The Chess Store is pleased to offer the Jaques of London 3.75" Original Staunton Design Chess Set. Pieces are turned and hand carved by the Jaques of London master craftsmen from the finest boxwood available. Black pieces are stained to produce the look of real ebony and then each piece is individually hand polished to a beautiful luster, as has been the standard for over a hundred years. Pieces are then heavily weighted and fitted with green billiard cloth pads for ideal handling during play. This chess set includes an attractive slide-top chess box with the traditional Staunton Label attached to the top.

History of Jaques of London Chess Sets
No other company has influenced chess set design and the popularity of the game the way Jaques of London has. Prior to the mid 19th century there were only of two types of chess sets - very elaborate and costly hand-carved reproductions of the Kings court, or crudely turned and carved pieces that were identified mainly by their height. In the 1840s, a new chess set design would be introduced that would change the game forever. Nathaniel Cooke, proprietor of the Illustrated London News, presented John Jaques a new and elegant design for chessmen. The new design used symbols and features that would make pieces easy to recognize and much easier to reproduce. This new design was a hit with chess players, especially the knight's exquisite design based on sculptures from the famous Elgin Marbles. Howard Staunton, the first British chess World Champion, was so impressed with the new design that he agreed to have his name and signature put on every box of pieces. The Staunton chess set, as it became known, has become the standard for nearly all contemporary chess set design. No other company has contributed to the game of chess the way Jaques of London has with millions of Staunton chess sets played with every day in every country around the world.