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Opinions on "Plastic Collector" series from House of Staunton
vs. one of their wood sets? For tournaments?




The HOS 3.75" Plastic Collector sets are OK for tournament play, but to my
taste the HOS plastic sets, in general, seem to balance very oddly and
always feel awkward to me. When playing with these pieces, they just
frequently slip out of my hands or I knock them over a lot. For those
reasons my favorite tournament set remains the rather squat, so-called
"Ultimate Staunton" double- or triple-weighted plastic sets.

The wooden equivalent of the HOS plastic collectors set are the so-called
"Classic Series" sets, which were designed allegedly to offer an
alternative to cheap plastic sets in club play. Under no circumstances do
I recommend playing tournament chess with one of these sets. The queens in
particular are so fragile that they sometimes don't even survive the
shipping process without having the little sphere on top of their crowns
broken off. If this design was really intended to be the wooden club set
of the future, then it's a failure.

Other, somewhat more expensive HOS wood sets seem to be more suitable for
tournament use. The Liberty series seems quite durable, and the still more
expensive Players series might be a reasonable choice, though here again
the delicate crenellation (points) of the queen's crown are going to get
chipped or broken quite quickly in tournament use, so you'd have to treat
the set with a great deal of caution.

In conclusion, for frequent tournament use, I'd go with the plastic, and
not necessarily HOS plastic, either. Keep the nice expensive wood at home.
Not only are the weighted plastic sets much more durable for being slammed
around in a tournament setting, and are more cheaply replaced if they
don't survive, but also, after a few tournaments amongst the hygenically
challenged, the plastic is easier to keep sanitary with a bit of
dishwashing liquid or antibacterial cleaner.

--Kevin

I enjoy the House of Staunton set (black and white) on a green and wood
grained board of my own making. I "varnished" the pieces with a quick
drying high-gloss polyurethane, which gives the set an especially striking
appearance. I've always admired the expensive sets based on the early
Staunton designs, and I'm satisfied with this replica.

My favorite plastic set is still the one I purchased through this newgroup
several years ago. It's a Cavalier set (the design that the US Marine Corps
featured in their mid-nineties ad campaigns) and I'm surprised that the set
has not made a reprise.

Michael Kandrac
Grand Prairie, Texas

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What about their Windsor set? King 3-7/8". It is a lacquered set.


I can't answer that one. I don't own that particular set, nor have I had
the opportunity to play on one.



In conclusion, for frequent tournament use, I'd go with the plastic, and not
necessarily HOS plastic, either. Keep the nice expensive wood at home. Not
only are the weighted plastic sets much more durable for being slammed
around in a tournament setting, and are more cheaply replaced if they don't
survive, but also, after a few tournaments amongst the hygenically
challenged, the plastic is easier to keep sanitary with a bit of dishwashing
liquid or antibacterial cleaner.

I will probably get that Plastic Collector set, because HOS has it on special
now, at $40. But I would also like to consider that HOS Windsor set.


OK. The plastic collector _is_ a pretty reasonable choice. I own both the
"club-size" 4" and tournament-size 3.75" versions. While I find the 4" set
too annoying to use even for analysis because of the odd and unbalanced
feel to the pieces, I do use the 3.75" frequently as an analysis set when
I'm travelling, or simply when I want to play over games while sitting
under a tree in my back yard. While personally I do distinctly prefer the
$24.95 (at SmartChess) "Ultimate" Staunton for actual playing, I admit
that you could do much worse than the Collector plastic set from HOS.
Enjoy!

Cheers,

--Kevin

Is there really much difference in "feel" between the 3.75" and 4" HOS
Plastic Collector sets? I know the 4" set weighs 12 oz. more (according to
HOS web site) and the King is 1/4" taller. Do those differences translate
to significantly better handling qualities or "playability"? Also, how do
they compare to alternatives like Legend Products' "Kings Indian" set or
Drueke's 3 3/4" plastic set?

"Kevin Croxen" wrote in message
u...
In article , An Metet
wrote:
The HOS 3.75" Plastic Collector sets are OK for tournament play, but to my
taste the HOS plastic sets, in general, seem to balance very oddly and
always feel awkward to me. When playing with these pieces, they just
frequently slip out of my hands or I knock them over a lot. For those
reasons my favorite tournament set remains the rather squat, so-called
"Ultimate Staunton" double- or triple-weighted plastic sets.

