Henri Chavet Guide

Many people (me included) asked themselves at one point what Chavet set they got. Identifying their set can become tricky as sometimes the reference number gives little or no information at all. Worst case scenario, the sticker is missing or there's no box. The thing is, as much love and admiration these sets get from chess players and collectors alike, there's very little information online and most of the questions might never get a proper answer. Why Knights sometimes have no eyes, hair lines or nostrils on certain sets? The cross on the King looks very thick compared to this other set. Is the Queen "nipple" supposed to be this large!? Is it an official set?

Luckily we have several collectors that have shared their sets on this forum for quite sometime and with their help, I'm going to try to gather as much information as possible and lay it down on an organized and legible form so people can identify their sets a little easier.

It is a work in progress so for now I'll post a basic "chart" based on the last catalogue from Jura Buis (pages 43 to 49,) the owners of Chavet since 2014. It is based on the newest sets they have produce. Since they are the cheapest and easiest to find, it's what people will most likely have. I hope I'm not breaking any forum rules for doing so. I decided to pretty much edit their images and translate from French to English whatever it is written. I also asked Rondo permission to use his pictures. Without him, this would not be possible.

I just added 101/0 and 153/8 missing from the official catalogue and shown on the Japanese JCA website. I think I should mention that 153/6 is no longer in production... all stores are sold out/out of stock.

Next on the TO-DO list: adding the B-2XX series. Differences between older and newer sets, from the pieces to the boxes. Sets used on different WCCs.

Suggestions are welcome!

Anyword on the B-2XX series informaiton?

Some how this looks familiar. I think Ronbo has elaborated on Chavet before and is a collector here.. Good information

Hello mfelzien. I messaged Rondo asking him about the B-2XX series before creating this post and there is very little information available unfortunately. All we know is that a smaller than the B-212 size version was used on the WCC 2000 between Kasparov and Kramnik. With this in mind, there is a possibility that this B-2XX naming conventions was used by Chavet at around the year 2000s.

I own one B-212 as well, not as pristine as Rondo's though. The King is 4,4" (11,2cm) tall. Unlike the 80's and 90's design, the King's cross is thick and the Queen's distinctive ball on top is large similar to the current sets. The Knight is pretty impressive at this size. The hair lines are somewhat random, at least on my set and it gives a hand crafted/artistic, wild felling.

I have another set that might belong to the B-2XX series but it's not very common, at least I never seen it before. Maybe people from the UK are more familiar with it as it comes from Harrods... It doesn't say Chavet but it screams the brand on every piece. Even the box is Chavet's typical design. Probably Harrods made some orders directly to Chavet to sell these sets with no brand on them. The label that came with it reads B207A. The King is 8,3cm. tall making it a N.4

Wish I could be of more help but this is all the info I have so far.

Beautiful Post and very good information  . The Chavet knights have always been my favorite. Just no bad angles on them IMHO. 

1980s Abercrombie & Fitch 

Its all there. Even the oval name tag that is still blank ready to apply to the box.

LOL. By the way, what don't you have Robert?

Did not doubt you at all. I have not seen many up for sale. Yours is the 3rd I have seen, mac.

Old chavet chess set B210 is coming back!

https://www.thechessempire.com/henri-chavet-series-b210-1980-1990-reproduction-chess-pieces-br-boxwood-dark-antique-gilded-br-3-5-king.html

Your site does not work.

Hi

Am quite new to this, and am looking at acquiring chavet sets. However just wanted to understand a few things:

1.  Do chavet still manufacturer anymore? Can't find a website or proper information just that there are lots of one's from 2000. I know some have posted websites here which list their products but don't know if that's excess stock being sold or it's still in production.

2. Where can I buy vintage pieces and are all of them not weighted? I've seen some on eBay etc but wondering if there are other websites and would like to compare different eras etc (I know all the knowledgable members are doing that on this thread). Just want to be able to compartmentalise it all in my head so that I can at least have an opinion on which I like the look of. 

Thanks for all the info and sharing your knowledge!

Hello Chavetnoob and PolarChess.

There are many places where you can find Chavet sets but the most common would be in this same forum or eBay. Just be careful and analyze the set pieces, specially the Knight as this pieces is the staple of Chavet and very easy to recognize. The reason I say this is because on eBay, many sellers slap the name Chavet on their listings to get views and the set itself is not a Chavet in a long mile. Also be aware of repros.

As for the pieces being weighted, it all depends of the set they belong to. Justs check the chart on the main post for a comparison of the current sets. The older sets use a similar approach but since I don't have a concrete information on exact numbering and letters used, I didn't update the list. A reliable and contrasted information about Chavet online is very scarce.

I just checked on the link I have to the Jura Buis catalogue and it seems the domain was brought by some online casino so the link has been removed. I still have the PDF on my HDD just in case.  I made a quick search online about the company and their facebook page hasn't been updated in a while. I wonder if the company that bought Chavet in 2014 went out of business...

Thanks for that Animator. Yes had gone through your links and wasn't working. Hope company is still in business. 

Hello everyone 

Sorry for my English I am French and I ll try to be understood 

I just bought an old chess game on internet and it appears that it is a chavet chessboard. However I am not sure that the piece are from chavet too.

Have you ever see this kind of piece from chavet?

Thanks

Hello,

Your set looks like it could be one of the "Karpov" sets that Chavet made in the 90s.

(Sorry if I had already answered and am repeating myself, I am new to this website)

By the way, Chavet Chess fan here, nice to meet you all.

After reading through this thread, I hope that I can bring some useful information to you.

I was also scared that we might have lost Chavet recently, since their website seems to have disappeared. Though a few days ago on a French TV news broadcast, there was a report about wooden toy makers in Jura, and the two companies that were shown in this report were JeuJura and Jura Buis (owners of Chavet) ; and it seems that they are still in business, though their workshops are not working right now because of the covid lockdown. They are also facing financial difficulties apparently. I really hope that they may get better soon.

Hello Kajan88. Yes, your set is indeed a luxury Chavet set. More precisely a 203 / 50RB, according to the Japanese link I posted on the first message of this thread. Here you have the rest of the information:

　　Chess board: Wooden edge width 38 mm / sycamore walnut inlaid
　　Chess piece: Simple wooden box / Lead-prepared piece / Piece bottom felted
　　Marble lacquer (gray, green, rouge and blue)

       The length of one side of the square: 50mm.

       King height: 87mm.

       Price: ¥40,900 ($390 aprox. at time of release in Japan)

The board looks different. Yours doesn't have the bezel but looks great.

@Tshorni, thanks for the info. It's a relieve to know Jura is still in business. Hopefully the can recover from the financial difficulties and continue producing Chavet chess sets.