These sets are very nice.
Which 3.5" set is it you have from OS?
I own the same Rosewood Players Series and I also own the same Dubrovnik II set. They are both quite nice to play with. You certainly did a good job getting those.
The 3.5" set I own from OS is their Morphy series. I find that set to be similar and just as nice as the Player Series. I use it on a 2.0" square size board.
@ Eye: Thanks! The OS set is no longer sold it looks like. Perhaps because of the problems they had with the wood, but who knows!
@ liml: Thank you!
I feel like the player's series and 3,5 inch king set are good representations of the kinds of sets that they are. I don't feel tempted at all, let's say, to buy the HoS collector's series, or an 1851 design set, now that I have those. And of course, the Noj set is the be all end all of dubrovniks. I might want to get one more Jacques style set in the future, and perhaps a Russian set! Later though, as the Noj cost quite a bit.
@ JoeUK: Obviously I don't mind! The Collectors' Series, both from HoS and the one you pictured from OS, are very nice sets in their own right. And I agree that rosewood is very nice as well, and might indeed soon be unobtainable. I don't think HoS offers too many rosewood and boxwood sets any longer.
The Antiqued set, as you say, I got from Official Staunton. I couldn't find the design on the website any longer though, so they might no longer be offering it.
Thanks for sharing, @maik1988! I love photo sharing threads like this.
The HoS Players Series is now only available in the ebonized version, and has been on clearance sale for $100 for a while. I've been tempted to buy them while they're still available, because so many people on these boards seem to love them. On the other hand, they don't look so special in photos. Is this one of those sets that can't be judged just from photos, but that you have to handle before you understand how great they are (like the Noj sets)? Should I hurry up and grab a set while I still can?
First, the Noj Dubrovnik II does not look that great in pictures. All you need do is to handle and play with one and you too will fall in love with it. It is expensive but you will find that pretty much everyone on this forum that owns one or has played with one agree that this set is very nice and worth the cost.
The Players Series set is exceptionally well designed and balanced. I have owned one since 1999, having given one as a gift and then replacing it.
The only set I would get instead of it is the HoS Fischer Spassky which is on clearance for $149. This set is equally well designed and balanced but does not have the sharp points that could chip.
@Eyechess: I totally agree concerning the Noj Dubrovnik II, both with respect to pictures not doing it justice and how wonderful it is to handle. The only set I like better is the Noj Dubrovnik 1950.
The Fischer Spassky set confuses me. It's not clear to me from reading descriptions and watching the photos on the HoS site what's the difference between this set and the Reykjavik II set (which I own and enjoy, but am not super excited about) and why they both exist. The descriptions are almost word by word identical.
I was actually wondering about the difference between Fischer Spassky and Reykjavik II myself...
I haven't had something happen to the queen's coronet in my Players' Series yet, but I think it's probably the piece that is most liable to damage in all of my sets, excluding perhaps the king's finials. The feel of the set really makes up for that small sense that you have to be careful with it though. And I don't take these pieces to the park or anything, but I will play blitz with them without worries.
beautiful sets my friend, thanks for sharing
I have known him on this forum for quite a bit of time. He has mentioned at different times using these sets. So yes, he does actually use them.
I own over 35 wood sets and can honestly say I have played Chess with each one within the las 8 months.
Well, on this forum you will see people that are Chess set collectors. You will also see those, like me, that are primarily players and not collectors, per se.
I really enjoy playing with the different design sets. I really like my Noj Dubrofnik II sets, yes I own 3, one in each color they offer.
I also really enjoy playing with my Staunton design sets. My current favorite is the House of Staunton Craftsman Series set in Blood Rosewood. For a Staunton set in a more Brown color I have the House of Staunton Camaratta Cooke Set in Mopane. And as my favorite Black Staunton set I have my Official Staunton Leuchars set.
I also have the HoS Fisc her-Spassky Commerative set in both Black and Golden Rosewood that I also really like.
And then there are the different designs like the HoS B H Wood set, the HoS Drueke wood set, the Rochester Chess Center Ultimate set in Rosewood, and a host of others.
Chess is my adult hobby or past time. I really enjoy playing with very nice equipment. Maybe you don't, but that's alright.
There are those that are collectors. They buy sets to have in their collection. There are people that collect a lot of things like guitars, hubcaps, and a vast number of other things, including Chess sets. While you may not feel the way they do about their collecting ( I don't either by the way) it certainly is their right and privilege to collect to their heart's content and what they want to spend.
For instance there is one poster on here that collects antique Jaques sets that cost a lot of money. He collects them and to my knowledge does not play Chess with them. Once again that is his right and privilege.
You apparently do not want to collect Chess sets in even the lightest way, and that's alright as well. You can pursue whatever you want as a pastime in your own rights and privileges.