I found the difference in feel to be significant between 3.75 and 4.00,
and I didn't care for it. Not the weight _per se_ but the balance. I found
the triple-weighted 4.00 HOS is both so tall and spindly, and so
unbalanced and bottom-heavy that, even on a properly-sized 2 3/8" board,
I'd drop pieces, knock over others ...in short, though this is purely
subjective, I just didn't like it. I think the set would have been better
double-weighted. The 3.75" HOS plastic also feels mildly unbalanced and
bottom-heavy to me, in distinction to my HOS wood Players series 3.75",
which balances perfectly. But, nevertheless, to my taste, the HOS plastic
3.75" in distinctly better in feel to the 4.00"

Probably the reason I like to play on the triple-weighted Ultimate
Staunton so much is that, in imitation of the older wood Staunton sets,
it's a slight bit squatter at 3 5/8" with broader pieces. It seems to
balance better than the HOS sets. Though even here, the original
double-weighted Ultimate Stauntons, which are no longer available, from a
decade or so ago were better still.

As to the Drueke & "King's Indian" sets; I've never had any real objection
to their feel or playability in the small handful of games I've had on the
sets when I've encountered them in tournaments. I just thought they were
damned ugly. But that, too, is completely subjective.

Regards,

--Kevin


In article , Timothy R. Bonine, M.D. wrote:
Is there really much difference in "feel" between the 3.75" and 4" HOS
Plastic Collector sets? I know the 4" set weighs 12 oz. more (according to
HOS web site) and the King is 1/4" taller. Do those differences translate
to significantly better handling qualities or "playability"? Also, how do
they compare to alternatives like Legend Products' "Kings Indian" set or
Drueke's 3 3/4" plastic set?

"Kevin Croxen" wrote in message
du...
In article , An Metet
wrote:
The HOS 3.75" Plastic Collector sets are OK for tournament play, but to my
taste the HOS plastic sets, in general, seem to balance very oddly and
always feel awkward to me. When playing with these pieces, they just
frequently slip out of my hands or I knock them over a lot. For those
reasons my favorite tournament set remains the rather squat, so-called
"Ultimate Staunton" double- or triple-weighted plastic sets.

On 14 Oct 2003 15:22:46 GMT, (Kevin
Croxen) wrote:

I found the difference in feel to be significant between 3.75 and 4.00,
and I didn't care for it. Not the weight _per se_ but the balance. I found

As to the Drueke & "King's Indian" sets; I've never had any real objection
to their feel or playability in the small handful of games I've had on the
sets when I've encountered them in tournaments. I just thought they were
damned ugly. But that, too, is completely subjective.

Regards,

--Kevin


If you can find a pre-1990 Drueke plastic set, that would be the set
you'd want. Much better looking than the new Drueke and very well
balanced. I love the looks of the HOS set, but have not played with it
so can't comment on the balance.

Ken

Ken Cobb wrote in message . ..
On 14 Oct 2003 15:22:46 GMT, (Kevin
Croxen) wrote:

I found the difference in feel to be significant between 3.75 and 4.00,
and I didn't care for it. Not the weight _per se_ but the balance. I found

As to the Drueke & "King's Indian" sets; I've never had any real objection
to their feel or playability in the small handful of games I've had on the
sets when I've encountered them in tournaments. I just thought they were
damned ugly. But that, too, is completely subjective.

Regards,

--Kevin


If you can find a pre-1990 Drueke plastic set, that would be the set
you'd want. Much better looking than the new Drueke and very well
balanced. I love the looks of the HOS set, but have not played with it
so can't comment on the balance.

Ken

I have those Drueke chess pieces...my Mom got me a set, (complete with
a dove-tailed wood box), for Xmas in 1972 along with a Drueke folding
linen board, (green and buff squares). I have never needed another
board or pieces!! These Drueke plastic pieces were used in the 2nd
Piatigorsky Cup tournament in Santa Monica in 1966. The tournament
book show a pic of Fischer and Petrosian playing blitz with them...and
other players using them too. It was exciting for a kid to see
grandmasters playing with HIS chess set..
warm regards, GreyHipster