Best Chessmen Ever

[bestchessmen]

There’s plenty of chess instruction videos around the web. But there’s a channel above them all.

Meet Mato Jelić, best chess coach on the web.

Here’s a recent video on the infamous Austrian draw from 1972:

I love his sharp analysis and simple approach to teaching.

-Izmet

[bestchessmen]

Obsessed with colors lately. Here’s a nice setup I did for the family. One of a kind.

The new Zmartfun deserves separate video review, stay tuned. The custom (and experimental) Rh Red color on my new BCE S1ER0053 turned out nice beyond expectations. Spectacular.

-Izmet

[bestchessmen]

Last December a nice lady from UK wanted to surprise her husband for Christmas. The hubby is a chess nut. She figured a handcrafted top end chess set from Slovenia will do the job. So she ordered a Dubrovnik from the GNovak workshop. You know, the one our BCE’s are made at.

But there’s a waiting list, they said. Delivery in January at best. Christmas? Yea, right, ...

So she begged. Unable to handle the situation, the workshop pointed her at me. Try that guy, they said. We just made a very nice one in custom dark red for that guy. Go and ask. It’s not like he needs it.

So she went and she asked. Made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. So I sold her that set, shipped it to London on 24th and I hear the hubby is happy.

The workshop promised I’ll have a replacement in early January. Yea, right,...

Got it in March. 

But this one is special. This one I ordered custom rigged. See the video.

-Izmet

[bestchessmen]

A Dozen Chessboards

Reviewing the foundations of a chess game:

-Izmet

[bestchessmen]

Discovering Rules of Chess

Richard Feynman on the rational scientific method; increments and revolutions and castling.

<p>What an eloquent man.</p><p> </p><p>-Izmet</p>

[bestchessmen]

The interesting ZmartFun line of digital chess clocks was updated with new design and some tweaks to internal software. The name is new too, the business cards read “Chess Clock ZMF-II” as of today. Whatever. For some reason the reset button seems to be square now. Mkay. Can roll with dat.

Added are some new features like byo-yomi timing modes and multi time-control tournament modes (up to three time periods). Simplicity was the name of the game with the older model, I hope it stays so with the new one. There are more details in the all-new manual, must check.

All-new slanted design is very welcome and the clocks are available in some interesting color combos. Definitely not a dull piece of chess equipment. High quality sturdy stainless touch buttons, if the previous model is any indication. Made in effing U.S. of A.

Prices are slashed, at € 54,95 these clocks seem like a bargain. They got the timing just right as at the moment the competition is asleep at the wheel and demand is high. Ordered one (red on red) pronto, will shoot and report as soon as it gets to Ljubljana. 

-Izmet

  P.S. Here’s a short review of the now defunct older model with some nitpicking:

Looks like they were listening.

[bestchessmen]

Friction Test

Blitz players usually want their chessmen fast and sliding smooth. On the other hand, some detest the superfast action and prefer more solid grip on the chessboard. The materials used are all-important. Here are the differences in friction:

-Izmet

[bestchessmen]

Chess.com App Clock

Here’s an update to my recent chess clocks setup tests,  a review of today’s Chess.com iOS app update featuring nice and useful digital chess clock:

Best chess clock travel solution by far. Very convenient. Don’t even look at specialized chess clock apps, it’s all feces on the market. It’s not even funny.

-Izmet

P. S. A few suggestions to the Chess.com developer folks:

A randomizer for Fischer random games would be nice.

Optional customization of the sounds. Kids want explosions at the end.

Never let the users customize the colors! This is a road to hell Uglyville.

Optional move counter discretely tucked away in some corner. Trust the design guy, he done good so far.

WTF is a clock doing in “Settings”? Sure, it’s not easy to shuffle the layout around to accomodate a new button, but somebody gotta do it. Settings? Really? 

[bestchessmen]

Chess Clock Setup Tests

Insa:

Simple, from another era.

Chronos FX:

This is what you want from a day to day clock. Rugged, easy to reset, fat display. This brand is best on the market.

ZmartFun Chess Clock:

A plastic substitute with bright LED display that fades out in sunlight. An indoor clock only.

Update (feb 2013): The model shown was discontinued on the day of shooting this video.

DGT XL:

Tournament standard. Not much use for anything else.

Chronos Digital Game Clock:

Everything but the kitchen sink. Badass clock.

Garde Digital Electronic:

New with a touch of old. Elegant.

Chronos GX:

FX’s younger sibling. Two pane display, nobody knows why.

Chess.com App Clock:

Very convenient for travel. Elegantly done. Beats all other specialized chess clock apps in the App Store. Lots of ugly design there.

Garde electronic:

A mysterious clock nobody knows. A very, very rare Ruhla clock from 2001.

ZmartFun ZMF-II:

An update, new model. Lower price even.

My personal all time favorite is the discontinued Chronos FX. For travel the convenience of the bare bones Chess.com app is best by far.

