Black and Natural Plastic Chess Pieces

Chess House has a wide range of plastic chess sets that come in Black and Natural, rather than the standard Black and Ivory. I personally like the Black and Natural chess sets the best when it comes to plastic chess sets.

Paladin Chess Set in Black and Natural:
Good stylish looking chess pieces, with wide, weighted bases, specially designed so they don't easily tip over during play. This chess set is especially useful for blitz chess. Very good looking and feeling chess set for a good price.

• King Size: 3 3/4"
• King base: 1 5/8"
• King weight: 2.1 oz.
• Entire chess set weight: 2 lbs. 13 oz.

Hastings Black & Natural Chess Pieces:
This is my favorite Black and Natural plastic chess set, it has my favorite styling, and it's a quality House of Staunton chess set. Standing at 3 7/8" the king is a little taller than the standard 3 3/4" tournament sized chess sets.

• King height: 3 7/8"
• King base: 1 3/4"
• King weight: 1.7 oz.
• Entire chess set weight: 2 lbs. 11 oz.

Collector Series Black & Natural Chessmen:
This is the best quality Black and Natural plastic chess set that The Chess House offers. Also made by House of Staunton, this chess set is weighted and its really heavy. It weighs in at a whopping 4 lbs. 2 oz. and as you can see it's a great looking chess set.

• King height: 4"
• King base: 1 7/8"
• King weight: 3.5 oz.
• Entire chess set weight: 4 lbs. 2 oz.
  

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Chess Awards and Medals

Reward your chess class and motivate them to higher levels of play with chess medals, cool key chains and tons more! just take a look at some of these chess awards and motivators. Some of them come at a very economical price, all of them come with bulk prices! Couple that with Chess House's unequaled customer service and you cant go wrong!

Digital Chess Clock Review

In this article i'm going to list off the digital chess clocks that are worth buying, i'm going to give you the facts, the features, and the figures, and let you decide which one is best for you. These digital chess clocks are going to be the cream of the crop, for their categories.

The DGT 2010 digital chess clock is on of the best professional chess clocks made. The DGT 1020 digital chess clock is real easy to operate as far as chess clocks go. It's small enough to travel around with and the DGT 1020 digital chess clock is power conserving, it can run a really long time on the same batteries. For a professional digital chess clock, go with the DGT Easy.

Chronos digital chess clocks are by far the strongest digital chess clocks made, they all come in a steel housing that protects the Chronos Digital chess timer like armor. That said, the Chronos digital chess clock is also a joy to use, all the modes ever invented for chess come programmed into the clock, each setting is fully adjustable, and you can have pre-programmed time so you don't have to re-set the time after you play a game. It's crazy all the things you can program the Chronos chess timer to do, you can even program in different sounds it can make! Chronos digital chess clocks come in two styles, button, and touch sensor. Kids like the button Chronos clock better because they like to slam a chess piece down on the clock after they capture it. Adults like the sensor Chronos clock better because it makes less noise.

Chronos Blitz digital chess timers are almost just the same as the original Chronos chess clock, they just come smaller/lighter, and pre-programmed with blitz modes and times. Just like to original Chronos chess timer, the Blitz Chronos digital chess clock is fully programmable.

Dueltimer Champion digital chess clock is the most beautiful chess clock I have ever seen, it is made out of walnut and the faceplate with the control buttons on it is made of shining metal. It looks really good next to the Drueke 21" walnut chess board. Looks good is one thing, but the Dueltimer Champion digital chess clock also works good, it comes with delay modes, and programmable time modes.

I have used all of these digital chess clocks and i'm quite familiar with them, if you have any questions then post a comment and I will answer them.

Weighted Plastic Chess Set Pieces

playing with weighted chess pieces is way better than with un-weighted chess pieces, the weighted chess set just feels better. This is a very reasonably priced Weighted Chess Set, it comes with extra queens and it is designed after the same chess set that they use in scholastic chess tournaments. In fact many schools have started using this chess set in their tournaments and personal chess clubs.

Being weighted also makes this chess set better for speed chess, because the heavy chess pieces are not as easily knocked over. The color of the black side is jet black, and the white side of this weighted chess set is more of a ivory white. The king stands 3 3/4" high, the standard height for tournament chess sets.

Saitek Digital Chess Timer

Saitek is producing a new chess timer called the Saitek Competition Game Clock. This digital chess timer is very classy looking. This new Saitek chess timer has loads of modesw and features. One of the great things about this new digital chess timer is that the LCD screen's are seperated, that elimenates a lot of confusion during a chess game and just looks more orderly. Another cool thing about Saiteks new chess timer is that it doesn't cost to much, you almost never see a digital chess clock going for as little as the new Saitek chess timer, it only costs $26.95! I personally don't think that price will last much longer.

