Typically, what you get for under a hundred dollars is a chessboard consisting of super thin veneer glued on top of a base. If you ever bang or nick the top edges you will see a whitish edge where the materials join together. This modernish construction from Poland, China, or Spain may look good, but it is not real wood. This chess board from India is not made that way. It has a half inch thick solid wood frame along the edges, made of sheesham wood, which is attached to the side of a backer board of a little less height. Solid wood squares of sheesham and a white wood are glued into place on top of the backerboard, so that the top surface becomes level.. In order not to see the constructed bottom and to provide protection for any table, the bottom is covered with felt. Now, this is not the same construction as a true solid hardwood chessboard in which the squares are the same thickness as the frame border. When you flip over that construction, it looks basically the same on the other side, if the bottom side is finished also. Such a hardwood chessboard is excellent and all solid wood, but it is very expensive. This chessboard from India is not shiny, which can be distracting, but has a nice finish. The squares on top are not perfectly placed, but it not too obvious. I consider this board to be a great value at under $100, with its solid 1/2" wood border and real wood squares glued on top of a backer board.