Chess Sets Guide

And bonus chess set buyers tips

This informative, photo-rich guide is packed with tips and knowledge to help you understand and clarify your interest in chess sets while offering advice and assistance along the way.

You’ll learn things you didn’t know about chess sets as you tap into experience and knowledge condensed into this 20 page quick-read guide. Explore answers to top questions asked by people just like you.

1. Who’s this guide for?

2. Information and advice guiding your choice of a chess set

· Learn about standards and sizes to consider

· Valuable ideas for your first chess set

· How to choose a perfect size chess set

· Hit it big with giant chess at your party

· Ideas for Parents. Choose a chess set for home, school, and learning

· The ideal chess set for kids

· Tournament chess sets and what to consider

· Upgrading your chess set

· Fun ideas for home décor and anniversaries

· What types of wood pieces should I consider?

3. Answers to top questions

· How do I care for my chess set?

· How to match a chess board for your pieces

· What are weighted pieces? When are they desirable?

· Is my chess set rare or valuable?

4. Bonus: 18 Tips to Choosing the Perfect Chess Set

Who’s this guide for?

I write this guide to help you explore chess for the first time, reacquaint yourself with what’s new, or simply to answer your questions about chess sets for yourself, your friends, relatives, and especially your own children.

This guide is revised periodically (current 3^rd Edition 7/22/2008) with the latest knowledge and helpful tips.

If you are a

…chess player
…parent
…grandparent
…wedding planner
…educator
…teacher
…busy professional
or
…chess nut

you’ll benefit from reading or glancing through this guide!

Unless you’re a collector, you do not have to spend thousands of dollars on a chess set!

This guide gives you info you can consider to help make a good choice. Without this info, the variety of chess set styles and options could overwhelm you like OfficeMax’s pen and pencil isle.

I want this guide to HELP you... not sell something you don't need. When you buy a chess set, I want you to know you're getting what you want!

Writing this guide has been fun.

Tap into the expertise and insights I've compiled for you as you learn essentials and tips, exploring your first or fifth chess set!

I hope you find answers and enjoy this valuable knowledge. I trust this guide will ultimately help you save time and money in choosing a chess set you'll use for years.

Speaking of saving time and money, if you order anything from ChessHouse.com after reading this guide, you have my 100% guarantee.

Let’s get started :-)

