It has always been a delight to purchase Chess items from Chesshouse.com. But this time I had a depressing experience. I've bought a Mahogany Chess Board earlier and it was of good quality. This time I bought Walnut Chessboard. To my surprise, this board was of substandard quality. Rough as if splinters will prink my skin, the surface is too dry with whitish color that shows how dry the board is. And the most depressing part: it is not shiny at all as the one I bought earlier.
Also, it is brittle. I carried it in Chesshouse board bag. Bag is supposed to protect it from bumps, but it didn't. I hit one corner on the floor while walking as the board size is big with a long handle loop of the bag. That small hit made the corner wood layer covering the edge chipped out. The sides of the board should be one wood sanded and polished to make a smooth feel and look. But it is rather covered with a very thin wooden layer which is bound to peel off or break with even a tiny hit or brush with any solid surface.
I complained about this as it happened to my "brand new" board and to my huge disappointment, the customer service advised me to repair it myself and polish it using Tung-oil as a chess club project. I wonder, did I buy this board for the board or for bringing an unnecessary polishing/smoothening project for my chess club? I am really disappointed with the substandard Walnut board this time. I will never buy Walnut board ever again from Chesshouse.”
I didn't mention this earlier that the boxwood insert line is not aligned properly. See the picture below. One side is broader than the other side which is looking like a substandard chessboard.