Italfama Renaissance Hand-Painted Metal Chess Pieces (5.5-inch King)

OMG! I can’t believe how beautiful this looks. It is a heavy metal that feels wonderful. You really need a chess board with 2 1/2 inch squares.

Had my eye on these pieces for around 20 years, and during the pandemic, decided to stop wondering. They're super elegant, but also very playable. Very satisfying feel in the hand; not too tippy despite height due to ballasted bases. Shown on an Italian elm root board from Italfama that I had previously; squares are over 2" but forget if that's measured diagonally or laterally so not sure what size. 2.50 or maybe even 2.75 probably best to avoid clutter. Bishops can be confused for pawns if not being careful, but not easily, and all other pieces distinguished well. My pieces had numerous small flaws - paint chips, discolorations, and bases that were a little rough whereby the thin felt Italfama puts on them didn't prevent scraping sounds on board. I don't know how common that is. Having said that, I forgot about it pretty quickly as I used and admired them. I purchased here on Amazon through Master of Games, who were brilliant in helping me with the issues (which were minor, really, and shouldn't dissuade most people from getting a set). Only drawback is that if you're not leaving them out on display, it's a bit of a bear to package it all up with due care to not knock the pieces into each other and risk chipping. So far, no new chips on mine despite knocking pieces over on occasion. The set is quite heavy and, on a proper board, very hard to move as one unit. But, that's not the point with an elegant set such as this that ought to be out and seen routinely. And, played!

Beautiful chess set. Delivered as promised - packed to perfection