Chess For Dummies

You know that For Dummies book series? They made one for chess! It's Chess For Dummies. Written by James Eade (not a dummy he's a chess master). James Eade does a fine job with Chess For Dummies, he lays out all the rules in easy english, not chess gibberish that you see in most chess books. And at the same time he explains exactly what certain chess terms you hear and can't figure out without asking a stupid question! In Chess For Dummies you learn,

1. How each chess piece moves
2. The powers of each piece
3. Algebraic chess notation
4. Some chess tactics
5. And even shows you how to get involved in chess clubs and tournaments.

James Eade has written several chess books, he is a known and popular chess writer, with many pertinent chess books, all designed to improve your chess. Chess For Dummies is another great For Dummies book, and hey after you read it, you won't be!

Digital Chess Timer

The Excalibur digital chess timer is the most well know digital chess clock. You see the Excalibur chess timer most often in scholastic chess tournaments. The extreme affordability, accuracy, and reliability, have made it the clock of choice. The Excalibur chess timer is the only chess clock that is officially sanctioned by the USCF (United States Chess Federation).

It features a large LCD digital screen, all the modern delay modes are available with the Excalibur chess timer, the proven accuracy of the Excaliber chess timer is the best part of owning a digital chess timer.

But for a really nice chess timer, like one you would take to the coffee shop, you would want to get something with better looks, and with quieter buttons.

The Chronos digital chess timer is, in my opinion the best chess clock ever made. The Chronos digital chess timer comes in 2 body styles, one is the Chronos Blitz digital chess timer, which is smaller. And the other is the Chronos digital chess timer, larger than the Blitz Chronos chess clock. Then there are 2 button styles, there is the classic Chronos chess timer buttons, and then there is the touch sensor button. The Chronos Blitz and the regular Chronos chess timer come with either button styles. The touch style button is extremely nice, it makes absolutely no noise when you touch the button

The Chronos Blitz digital chess timer comes pre-programmed speed chess modes already on it, and it is a better travel chess timer. The larger, original Chronos chess timer is programmed for classical chess. But both chess timers are fully programmable to suit your needs, it is super simple to operate once you get the hang of it, there are only three buttons on the both Chronos chess timers.

And I have yet to get to the best part of this chess timer, the Chronos chess timer has got battle proven armor. That's right, the casing on the Chronos digital chess timer is one piece construction steel plate. I have seen a chronos chess clock after it has be run over by a truck, it was slightly squashed, But the clock still worked the same! There is no other chess clock I know of that could even come close to that tough!

Here is a helpful free video guide on how to operate and program the Chronos Digital Chess Timer

DGT Chess Clocks

The DGT Easy Chess Clock is fast becoming the scholastic tournament chess clock. The DGT Easy chess clock is just so much simpler to use than other chess clocks. It is really easy to program the DGT Easy chess clock, and most of the time in scholastic chess tournaments the kids are the ones setting the chess clocks to the proper time. That is the main reason the DGT Easy chess clock is becoming the popular chess clock of the day. However, the DGT Easy chess clock does not have as many modes as other chess clocks. The main thing DGT Easy chess clocks are missing is delay modes. But other than that the DGT easy chess clock is the best, easiest to use chess clock made. And the DGT Easy chess clock comes in four colors, blue, red ,yellow and green. The real sinking factor for schools, is the price of the DGT Easy chess clock, it is very affordably priced.

DGT has made another chess clock called the DGT Easy+ chess clock. The DGT Easy+ chess clock has all the modes that are lacking in the DGT Easy chess clock, but otherwise it has the same basic design, but the DGT Easy+ only comes in black.

Chess Bracelet

The Chess Braclet is a great morale booster for kids in chess! Kids in chess clubs love to show off their love for the game of chess with their flashy balck and white checkered silicone chess bracelets. These chess bracelets are a great, inexpensive way to get kids excited about chess, and the more you buy the cheaper they get! Thanks to the wholesale chess quantity discounts on the silicone chess bracelets, you can buy more bracelets and spend less!

Chess clubs really go in for these chess bracelets, also it really looks spiffy when a scholastic chess team all walks onto the floor with matching chess braclets and cloths, almost professional!

