The Blackburne Ebony and Black Anegre Chess Set

• Handcrafted from Ebony.
• Superb quality.
• Exquisite detailing.
• Imperious 4.5 inch King.
• Perfectly weighted and felted bases.
• 23.6 inch Black Anegre luxury board.
• Beautifully crafted in Spain.
• 2.36 inch playing squares.
• As seen on ITV News.

The Blackburne Ebony Chess Men are a welcome new addition to the comprehensive range here at The Regency Chess Company.

Expertly turned, carved and polished by highly experienced craftsmen, the carving and details on these pieces is quite exquisite. The Blackburne Kings stand at a massive 4.5 inches, with each and every one of the pieces being perfectly weighted, for their size and then finished with billiard cloth bases.

These beautiful chess men were named after the famous Joseph Henry Blackburne, born in Manchester December 1841. Despite learning at the late age of 17 or 18, Joseph joined the Chess scene at the age of 20 losing to Manchester’s strongest player, Eduard Pindar in July 1861. Unperturbed Blackburne then went on to defeat Pindar the following month.

Later that same year, Blackburne was introduced to blindfold chess and although Louis Paulsen beat him and others, Blackburne continued to not only play chess blindfolded but with three players simultaneously.

Chess timekeeping at that time was measured by hourglasses and it was Blackburne who suggested chess clocks.

His competition results faired better in the international tournaments where he was a regular high prize-winner. His best results were gained in Vienna in 1873 against Steinitz and he earned the nickname ‘The Black Death’. He died in September 1924 just before his 83rd birthday.

These stunning chess men deserve nothing less than a stunning battlefield and we have matched them with a beautiful creation crafted from black anegre and maple. This board is a commissioned design made by Rechapados Ferrer S.A. of Spain and is of a high grade veneer construction using beautiful jet black anegre around the border and for the dark squares of the board with light maple wood being used for the lighter squares . The board is then finished in a rich deep gloss lacquer creating a chess playing surface with the deepest of blacks. At 23.6 inches (60 cm) in width and with a square size of 60 mm, this deluxe chess board is substantial and ideal in size for the larger chess men and creates a wonderfully contemporary and classical chess set.

If you recognise this combination, its because it featured in the story ran by ITV news September 2021

The chess board in this set has been expertly crafted by Rechapados Ferrer in Spain using precision laser cutting techniques and stunning wooden veneers combined with expert lacquering and finishing. The underside of the board is finished in a satin veneer that is a different colour from the playing surface of the board. The veneers used for the underside may vary in colour from batch to batch.