-Izmet

[bestchessmen]

ZmartFun Chess Clock Review

It is an attractive chess clock, digital and all. Nice big blue numbers, green or red if you want them. Stainless steel touch buttons, rugged build. Plastic. A bit square. It’s just a box. Big ass battery combo inside. Makes the clock very heavy. You don’t want to lug this baby around. This is an indoor clock on account of poor legibility under direct sunlight. Those nice bordello LEDs don’t shine outside.

The LEDs seem to flicker in the video on account the camera being faster than the eye. This is not the case OTB. The glow is kinda soothing, actually.

Simple controls, no bells and whistles. One tournament mode. Increment, delay, — both there. Silent operation. Maybe too silent. This clock is up to something.

-Izmet

Update (feb 2013):

The model shown was discontinued. The new model has a slanted display. Review pending, the clock is on the way as we speak.

[bestchessmen]

The Tamper Resistant Serial

Every BCE set is serially numbered. The serial is on the certificate and stamped on the bottom of the white king. Then we glue the leather on to hide it just to mess with your mind. Is it there or is it not?

So we shoot a historic video of the procedure for each and every customer. Neat, right? Here’s an example, the white king from set S1EN0037 (Stage 1 Eastern Natural 37) for the international personality Mr. Jure Godler.

[bestchessmen]

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Pawn)

Comparing a few more pawns up close. Some good, some bad, some for goats only.

[bestchessmen]

The Dubrovnik 1950 Pawn 

One of the best pawns in chess history. It’s hard to compete against *this*.

The Dubrovnik 1950. Sure the damn thing is stable, look at that fat bottom! These guys are a little on the short side and cannot be knocked over by accident. Malice with intent required. Very ergonomic, the collar is just right. Generously felted with green billiards cloth. Note the custom red stain.

[bestchessmen]

Kasparov vs. Short 2012

The champ is back! An amazing game featuring Helen Mirren.

[bestchessmen]

OTB Against Deep Fritz 13

A test game against a computer running Deep Fritz 13 on a DGT electronic chessboard with our limited edition BCE S1 Eastern Black pieces. A perfect match. This particular set is customized with the king’s marks. I don’t need them, but I love them. A touch of old class.

-Izmet

[bestchessmen]

Best Chessboard Size

So what is the right board size for your particular chess pieces, really? One rule of thumb goes like this: The king’s diameter should be about 75 % of the field size. Say what? Numbers are hard. Over here we use a simpler rule of our own. More practical too. Here’s how we do it:

Take a king and a queen and place them on diagonally adjacent squares. Place a bishop between the royal pair. See if the bishop has any chaperoning elbow room. If not, you got some shopping to do. Your board is crowded. Bigger is better. Here’s a detailed video:

You’re welcome.

-Izmet

[bestchessmen]

The Dubrovnik Chess Set

There’s a legend of the most beautiful chess set ever that is impossible to buy, made in a country that no longer exists.

The Dubrovnik.

The year was 1949. A renowned cartoonist was asked to design new chessmen for the upcoming Chess Olympiad in Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia. In the spirit of the times, no religious symbols was the order of the day. He came up with a beautiful set with smooth curves, opposite capped bishops (for easier bishop/pawn distinction) and surprisingly elegant knights. Unconventionally wide at base, felted in green, light, sturdy, utilitarian but elegant chessmen with a nod to great Staunton/Jaques of London tradition. The unweighted (!) pieces were produced at the Jakovljević Workshop in Zagreb. Only about 50 were made by hand. The contours of knights and queen crowns can vary from set to set.

The exact replicas of this set were sold in Yugoslavia in late sixties and early seventies, but were discontinued as the cheaper and simpler Subozan sets from Subotica flooded the market. By his own admission, world champion Bobby Fischer bought a Dubrovnik set in Zagreb in 1970 and later proclaimed it his favourite chess set ever. Sadly, his set was later stolen. By his request, the set was shortly reissued in 1992 for the second time and used again in Fischer/Spassky world championship rematch at Sveti Stefan that year.

These days the Dubrovnik sets are impossible to find. An old grandmaster friend of mine showed me six pieces. He does not have a complete set. No, he’s not parting. All I could do was take a picture on his coffee table.

Another grandmaster is selling his set. Or is he? The price is vague and a bit ridiculous. Note the slightly miscarved black knight in one of the linked pictures.

The spirit of the new design lives on. Today a rough and simplified plastic replica of the Dubrovnik set is being made in Serbia and elsewhere and is because of it’s low price the most popular chesset worldwide ever, by far.

Some setmakers are using the basic idea only but introducing own designs and naming conventions like “Zagreb” or “Yugoslavia”. Note the opposite colored finials on kings and queens in the modern variants — in the original Dubrovnik only the bishops enjoyed the privilege. However, these sets are not even close to utility and specifications of the original pieces.

A small family business in Slovenia is still producing exact replicas of this historic chess set, based on original blueprints and drawings, provided by Šahovska naklada of Croatia. These replicas are exclusively licensed to use the original trademark name “Dubrovnik.”

Here’s a pic of my personal red stained 2012 set:

-Izmet