Chess wristbands are also just another way of expressing how much you enjoy the game of chess, These silicone chess wristbands are made super strong, they are able to withstand almost any treatment! The chess wristbands come in two sizes, small (for kids) and large (for adults), and in two styles, one style of wristband says CHECKMATE! on it and the other wristband says PLAY CHESS on it.

Buy Chess Bracelets!

Weighted Chess Set, Cheap Cheap Cheap!

These weighted chess pieces are great for speed chess! Ya this Weighted Chess Set is weighted so well that they don't tip over like the hard plastic non weighted chess sets. This weighted chess set is the cheapest price you will find online, and thats cheap in price not in quality. The lead is inserted solidely in the bottom of the chess piece so it doesn't rattle at all. Placed over that is a round tab of felt, the felt is there to protect your chess board from the hard chess piece's bottom.

So you might be thinking "oh yeah, another cheap quality weighted chess set" well your wrong! This weighted chess set is the standard tournament sized 3 3/4" chess pieces made from quality plastic! And they Weigh in solidly over 2 lbs They are the real deal priced right. This weighted chess set even has extra queens! They were styled after the Club Special Tournament chess pieces, a design that has held up over the ages of scholastic chess tournaments. And thats saying somthing! Those kids can get real wild with those chess pieces!

Scholastic Chess Tournaments, Be Prepared!

It's almost here! Get ready! School chess tournaments will be here before you know it, if you or your child aren't involved in scholastic chess tournaments you really should consider it, chess tournaments are great family fun, they host food bar's soft drink stands and chess game vendors, and of course the chess matches. Almost all scholastic chess tournaments are 5 game rounds with 30 minutes per player (if they are using chess clocks) so it's an all day event of food, fun and games. Be prepared to face the crowds, traffic, food, and travel. Also be prepared and ready for these exciting events by getting the right kind of chess gear, at the tournament they have chess sets already set up, but those are for tournament play only, you can have your own Full Size Tournament Chess Set or go with one of the popular Magnetic Travel Chess Sets to play with of the record or go over your games to analyze what you did right or wrong, or what your opponent did right or wrong. Take it a step further and buy Chess Training Books that teach you how to demolish your opponent (figuratively speaking). There are many ways to improve your chess game, so dont limit yourself, get into the game, and have fun!

Chess School Supplies; Combine Education and Fun!

Help youngsters discover their mental capacities through chess! Chess for ages now has been the most acclimated mind game that has stood the test of time and never ceases to fascinate the players and onlookers. It has been proven that chess gives mental confidence and the ability to work out problems in your head with greater ease. Schools have recognized the great benefits of playing chess and have implemented the game of chess into their curriculum by creating chess clubs. These chess clubs meet regularly to play in tournaments (individuals and home schoolers can also participate in scholastic chess tournaments). We want more people to become aware of the great value and potential this competitive game has for young people. With this upcoming school year give your child the chance to improve his/her mind while having fun! And you dont need to limit yourself to just a Chess Set, there are all kinds of ways to improve at chess, such as Chess Workbooks, Chess Software, Chess Instructional Videos, and so much more. The Chess House is the premier online chess supplier, featuring the largest selection of products with an easy to navigate website. They supply the majority of school chess clubs with their great quantity discounts and their general everyday great deals! So get involved, make the most of this school year.

Official Rules Of Chess

Written by the US Chess Federation, with edits by Tim Just and Daniel Burg, The Official Rules Of Chess is the only book written on the official rules of chess that is sanctioned by the USCF. The official rules of chess explain every legal move on the chess board, and give you guidelines on how to organize, direct and run tournaments, the official rules of chess book also has details on a fast rating system that the USCF uses. The official rules of chess has guidelines for internet chess and speed chess, it features all the latest chess rules since 2003 and even some tips on winning chess and how to read chess notation. The official rules of chess was designed to be a reference and guidebook, not a training book, the official rules of chess is the only chess rules book that was actually authored by the USCF. The USCF is the governing non-profit organization that is the governing body in the United States, they are devoted to extending the role of chess in the US, their belief is that the American society can be made better through chess. Published by Random House the official rules of chess is paperback, 370 pages, the official rules of chess can be pretty heavy reading but very informative and wastes no time beating around the bush, the official rules of chess cuts right to the bone and gives you the facts. The official rules of chess is definitely the best guide for tournaments, and older people who can handle heavy reading, official rules of chess is definitely not a good book for kids.

