WegielChess Set - Consul Chess Pieces and Board - European Wooden Handmade Game - JUNIOR

Just received this today as a Christmas present. It's beautiful and well made. There are a few very minor defects that I would expect out of a handmade product, but the quality exceeded my expectations based on the reviews I read. I'm including a lot of pictures of my set.It's BIG. And I really mean big. Bordering on, but just short of, jumbo. Some may not care for this. I went back and forth myself, but I actually kind of like how easy it makes it to handle the set. I took a picture of the board on my coffee table, and the king piece on my 13" Macbook Pro so you get a sense of proportions. The pieces still fit in your palm (I have medium-sized female hands) and are not cumbersome in my opinion. If you still don't have a good sense of the size, I suggest getting a measuring tape and drawing a square of the same size as this set.The pieces are gently weighted, so they won't tip, but you could knock them over if you tried. A careless bump will not easily knock them over, however.Beginners and children will especially like this set because of how easy it is to visualize on the board and handle the pieces.Do be aware that when buying anything handmade, there will be quality variation. I got a good set; it appears some people got less perfect sets, but none of the defects I have read about sound to me like sloppy craftmanship. They sound like normal variations and are to be expected.Replies to a few criticisms I read of this set before receiving it:1) People have mentioned the hinges of the board causing it not to lie flush when opened on a table. I have seen pictures that confirm that this appears to happen sometimes. However, my set was perfectly flush, as you can see in the pictures. I am very pleased on this count, as I was not sure what to expect.2) Some people spoke as though the board was a little flimsy because of being hollow to hold the pieces. If you're comparing it to a slab of solid wood, obviously it's not as hefty, but flimsy is not a word I would use. When I press down on the board with my fingers, there is little visible give, and I can't feel it move at all. No, don't jump on the board or throw it across the room, but I would hope that would be obvious. It's at least as sturdy as a good quality cigar box -- it's not going to break on you unless you put an anvil or something on it. But again, I would hope most people have a basic enough understanding of physics that they wouldn't do that. My conclusion: this has no weaknesses that wouldn't already be obvious to anyone taking into account that it's hollow. As a hollow board, this is sturdy. And it is made of real wood, not particle board.3) One reviewer complained about getting the wrong number of pieces. All I can say is that mine had no issues in that regard. It looks like it was a simple error.4) There are some complaints about the wood-burner engravings. The lettering and numbering on mine are perfectly legible, however. As far as the aesthetic look, it's *supposed* to look a little uneven. That's not a quality issue or defect; it's a stylistic choice that I think adds charm and whimsicality to a rustic yet elegant set. Someone also said that the engravings keep the pieces for sliding smoothly across the board, but I did not experience this problem. They slide nicely, if that's how you prefer to play.5) The felt liners that hold the pieces are indeed thin plastic that you can remove if you so desired. Some were disappointed by this; personally, I'm not, as it doesn't affect the overall feel of the set and doesn't look bad. I understand hoping for something a little nicer, but I suspect that would have made it cost more. For me, it's a very fair trade if it means I can have a chess set of this quality at this price. If you don't like it, you can remove or replace them. I'm keeping mine is because they will protect the pieces.A big pro for me is that it is NOT made in China (made in Poland instead) and uses no child labor. Moreover, the wood is farmed and therefore sustainable. You definitely get your money's worth here. An excellent deal.

Just got this set today, and upon unboxing I noticed some things I liked/ and found weird-stupid.Ok sure the board looks pretty but it’s lightweight, and that can be annoying if you’re a fast paced player. The bird itself is 1/4 inch since the interior is hollowed out for the pieces (HAHA) IN THE CASE OF YOU Opening/closing with the pieces in it, THEY WILL NOT SNAP INTO THEIR HOLDING SPOT. Pretty annoying. A knight came chipped and the felted pads under the piece were initially flaking(I suggest seasoning your board with oil before playing). That said the bird is pretty, and I like the accent grid numerals, the pieces feel good to hold despite the pieces(and the board) are larger than other sets on the market. I do not recommend this board if you’re looking for serious play, this is a good beginner/children’s board. And for the price, I expected a pretty decent set, while It’s pretty nice, I’ve played on boards more robust for the same price and pieces that had been fully varnished/polyurethaned.

It’s my first chess set that I bought and after going through dozens of sets I settled on this one. The feeling of the board is great, it’s designed well, nothing was missing nor broken. Two things that should be noted is that the pieces were lighter than I expected, however I’m somewhat new to Over the board chess. That and the small metallic locks are kinda unreliable. Still a fantastic chess set, if the pieces were heavier I’d give 5 stars. For the price it seems like a no brainer to get this set.

I bought this set for a gift for a teenage boy. I actually bought this one and a travel set. My review is based on quailty vs. price, usability, and attractiveness of the set.Pros - 1. - Very big (however, I could see this a con for some). Perfect for older people without the hand/eye control. Perfect for beginners, easy to see the board, the options, and strategy. 2. - Nice timeless details., with algebraic coordinates. For those of you who don't know, Algebraic Coordinates are a method for recording and describing the moves in a game of chess. Pieces are beautiful, and easy to distinguish. Board is lovely and bright and very eye pleasing. Something that would be just fine left out. Hinges are even engraved and well made. 3. - Easy to store, would fit nicely in the board game cabinet without taking up any space. 4. - it is light, easy to pack, move and store.Cons - 1. - For advertising such a beautiful set, the box it comes in is, very bland and looks like something I'd run across in the bargain stores. It truly hides the attractiveness of the game inside. I'm almost tempted to wrap the game outside the box because it is just that ugly. 2. The C and G coordinates are hard to distinguish. I feel that this is something that could've easily been fixed in inspection of the item before sold, however, it was not. 3. And the reason the set actually didn't get the 5 star review from me, inside the storage, the pieces sit in a cheaply done velvet lined plastic mold. I can't believe that with so much attention to detail, that is the final choice on storage. Yuck.All in all this is a very nice set, however I still think it is a little pricey based on the set alone,. since i can't speak for its durability, since it will be a gift. I'd pay upper 30s max, not upper 40s, lower 50s.

This chess set is a good value overall. It is big enough for a comfortable layout, and the board and pieces looked very nicely detailed. It is a fine looking chess set overall. It is larger than I thought, which is great. This set is much better than most at this price point I must say.I am not a huge chess player, but I have been playing chess a lot lately since my kids got a small set for Christmas. The cheap little chess set we were using before this had small, very light pieces that would very easily tip over, which was frustrating. With this set, the pieces do not seem to tip over much, which is great. that said, the pieces are much lighter than it would seem by looking at them. When I first held them, I thought they felt light and would tip over, but they must be slightly weighted at the bottom, because I do not have any trouble with tipping on this set.It folds and has built in storage, which is awesome with kids. One thing about the storage that many people will like - but that I do not - is that the storage area has individual slots to store each piece. That means that each time you store the pieces you have to match 32 pieces to their respective slots in the storage area. This doesn't sound like much, but it becomes tedious and can take some time because it isn't immediately clear which pieces fit where (trust me). That said, storing them this way will protect the pieces better and for longer. For me with young kids, I prefer an open storage area to just toss them all in, but I realize others will rightly prefer this storage method.Overall I would recommend this set to everyone.