Information and advice to guide your choice of chess set

Standards among chess sets have developed over the years. Official regulation standards of size and style are common to tournaments, clubs, scholastic chess, home-study, and personal use. This means that if you know these standards you can own a chess set that will be accepted ANYWHERE and be a long lasting chess set for your home.
Generally, the King is 3 ¾” tall and the chessboard square size is 2 ¼”, usually 20” square in all. Most often the pieces will be solid plastic or with extra weight, and the chess board green and white. This standard in the United Status is known as the “club” chess set. As a home study chess set, it’s ideal for parents who want to jump-start their child's chess enthusiasm with a solid, practical set. An all-purpose chess set, the club set is relied upon by thousands of scholastic players, club players, and high level tournament players for official US Chess Federation rated tournaments and non-regulated chess instruction.
Sizes to consider Chess sets vary in size from tiny to giant. Less than ½” tall to over 2 feet tall! The chess set’s size is the dimensions of the chessboard and the height of the King piece. Both together help you estimate the size. Here are the sizes and what they’re for · Pocket chess sets (3”-6” chessboard) are usually very flat, designed to fit in your shirt or pant pocket. · Travel chess sets (5”-12” chessboard) can easily be carried, fit inside luggage, and played while traveling. · Folding chess sets (5”-20” chessboard) Most pocket and travel sets fold to help you store pieces inside the board. · Analysis chess sets (8”-14” chessboard) are usually a miniature of the “club” chess set and help you study and review games when you don’t need a full size set. · Tournament chess sets (20”-22” chessboard) Usually 20”, these are comfortably sized for hours of concentration. · Giant chess sets (12”-25” King, 9 ft chessboard) these are for use indoors or outdoors and are fun for events, attractions, parks, backyards, etc. (more on giant chess later) You’ll learn more about these different sizes and what they are for as you continue through this guide. View chess sets online
Travel size chess sets You can pack travel sets in a shirt pocket, purse, briefcase, or alongside your laptop. When choosing a Travel chess set, good features to consider are strong magnets and a case that can close for storage with your chess position still in place on the board. This way you can continue playing where you left off. Three dimensional pieces are usually preferred over flat magnet style because they are easier to grasp and move. Also, most people find real pieces are less confusing then small printed pieces. It depends on your taste. Here is an example of a mini 8" x 8" chess set with small 3D pieces and strong magnets: the Drueke Travel Chess Set. It incorporates all the above mentioned benefits: you can save and continue playing your game later, it’s plastic case is tough enough to stand on, and it is many chess player’s first choice.	3/7/2008 OK, my wife got me one of your Drueke Magnetic Chess Sets as a gift. When I got it I was amazed! I expected this kind of cardboard box like I had in the early 1970's (also a Drueke) but this one was made of hard plastic and much better stability for the pieces. Thank you very much. I am using it as a study chess set. Yes, at the age of 57, I am still studying and learning! Great set. Thanks. Roger Vancouver, WA
Getting even smaller, one of the SMALLEST practical chess sets is the "checkbook" size magnetic set. The pieces are flat, engraved, magnetic pieces. Overall it's a clever design that basically looks and feels like a checkbook.
Hit it big with giant chess at your party There’s nothing quite like giant chess to entertain your guests at the party! There are so many creative uses. It’s completely up to your imagination! 25 inches tall is the perfect size to be super fun, manageable, and easy to store. For a fun project, design and lay checkered tiles in your backyard or paint squares on your patio. Or… keep it completely portable with a nylon quick-fold chess mat that’s 9 foot square.
Valuable ideas for your first chess set As a minimum, everyone should own an unbreakable, solid plastic, basic club chess set. They are all-purpose, very inexpensive, and ideal for all ages. You’ll appreciate it’s rugged durability. Everyone recognizes the club chess set. It’s ideal for learning or practice, and it’s the building-block of chess learning and competition. Plus, if you get solid plastic quality pieces, they will last for 10+ years. Oddly, these sets just aren’t sold by your big chain stores or even local game store. You pretty much have to shop online to find these. AND, if you ever lose a piece from the club chess set, you can just ask ChessHouse to mail you a FREE piece replacement. It’s easy to accessorize, and while you really only need the club chess set, its 20” size and 3 ¾” pieces make it standard for easy storage in travel chess bags. I also recommend that you spend the extra couple dollars for the club chess set with the US-made vinyl chess board. This cloth backed vinyl is slightly thicker and resists curling better. The only reason curling is a factor is that vinyl chessboards are almost always “rolled up” for storage. Obviously you need a good quality vinyl to ensure that after a few months in storage it will uncurl and lay flat.
