What a coincidence, I just got that same Drueke board from SakisTsiogkasWood two weeks ago!...for my Royal Chess Mall 1950's Fischer Dubrovnik set (but with the fat rooks...thanks Random Chess Talk). You are spot on about the quality and the resonant feel of the board. I love the combination. Very highly recommended.
That’s a lovely board. I too had a board custom made for me from another person who works out of his home. It’s the most beautiful board I’ve owned. Love it so much it stays on display. I agree with everything you said in this video. Yes one can go get a run of the mill board, and that’s totally ok 😊, but I love the idea that this was made with me in mind and can pass it to loved ones when I’m gone.
Not a bad reproduction Drueke, which I remember some years ago learning the pronunciation is "drew-key" in case anyone was wondering. At any rate, I've got an original Drueke 2.25 inch board that was used in the GM section of the 1986 New York Open. This particular tournament featured the first break-out appearance of GM Judit Pulgar when she was 9 years old and dominated the unrated section. I've been told my Drueke is probably worth over $1,000 or more in terms of collectability and provenance. I have paired with it a $500 set with full ebony black pieces. Cheers!
I get it when you demonstrate how the pieces resonate on each move. Chess is a very tactile experience for me, much like the finer things in life. Much different from plastic on vinyl or online chess. I sometimes like to use an analog clock for that same experience. Thanks for another informative video.
Thanks for the review! Definitely looks like a rock solid item, looking forward to buy one for myself, but one with the darker borders than the squares :)
The price for that board ia not that bad. A good set of chess pieces for it would be the playwrs choice. They are around 200 bucks and i have them. They are a reproduction of the orginal Drueke plastic pieces, which i also own. They did a real good job with this set.
Their borderless 18" (2.25" squares) walnut and chestnut board for $150 sure looks nice! I suppose they could even make a 10x10 or 10x8 (#squares, not size) custom board if I asked them.
Hey, great review. I had my eyes on his boards for a long time but they were a bit over the budget for me. Other than this drueke style one, I liked his designs with the ebony/maple board with redwood boarder and the old Jaques style repro. Regardless, you have good taste.
Having bought this board I would mention that with the matte finish there is a lot of friction when sliding the pieces on this board. I would have liked to have opted for a semi gloss finish personally.
Great review, and the chess board in your video looks superb. With all the reviews recommending SakisTsiogkasWood I purchased a chess board from them. I am really disappointed with both the poor finish and engraving, it does not look like its been made by anyone who has any pride in their work.
Dear Peter, This is SakisTsiogkasWood. We are trying to find your order by your name in our system but we can't find it. Can you please provide us your Order number so we can contact you? We would be more than happy to find a solution together.