$500 Chess Set vs $1,000,000 Chess Piece

Summary by Krater

Hikaru Nakamura reacts to a video about artisan chess piece carving, discussing the intricate process, high costs, and historical significance of the Lewis chessmen.

From the video

Answers: How are artisan chess pieces made and why are they so expensive?

• handcrafted chess pieces
• Lewis chessmen
• chess set manufacturing
• world chess championship sets
• knight carving complexity

What it concludes

• The knight is the most difficult and time-consuming chess piece to carve, taking two hours per piece and requiring specialized training.
• A finely carved chess knight can represent up to 50 percent of the total cost of a high-end chess set.
• The 32-piece championship chess set requires pieces of precise heights and proportions, such as a 95 mm tall king with a 39 mm base.
• Artisans take seven times longer to produce a championship-style chess set compared to regular sets due to intricate detailing.
• The missing Lewis chessman piece sold at a London auction for £735,925 ($925,000 USD) after being bought for just £5 in the 1960s.
• The Lewis chessmen, discovered in the 1830s on the Isle of Lewis, are considered the best-known Scottish archaeological find from the 12th century.