Identifying Drueke Chess Sets (and Boards)

Hello. 

I am new to the chess and chess.com. 

I have recently acquired some Drueke boards and some chess sets.  For the untrained eye, it is a challenge to identify manufacturer and series.

 I would like some help identifying the sets.  Is it ok to post photos in the forum and get some experienced players to help identify the sets?

Thank you in advance-

Yes it would be best to post pictures in order to ID what you have acquired.

The people here are very friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.  So post as clear and detailed photos as you can manage and (sometimes lively!) discussion will surely follow.

SET 1

Appears labeled on box as No. 32 chess set 2 1/2 inch.  The pieces seem to match the box; do the pieces and the box belong together?

What are these pieces made of? It does not appear to be wood. 

Thanks again. I’ll take photos of the next set…

SET 2

Appears in a dovetail cornered wooden box with sliding lid.  No stickers or labels on box.

Again, these pieces do not appear to be wood.

What is the appropriate way to clean these pieces? Do the pieces and the box appear to ‘go together’?

Thank you again!

@HiChessForums, the two sets you show were both produced by the same manufacturer…the William F Drueke Company. They were produced under the name of “The Player’s Choice” sets. These sets were introduced in 1965 at the National Open. The first set you show, the #32, is what is often called a library size set, or an analysis set, because of its small size and the convenience of using it in small places. The box and set match.

The second set is also a Drueke, and from the weight shown on the scale, it would be a Model 36H, which is the most desirable of the Player’s Choice sets. The 3-5/8” king is a tournament size Players choice set, and was  produced in three different models — the 35, which was single weighted, the 36, which was double weighted, and the 36H, which was the first plastic set with triple weighting.

The tournament size sets also were packaged in different boxes — known variations include three different kinds of cardboard box, a fiberboard box with a sliding top, a walnut box with a hinged top, a walnut box like yours with a sliding top, and a large hinged-top coffer with individual spaces for the pieces: 16 in the bottom, and a removable tray for another 16. 

Both of these sets are quite collectible. Enjoy your acquisition.

@Madmacsback 

Thank you very much for the response. This added some additional info for me and confirmed some of my thoughts about the items.  

Thanks again. 

SET 3

SET 4

This set shows a ‘new to me’ mark on the Rook, with it having a four-pointed star on top.  I hope this is might be familiar to you…

It is a large set; but of what maker?

Thank you again. 

SET 5

Magnetic Bottoms

Would this be for a travel set? Or some other purpose? Who is the maker? These appear to be wood…

Thank you again!

@HiChessForums, Set #3 is a wooden Indian import set marketed under the Drueke name back in the 1980’s and 90’s. The size shown is what is called a “club size” set. Not super valuable, but a high quality wood set in a relatively unusual size at the time. Most of the sets Drueke sold were tournament size (3-3/4” king). Set #4 isn’t a Drueke at all, but was made by the Gallant Knight company, and first appeared in The Chess Review magazines in the early 1940s. The early sets were offered in the Student size with a 2-3/8″ King, and the Standard size with a 2-3/4″ king. They later added the small, Travel set No. 100(M) with a 2-1/8″ King, the small Tournament-size set with a 3-1/4″ King, and a large Tournament-size set with a 4-7/8″ King. The sets were produced in a mottled plastic as well as a black or red and ivory colored plastic. The sets were usually sold in simple cardboard boxes or hinged leatherette boxes. They supposedly also came in a wood box, but I’ve never seen one.

Set #5, you’re on your own. Just a generic magnetic wood travel set that could have been made in Europe, South America, or India. Take your pick. No idea.

@MCH818, Thanks. I’ve been collecting chess sets, boards, clocks and books for half a century. No one can know it all, but I do know a thing or two. There are a number of other collectors both here and on Facebook that know a lot more than I do.

@madmacsback Thank you for sharing any knowledge and information. 

I have read Drueke Player's Choice 35 and 36 are the same pieces and same weight. Just the packaging is different. The difference being 35 is in a cardboard box. 36 is in a wood box. 35H and 36H are the heavily weighted versions, with only the boxes being different as well.

Confusingly,,,, I have also read:
35 (single weighted, cardboard box),
35H (double weighted, cardboard box),
36 (triple weighted, wood box),
36H (quad weighted, wood box)

Can you confirm the accuracy?

@pawnerai, The 35 and the 36 are actually identical in size, but not in weight. As I stated above, the 35 is single weighted. It came standard in a cardboard box. The 35-B was also single weighted, and came in a walnut box. There was never a 35-H to my knowledge. The 36 was a double weighted set and came in a cardboard box also. The 36-B came in a walnut box. The 36-H was a triple weighted set, and came in a cardboard box. The 36-HB came in a walnut box. At this point, in the 70’s, triple weighting was the heaviest of sets. Quadruple weighting hadn’t even been considered at this point, as far as I know. A coffer was available for an extra cost.  In the tournament size Player’s Choice sets, the final two were the 6635, which was the 35 packed with the #66 folding board, which some folks call linen, but Drueke called “book-cloth,” and the 6636, which was the 36 packed with the board. Lastly, Drueke sold their 5” Player’s choice set two ways — the 38, which came with dual sliding-lid box, and the 38-B, which came with a solid walnut box.

I have owned, at one time or another, every one of these variations. I’ve never seen anything listed in a catalog that contradicts this information.

2 pics of the elusive 35H Drueke sets. 

@madmacsback And here's a Drueke 35H up for auction to complete your collection  

https://www.ebay.com/itm/234237844945

$285 (or Best Offer).

Thanks again to everyone for sharing information on the Drueke chess sets; there is so much to learn!

SET 6

If you could help me identify this set, please let me know. 


Thank you. 

SET 7

Please see photos…

I have a Druke  36 set in a different box.  It is made of a light colored  plywood (  almost white). The  wood has 5 laminations  . The sliding cover is  masonite. There are no marks or labels on the outside of the box. there is a foil  Drueke  model 36 label  on the bottom ( inside )  of the box.         each queen weighs  32 grams.  I have added 2 extra queens to this set. They weigh 55 grams.   If not for the  Drueke label, I would have thought that this set was not in a Drueke box., because it looks so cheap compared to the other Drueke boxes that I have seen. 

That set is the Cavalier Set. Arrco Playing Card Company once owned the Cavalier Set.

https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/arrco-playing-card-co/