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The Guardian set and wenge board make an impressive combination at a reasonable price.
The House of Staunton (HoS) was founded in 1990 by ICCF IM Frank Camaratta. At the HoS website, https://www.houseofstaunton.com, one will find a dazzling array of chess sets ranging from the mundane, such as club sets for schools, to the truly extraordinary, such as chess sets made from bone and ivory, and chess sets patterned after the piece style which was popular as far back as the early 1800s. Price ranges can vary from twenty or so dollars up to thousands. It all depends on what one wants to spend. In the mid-1990s the U.S. Chess Federation sold, through its catalog in Chess Life, an Indian-made boxwood and ebony tournament-sized chess set. A tournament-sized set is generally defined as a Staunton-pattern chess set with a 3.75" king and a board with 2.25" squares. I was looking for a boxwood and ebony set that hearkened back to this set from the 1990s. I had owned a couple of these over the years, one of which I gave to Bill Wall. He still has it and uses it today. The last time I visited him in person, in 2015, he was using the set with a glass-covered wood chess table. I browsed through several dozen of the HoS chess set offerings from HoS in the $100-$400 price range. Initially, my intent was to purchase a moderately expensive set, in the $300-$400 range. I then thought about it and decided to opt for the more economical Guardian set (https://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-guardian-series-chess-pieces-3-75-king.html), which retails for $149 — considerably less expensive. The reason for this is I wanted a nice-looking set that I could teach with and take places. If the kids were to drop a piece I wouldn't have a heart attack. The Guardian set is a very attractive option for those searching for a great-looking set at a reasonable price point. It is boxwood and genuine ebony, not simply boxwood and ebonized boxwood (that is, boxwood made to look like ebony). The styling of the pieces allows the set to be used, and to a certain extent abused, without major worry. For example in some sets the ears of the knights protrude a bit and are prone to chipping over time. Not so with the Guardian set. In fact the Knights are slightly bigger than one would expect and thus very visible on the board. The rest of the pieces look good. I also chose the Guardian set because I like stubby pawns, which are also less likely to break over time.  House of Staunton Guardian Chess Set and Board My only quibble with the style of the pieces is that because the Knights are slightly larger, the rooks seem small standing next to the knights. One of the founding principles of House of Staunton is that rooks should be as tall or nearly as tall as the knights and bishops because after all, they are more powerful pieces in the game. However that principle seems to be absent from the Guardian set. It is present in other HoS sets, such as the Collector series.  Black rook and knight shown I received my HoS Guardian chess set a few days ago. The set comes in a cardboard box which has two levels. Each piece is fitted into its own space so that the pieces are not damaged by knocking against each other during shipping. The set also ships with four queens, a nice touch that Camaratta pioneered at HoS in the 1990s and which is now followed by most chess set makers. Chess sets can be single, double, or even triple-weighted depending on the number of weights used in each piece. The process of weighting chess pieces is intricate. The Guardian chess set set feels like a single-weighted chess set. That's actually a good thing, because lighter pieces are less prone to break if dropped. In fact, for a wood utility set that's going to be knocked around I would prefer solid wood with no weighting at all. But single weight is fine as well. The Guardian is a light set, which makes it easy for travel. Overall, and except as noted aboved, the styling of the pieces is excellent — traditional Staunton design with a 3.75" king. My only complaint about the pieces is that for whatever reason with the white pieces the patina/finish on several of the pawns and pieces was slightly lighter than others. Most people probably wouldn't notice, but by years of handling chess sets one develops an eye for such things. I sent a note to HoS about this. They wanted to replace the pieces but had none in stock. So they gave me a $50 refund. That was fine by me.  Guardian white pieces The box that the pieces ships in contains a note regarding hairline cracking. Wood sets have to acclimate to their new home's environment, including temperature and humidity, and sometimes this acclimation can result in tiny cracks due to the weights in the chessmen. One of the pawns of the Guardian set thus cracked. It's not noticeable when playing but of course, once one sees it, one can't unsee it. So, I wrote to HoS about this and they said that they didn't have any replacement pawns in stock at the moment but that they would replace the pawn when able. Again, fine by me.  Hairline crack in white pawn This brings up perhaps the most important point — HoS customer service is excellent. They are very responsive. They always answered my emails within one day; many times within a few hours. They really do try to try to make things right. So, you can't go wrong even if you get a slightly flawed set. This particular Guardian set was 30% off for Valentine's Day so the purchase price was $119. Minus the $50 for the lightly-finished pawns and the set costed $69. This is a very fine set at that pricepoint. So all in all I am pleased with the Guardian set. I may even order another one so that I have one for travel — pick up the bag and go versus having to pack the pieces in the bag every time. Now let us come to the board. For this set I was looking for a wood board with 2.25" squares — the same size squares as the standard tournament vinyl boards. I opted for the HoS wenge and maple traditional classic chess board (https://www.houseofstaunton.com/clearance-wenge-and-maple-classic-traditional-chess-board-1.html). This board retails for $139 but was on clearance for $39 — a full $100 off. Well, how can one beat that? Naturally, I ordered it! Shipping was fast and I received the board a few days later. What has consistently set HoS apart from its competition over the years is quality. So seeing "Made in China" stamped in huge letters on the box was a bit of a let-down. There was a time when HoS made everything in America. In fact I think at one point Camaratta made pieces and boards himself (similar to Drueke products). I don't know when HoS started importing from China; maybe they've always done it for their budget product line. Alas, it is understandable. If they can afford to discount a board from $139 to $39 then the board can't be that expensive in the first place. I will give credit where it is due. Although it is a veneer and obviously not a luxury product (such as a Drueke board), it looks very good and suits my need for a classy-looking tournament-size board for play and analysis. It is an outstanding value for $39. However, at $139 I think it is overpriced, so I'm glad I got it on clearance. By comparison Drueke boards at 2.25" squares are going for $500+ on eBay. But this is also because Drueke has — with the exception of a brief span of time in 2021 — stopped producing these boards and they have become somewhat of a collector's item. My only quibble with the maple and wenge board is that the black squares are dark, to the point where they nearly clash with the black pieces. Under good lighting this isn't an issue, but if lighting is poor it may be an issue. Like beauty, this is to a certain extent in the eye of the beholder. If I had it to do over again I might have gone with a more traditional maple and walnut rather than maple and wenge. But for those who like contrast, maple and wenge presents a more striking appearance.  Guardian black pieces In summary not counting shipping and counting the refund, I spent $110 on this board and set combo. At $110 for both it's a superb value. The excellent service provided by House of Staunton is the icing on the cake — for this reason alone, I don't buy my chess gear from anyone else. I rate the board and set 4 stars out of 5 — a very solid combo for everyday play. The service from HoS is of course 5 stars out of 5.
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 Bill Wall
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