Wegiel Ambassador European Chess Set Review

Buying a chess set with a wooden board can be an expensive proposition. That’s especially true when you specifically want a large chess board with suitably sized pieces and a beautiful design.

This Wegiel Ambassador European Chess Set model certainly fits the bill but remains a very affordable chess set.

Wegiel Ambassador European Chess Set Features

This has many of the features that lots of chess players want for their chess set at home:

• This is quite large, and that’s a relief for some players who want to replace their small starter set. This comes with a chess board that measures 21.65 inches along each side.
• Along the sides of the board, you have letters and numbers that help newbies identify specific playing squares using algebraic notation.
• The playing squares are decently sized, too, as each square is 2.24 inches on each side.
• The chess pieces are also large enough for the board. The king stands at an impressive 4.5 inches. The size also makes it easy for you to notice the amazing details in the crafting of the pieces. On the bottom of each piece there’s felt lining.
• The pieces weren’t made with molds so that each type looked the same. Instead, they were all handmade by Polish craftsmen. They used hornbeam and sycamore wood for the pieces and birch and beech wood for the board.
• You also have felt lining all over the interior of the folding board where you store the chess pieces. In addition, you have slots in the interior that perfectly fit the forms of each chess piece.

Pros

Yes, this chess piece is quite reasonably priced. But that’s not the only reason why you would want to get this chess set for your home.

• It’s such a pleasure to play chess with this set. The size makes it easy to see what’s going on with the game, and you can see threats and envision moves with greater clarity. The colors and the proportions of the pieces and board make everything easy to see.
• Moving the pieces is also a very smooth process. The size of the board and the pieces means that you can pick up a chess piece quickly without disturbing nearby pieces, and then you can place it on the square you want without any trouble as well. It also helps that the pieces are heavy enough that they don’t topple easily.
• This chess set has features that help beginners learn the game more quickly. The designs of the king and queen have contrasting colors at the top so that beginners can find them more quickly. These pieces are arguably the most important of all the chess pieces, so beginners can keep track of them.
• Also, the letters and numbers help beginners learn algebraic notation. With these markers, newbies can more easily find the squares to move the pieces to as noted in the games they’re studying.
• There may be times when you may need to move this board from one room to another. That won’t pose a risk for the pieces, because the inside contains slots that are designed to match the shape of each piece. This means they won’t be bumping and rattling around inside the board, and this also means they won’t get damaged.
• Also, having slots prevents you from putting the pieces inside arbitrarily. You won’t accidentally close the board with pieces on top of one another, which can then lead to damage.
• Finally, this chess set is simply lovely. Playing is a true pleasure, as it involves gazing at these handcrafted pieces for long minutes. In fact, for some people it doesn’t matter if there are form-fitting slots for the pieces inside the folded board. Why would you want to hide these pieces? Set them and the board in your library and put them on display for people to admire.

Cons

Even with the long list of positives for this chess set, you also get a few negatives:

• It may not be legal to use this chess board for official tournaments. You should check to make sure. Of course, this begs the question: why would you want to do that anyway?
• Some people may not be satisfied with the lack of extra weight at the base of the pieces. This may require the usual hack of gluing a washer underneath each piece and then covering it with felt.

Verdict

It should seem obvious why at this price range the Wegiel Ambassador European Chess Set is such a steal. It’s nicely large, it’s beautiful, and playing with this set will certainly be enjoyable.

If you have to move the board, the pieces won’t get damaged. All in all, this is certainly nice chess set to have — even if you already have one.