Thoughts for parents Choose a chess set for home, school, and learning The club chess set explained above is central to the huge “chess for education” movement in our homes and schools. Home chess education is fun and sharpens young minds. As parents encourage their children to study chess, they will experience the active, exercising, and transforming benefits chess has on the mind. ChessHouse knows that parents desire a better way to help their children learn chess with good materials and with a minimum of required hands-on assistance. Because education is about our kids future and quality of life, ChessHouse supports Chess4Life, LLC in developing character-centered education materials designed to teach life skills through chess. With thousands of hours of teaching instruction and a passion for helping kids, Elliott Neff is uniquely qualified to pass on values through chess – and his love for helping kids is clearly evident. The Youth Home Chess Learning Kit incorporates the quality club chess set with Chess4Life’s character-building education tools on DVD. Included are carefully selected, easy to follow, printed Rules for Students, Checkmate Ideas for Students, and Tactics for Students. I wanted to write you and thank you for the chess kit we received from you. My seven year old and I have literally been playing non-stop since. It is amazing to see a seven year old grasp chess so quickly and to see the development as he learns the pieces and their allowed moves. You can see his mind working as strategy beings to formulate, which is fun to see. Soon he will be beating dear ol’ dad! With so much of our world today, including DVD’s, video games and the internet pulling our families into isolation, we believe in the power of family games. Our family has made it a priority to spend time playing games together and have even set up our Tuesday evenings as a no-technology family night. Chess is becoming part of that tradition and the resulting quality time with my son and family is irreplaceable. Travis H., CPA Washington
The ideal chess set for kids Once again, it’s the club chess set. It’s ideal for chess class, practicing with fellow students, and competing at the club or scholastic meet. Children easily become familiar with this set, so it’s a good idea to introduce them to the set they will use if they ever play in a scholastic chess tournament. Even if you never plan to send your kids to chess class, this style chess set is still what you should consider for at home. It’s basically indestructible. And.. if you ever lose or break a piece, just ask and we’ll replace it for FREE. We recommend getting a carrying case for your chess set. The case will keep all 32 pieces and the roll-up chessboard together in zippered storage. See chess equipment for more ideas.
Tournament chess sets and what to consider Stating the obvious, the club chess set is again what’s most common and, may I say, what you really should be using in a tournament. Most tournaments will have the chess sets already set up and ready to play. After you complete your match, you just set up the game for the next round. But you should always bring your chess set anyway so you can practice or review between matches. Clubs usually have chess sets provided, but not always. So be sure to bring your own set. ALWAYS use a traditional style chess set – no themed pieces, red or black pieces, or anything non-standard, unusual, etc. Players expect the standard set and you’ll stand out as a newbie if you come with something weird or unusual.	3/11/2008 I got my 2 items so quickly and I live in Japan. The packing was well done and the items fit the description from your pictures really well. Thank you. I really appreciate your international shipping function and it is very well priced. Joe Japan
You MAY, however, bring a nice set of traditional, correctly sized (3 ¾” or 4”) wood chessmen and offer to play with wood instead! No one has a right to make fun of you, and many times your opponent will jump at the opportunity to play on your nice wooden chess pieces. Just keep in mind, that in real competition, a chess game may get fast and furious near the end if player's times are running low :), so your set must be able to take the heat of battle!
Chess set upgrades to impress yourself and your friends Many chess players, young and old, like to upgrade their club chess set to a heavier or more stylish variety. By the way, each one of these chess sets works great on the same chessboard as the club chess set. Several interesting possibilities exist. Here are a few and the reasons to consider each one. · Hastings – High detail, fierce looking knight (horse), very stylish yet traditional. Heavily weighted. A wild upgrade and great looking chessmen. Includes two extra queens · Collector – High-end plastic pieces with distinct styling by House of Staunton. Heavily weighted with collector drawstring bag. Includes two extra queens · Executive Staunton – mid-grade quality, large, heavy, and robust. Heavy weighted, massive set for low cost – fun for blitz chess. Includes two extra queens. · Ultimate – distinctly suitable for Blitz chess, or “speed” chess. Low center of gravity, heavy weights, and great, smooth feel that’s easy to grasp and slide. Match it with a wood board for the ultimate experience. Extra queens not available. · Paladin – Rugged, nicely weighted and balanced for tournament play. Styled after a popular chess set from the 70’s. Not quite as durable as some. Also comes with two extra queens. · Heavy Tournament Chess Pieces – the club chess pieces with extra weight. Low cost, easy way to increase the weight and feel of your chessmen. With two extra queens (Keep in mind: plastic “mold lines” are normal, yet generally the more expensive the set, the less noticeable. Also, “Staunton” refers to the most common style, including all the above.)	(Hastings) (Executive) (Ultimate) (Paladin) (Heavy Tournament Pieces)
Soon we’ll cover wooden chess sets, but first, let’s talk about… Theme chess sets – fun for home decor and gift-giving Theme chess sets are fun and interesting and can make exciting birthday gifts, anniversary gifts, and Christmas presents. Most theme sets are made of polystone. Polystone is a compound made up largely of polyurethane resin mixed with powdered stone additives that give it added weight and the porcelain or "stone-like" feel that resulted in the materials name itself. Polystone is durable and highly effective at maintaining a sharp paint finish. Unlike porcelain which is fired in an oven, Polystone is a cold-cast material in which no heat is used in the manufacturing process, resulting in much greater variations of paint finish. Therefore polystone lends to a cleaner, more detailed set of chess pieces. At ChessHouse you will find a great variety of interesting theme chess sets. Beautiful and highly detailed Studio Anne Carlton chess sets originate in the United Kingdom. SAC creates a wonderful array of theme chess sets from the Isle of Lewis, to Lord of the Rings, Winnie the Pooh, Civil War, famous battles, and of course Sherlock Homes among many others.
Lighthearted and fun Whitetail Deer Hunters vs. Elk Hunters set captures the American outdoors. Look close