Thanks all for the nice comments, I wasn't expecting this on a topic so old.
@Evolved: As Eyechess here noted for himself, I also play chess with pretty much all the sets listed in this thread. I don't play in a chess club but a handful of friends and family play chess also, and I analyse and work through chess books with the sets I listed.
The interesting question brought up elsewhere on this forum was "How many chess sets do you need?". I think you only need one, good bad or ugly. But what kind of a communist wet dream world would we live in if you only bought what you absolutely needed to? I get that some people might see things that way, but this here is a forum on chess books and equipment, so please don't expect people to share that view.
Back on the topic of what you need though: I do think that a single chess set can have a nearly unlimited capacity for play. This fact, combined with the fact that, when I want an extra nice, luxury experience, I almost always use my Noj DII, has made a bit hesitant to buy another set. At least for now 
Despite all of this, very nice chess sets are appearing on the market pretty much whenever I dare to look again. The most recent design I really liked but didn't buy for the above reasons is Official Staunton's Cooke 3,5 inch king in boxwood and ebony. https://www.officialstaunton.com/collections/luxury-chess-pieces/products/cooke-3-5-edition-boxwood-ebony-chess-pieces
On that note, I do think Carl's latest deserves an honorable mention on this thread, as a chess set I felt I really liked the look of but couldn't justify getting. Has anyone else looked at this beauty yet? Here it is:
My gramps has the exact same ones
I have thirty five different wooden sets as well. I love looking at the different styles and woods that the expert Indian craftsmen use. Simply amazing work, second to none these days, at very reasonable prices. My first two sets I purchased in a Greenwich Village store in NYC back in the 70s. This month I’ve purchased a CB Dubrovnik 1950 set, 4.25” king, in Padauk and boxwood. Looks great on the internet, but haven’t received it yet. Next month I will be purchasing the Staunton Lessing set, 3.89” king in antique boxwood and Ebony from the Royal Chess Mall (set is out of stock right now, but will become available again in 2-4 weeks). I purchased a wooden set in Moscow in 2003 that was allegedly made by prisoners (I didn’t know that at the time). I love my little wooden chess “armies”.
My wife has no idea I’ve so many sets. If she found oilit, she’d be totally upset.😊
After my most recent chess-related purchase, a Noj dubrovnik II set, I felt the need to take another look at the sets I have. That’s what this topic is about. I only have four tournament-sized sets, but they are all special to me, and this is a brief overview of the sets I play with – in pictures – and what they mean to me. The pictures are below the text.
The German-knight set I bought in 2013. I got it from a Dutch retailer for about 35 euro. It’s in sheesham and boxwood. I was just getting back into chess, rediscovering it after a 6 or 7 year gap. My online rating at the time was about 500 points lower than what it is today, but I enjoyed playing chess a lot nevertheless. At the time, I started playing with the then-boyfriend of my girlfriend’s sister. He is Greek, and 2013 was the start of many hours of chess for us. I spray-painted a black and white chess board on a cheap, white IKEA table, and on it, we used this German-knight set and had loads of fun. I’ve continued to use this set for its light weight and often bring it out to parks or other outdoor venues. I pair it with a tournament-standard green and buff rollup board.
In 2014, I had both become a bit more serious about the game, and I would often have long online playing sessions, especially elsewhere. My eyes shifted to nicer sets, and at the end of 2014, I bought my HoS Players’ Series, which with import cost about 220 euro. I bought the set as a birthday present to myself, and I have played against a handful of chess friends with it. It works extremely well with the board I have. I still enjoy this set a great deal. The rosewood is so rich, and the pieces so nicely carved, that whenever I play with them, I get a better tactile experience out of it than with, say, a less nice alternative. I don’t know how many games I’ve played with these pieces, but a couple-a-hundred would be a conservative estimate. The pieces are also heaver than the knockaround set, at about 1.6 kg for the total set.
It was around that time that I started coming to this forum. Thanks to Carl and the many faithful contributors on here, I added the 3,5 inch king set and more recently the Noj Dubrovnik II chess set to my collection. I’ve played a great deal with the first, but not so much with the latter yet. I actually ended up getting the 3,5 inch king set for free, since the first batch of pieces had a problem with the wood. The design of the pieces made me fall in love with them. They are very nice to handle and very heavily weighted. Then I bought the Dubrovnik II, and it has since been my favourite for home analysis. Because my good friend moved back to Greece last year, however, I regret to say that these pieces see a bit less use now than they deserve!
I love all of these pieces for different reasons. They are always ready for a game, boxed up just out of sight, memories and all, but tonight I thought I’d show them to you as well. The presentation style is per piece type for all four sets, so you can see the similarities and differences. From left to right, we have the German knight set; 3,5 inch King OS set; HoS Player's Series; and finally Noj Dubrovnik II. I hope you enjoy the pics: