[palata]

Exactly this. Relatives have been trying to choose "fancy-looking" chess sets for me as a gift, and I always hated them. I don't want fancy pieces, I want the standard ones that don't give me cognitive overhead :-).

"Tournament chessboards" are my favourites, obviously.

[jakeinspace]

Hell is filled with glass and ornate chess sets, I am convinced.

[Raphael]

I've gotten so used to 2D knights that it annoys me when people face them forward on a 3D board.

[unnah]

There are flat chess pieces that have the traditional 2D symbols on top. Another question is whether anyone makes 3D knight pieces that are designed to lay flat on the board. Such pieces would fit a "Godfather" themed chess set rather well...