3 5/8" Ultimate Style Wooden Chess Pieces - Anjanwood

There is pleasure in receiving fine wood chess sets and this one fits right in that category. The Anjanwood has impressive streaks of black grain all along the body and bases of the pieces that give an excellent presence on any good quality wooden chessboard. I commend Raphael and Elliot Neff for proving me with a good looking, durable set that will be enjoyed by family, loved ones and dear friends for a good number of years.

The original Ultimate Chess set was in plastic. Dewain Barber, who started and ran American Chess Equipment for many years, designed and had this set made. That plastic set was one of the best plastic sets ever made.

Dewain later had it made in wood. He did not carry it for long. I have one of those sets and it’s alright.

However, now Raphael has come up with a true winner in this set. The pieces are very well done indeed. And unlike the older version there are no sharp points that can easily be chipped or broken.

And this set is a heavy one. Weighing in at over 4 lbs, it is heavier than the previous one by quite a bit.

The final outcome is a set that looks really nice on a board, and plays better. And the price is really good especially with the fitted case included.

I ordered this set to use on my Drueke Grandmaster board with 2.25" squares. These pieces are maybe just a tiny bit smaller than I would have liked but they do work fine on the board. I was aware of the sizing of the pieces before ordering so this did not surprise me. These would be perfect on a board with 2" squares. These pieces are heavy, so no doubt they are weighted with lead. A+. They feel substantial, have a comfortable heft, and have appropriately thick felt on the bottom of each piece. The Anjun pieces are much prettier than the Boxwood pieces but that also is not a surprise. In each case, the wood is high quality and no defects were observed. There does appear to be a small amount of grime on the pieces remaining from manufacture. I'll be waxing these pieces so I expect that will all clean off easily. (I'll be using Alfie Shine wax. Look it up!) Last observation: My case did not come with the Chess House logo on it. That said, I would not worry about it. Chess House sells this set at a much lower price than competing vendors *and* offers excellent customer service after the sale. That means more to me than the logo or anything else! Overall, I am fully satisfied. 5 stars!

Gorgeous chess pieces! Nearly an exact replica of the ‘ultimate plastic chess set’.
Purchased with the intention of being my tournament ‘workhorse’ set . Almost too nice for that purpose. Heavily weighted, beautifully finished. One of the bishops wasn’t perfectly matched to its mate. One e-mail to Paul took care of that issue. You guys are great!