If you are looking for a good book for kids to learn chess with, Chess Rules For Students by Bruce Bain is the best one available, it is very affordable, paperback, and very destructible (it will last as long as the learning period usually). Chess rules for students teaches chess notation, chess moves, and has helpful diagrams all in 55 pages. This book is a good chess learning guide, but does nothing to develop chess tactics or strategy, so Bruce Bain has published two other chess books, one is a chess workbook called Chess Tactics For Students, this chess book mainly teaches through chess diagrams with chess theory to back it up, it is made much better than the other two books and will last a long time it is 228 pages of workbook with 435 selected problems, a lot more book for your dollar, the other chess book is Checkmate Ideas For Students, this chess book also is full of diagrams to help young learners how to play the game, it is not nearly as long (it is 55 pages) or as extensive of training as chess tactics for students but gives you much of the same information, but doesn't drill the info home like chess tactics for students, like chess rules for students, chess tactics for students is very destructible.

Plastic Chess Sets

Plastic chess sets are great for all types of chess. They aren’t easy to damage and stay like new for a long time. Generally speaking they are very user friendly.

This Basic Club Plastic Chess Set is inexpensive The king measures in at 3 ¾ tall with 1.5 inch felt base, the plastic chess pieces are light and durable making this plastic chess set great for travel.


These Weighted Tournament Plastic Chess Pieces are triple weighted and the whole chess set weighs in at a hefty 2 pounds! In addition this plastic chess set comes with extra queens of each color. You can’t go wrong with this heavy plastic set chess set.


The Quality Club Special Plastic Chess Pieces are the most widely used scholastic tournament chess set in the USA, this plastic chess set is solid and virtually indestructible! The chess pieces are standard 3 ¾ height with a dull finish.


This Executive Staunton Plastic Chess Set is beautiful! The chess pieces in this set are finely detailed and make a great living room chess set. This plastic chess set is so heavy that altogether the chess pieces weigh nearly 4 pounds! The king in this plastic chess set stands 3 7/8 inches tall. In addition this fine plastic chess set comes with extra queens.

The vinyl roll up board and carryall tournament chess bag, are great additions to these plastic chess sets.

Beginner Chess Books, Through To Intermediate.

“What would be a good beginner chess book for my child to learn from?” This is a frequently heard question that many people ask. In this posting I will give you the recommendations of experienced Chess Coaches.

For the complete beginner Chess Rules for Students is the book most recommended by Teachers and Coaches all over the US. for Beginner chess players It puts the game in simple perspective, explaining the rules so that anyone can understand the game, doubly so if you have a chessboard set up as you go through it. To top it off it is very inexpensive.


The Chess Tactics For Students workbook is a great beginner chess book. If the intended recipient of the book already knows the rules but not so keen on tactics this beginner chess book is the way to go. It is made in a workbook style for beginners forcing you to think out pre-made chess problems.


More advanced books isolate different parts of the game (such as the opening or strategies), for a player wishing to advance in certain fields the Winning Chess Series, authored
by International Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan, is a great choice they cover the Openings, Endgames, Tactics,
Strategies and much more, 6 titles in all.

Other Great Beginner Chess Books

The Best Chess Learning Software For Beginners To Intermediate!

TASC Chess Tutorial 2 (CD)

Best chess learning software
Would you like to become skilled at chess? This chess training program is designed for novice and intermediate ranked chess players. It teaches you the essentials on how the pieces move about step by step, until you reach highly developed strategies. Chess instructors and coach’s urge people to buy this software and recommend it for students to use at school or home!

A few years back this software sold for above $140. Now the software has been combined onto one CD and currently sells for an INCREDBLY affordable price. The tutor is extremely recommended and just as relevant as ever.

2600 chess positions instruct and test your chess one step at a time. Each one of the 5 steps in this chess tutor has multiple teaching and testing phases.

TASC Interactive Chess Tutorials: Five steps starting at Beginner leading you into Expert Chess! Each step contains instructive text, examples, and hundreds of thematic positions to solve. Each position offers aid by way of hints and guidance; the programs keep score for you, tracking your advancement in each section.

STEP 1: Rules and vital Skills. Great for children, beginners, and even veteran players interested in sharpening elementary skills.

STEP 2: Combinations and Opening Strategy. Slightly more advanced tactics and strategies, including some opening basics.

STEP 3: Defense and Planning. A guide to the tactics of defense and the basics of pawn structure and position based strategic planning.

STEP 4: King's Attack and Advanced Combos. Fairly complex tactical attacking ideas to test even the stronger players' skills.

STEP 5: Tactics, Strategy, and Endgames. The final chapter for those who aspire to mastery.
Requirements: Windows 3.x/95/98/NT4/2000/XP (English, German, French, Dutch). No installation required - runs from CD - scores and statistics are tracked.