Jaques Tournament Chess Sets
The original Staunton Chess pieces, still used
worldwide by most National Chess organisations
Need urgent UK Delivery within
24 hours? Usually no problem, and
no extra charge.
For advice on buying
a Chess Set, call us 7 days a
week on UK Freephone 0800 01 88844
See also: Jaques Premium Chess Pieces , SAC Premium Chess Pieces , Themed Chess Sets , Chess Boards & Clocks
Until
the mid 19th century, chess pieces tended to come as one
of two extremes. The rich would display very ornate expensive
pieces with delicately crafted representations of kings,
queens etc. which were often top-heavy and impractical,
while everyone else mostly used roughly hewn wooden lumps
with only the height of the pieces to distinguish one from
another. In 1847, John Jaques of London created a new design
which hit a happy medium between the two and was both practical
and elegant. The pieces were given easily-recognisable symbols
- the King was given a crown, the Queen a coronet and the
bishop a mitre. The pawn is supposed to be a representation
of the mason symbol for square and compasses while the knight,
is an copy of the horse cut into the Elgin marble in Italy.
By using different heights of pedestal, the useful idea
of representation by height was retained. Howard Staunton,
a famous Victorian chess player, immediately realised the
overall benefit of such a new design and lent his name to
the new pieces which were officially launched in 1849. These
Staunton pieces were very popular. At the end of the century,
the design had evolved slightly - the protruberances of
certain pieces were reduced or made more robust to prevent
breakages and enable easier mass production. The newly released
1890 design quickly became the de facto standard for Chess
all over the world and it has stayed that way ever since.
Jaques of London, uniquely, are still owned and run by the
Jaques family and their Staunton sets are still used worldwide
by most National Chess organisations and tournaments. Here we present Jaques Tournament Sets. Please note: We sell our chess boards seperately - for advice on choosing an appropriate board, call us now on UK freephone 0800 01 888844. |
from
only
£ 42.90
Buy Now! |
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- Hand finished by craftsmen using the best materials
- Chess-pieces individually weighted
- Attractive box included
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