The Best 5 Chess Pieces to Buy
The Best 5 Chess Pieces to Buy
Chess players love to try all kinds of pieces and today we are going to talk about the best pieces in the world of chess to dedicate a small space to these lovers of this board sport. Without further introductions, we start with the Staunton Americano model and his main characteristics.
American Staunton
- American Staunton pieces are characterized by more ornamentation on the king's crown, the knights are characteristic as they have less rounded shapes than in the French model, which we will see later. The bishops have a pointed shape and are very well distinguished from the pawns, unlike other types of pieces. The rook is large and consistent, along with the queen and king, which are very slender pieces, not as coarse as other models. And the pawns are a middle ground, they are not as slender as other models, and they are not as tall and heavy. The American Staunton game is difficult for any of the pieces to fall by mistake due to the base of the pieces and their weight.
French Staunton
- French Staunton has a different coloring. The black ones are lighter, and look somewhat more similar to the white ones. It is characterized because the horse has a more rounded shape, has a large curve in the back and the eyes are suggested with a little detailed eyes as well as the face, unlike the American model. These are less slender pieces, the base is similar even so (the base occupies almost 75% of the square), which harmonizes the board with the pieces. The height is almost precise between king and queen, and has a greater ornamentation on the king's crown. The bishops have variations, they have more heads, and the pawns are lower. The rooks have more battlements (exactly 6), unlike the American pieces which have 4.
Spanish Staunton
- Spanish Staunton, they are varnished pieces. They are not plumbed so they have little weight and will favor the chess pieces to be knocked down. You can see that the pieces are flimsy, due to the lack of lead. They make a great contrast the black and white of the pieces, there is no doubt which is the color of which pieces. They are characterized by having a slender king, not as slender as the American, but like the French. The queen has no crown, the top is missing. The bishop is also halfway to being just as nice as the American, and better than the French. The knight has sharp features with some resemblance to a kind of dragon. The rooks have 4 cuts, 4 battlements as we saw in the French model, and it looks very solid. And the pawns are very similar to the American model, neither too slender, nor too thick like the French model.
Spanish Staunton 'Plastic'
- Spanish Staunton 'Plastic', used in school tournaments and U12 or U14. It is nothing more than a replica of its wooden model, but in plastic. They are practically the same, but they are not carved but created in a plastic mold. The plastic allows to make a better shape of the crowns of the queen and the king. In this model the pieces are simply of a solid color (black, not brown) and the white ones do not have that yellowish color but are simply white. As the pieces are not weighted, they can easily fall off.
Dubrovnik' Yugoslav
- Dubrovnik' Yugoslav model, Bobby Fischer's favorite. What is going to attract our attention is the king and the bishop. These two pieces are peculiar, both have 1 ball on top of the head. The white bishop has a black ball on its head, and the black color on the bishops has a white head. The base of this model is larger, the pawn is the piece that is most noticeable, it allows them to be released on the board and fall firm and standing. The weight is higher, which favors the ideal center of gravity. The rook is very solid, but with 5 battlements, 1 more than the French, but one less than the American.
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