What should I look for when buying a quality chess set?

Question

Makers, styles and woods...

Answer 1

Here's a site with a nice selection of sets...

http://www.wholesalechess.com/store/ches...

Also check out the links to "Wood Sets" , "Premier Collection", "Travel Chess Sets" and the "House of Staunton" link

You can also google "chess sets" or "Theme chess sets" and you'll get lots of links to sites that offer every kind of set you can imagine.

You should look for a set that is attractive (doesn't have to be fancy, it can be pretty "plain" but still look sharp).

The squares of the board should not be brightly colored (unless you're buying a set for show, and not to play on).  You've probably seen the "tournament" boards that have the green and tan squares... these colors together are very easy on the eyes.

The pieces should be sized nicely for the squares.  Having pieces that are way too large or way too small for the squares can make it harder to read the board accurately.  Most sets are pretty nicely sized though, this is rarely an issue unless you try to play on one board with pieces from another set.

The pieces of a good quality set are "weighted" to help with stability. Makes then harder to tip over if your table is disturbed by someone bumping into it (or accidentally bumping the table leg with your own leg or foot).  Again, this is usually not a problem unless you get a really, really cheap set with hollow plastic pieces, and I'm sure that's not what you're looking for.

But above all, get a set that YOU like, and that fits in your price range.  This "rule" applies regardless of whether you're getting the set to play on regularly or to put on display.

Have fun searching...there are thousands upon thousands of sets out there... find the one (or ones) that you look and go for it!

Answer 2

i play chess but im not a nerd dont worry look for a good sturdy board legs if u want so u can see it better if ur playin on the floor get a good type of wood for the pieces i once got glass pieces trust me it didnt work (: one more thing

When comparing prices, please remember that many chess pieces come in a storage box standard. You do not need to pay extra for this.

Answer 3

That depends on your goal:

A tournament set IS high quality for tournaments, but is NOT something you'd display as art.

An artistic set will look pretty, but can easily get broken by children.  But these are terrible for tournaments because the shapes of the pieces differ and cause confusion.

A magnetic board/set is great for travel but not for display.

My husband has at least 10 chessboards.  Two are tournament sets with clocks and roll up boards.  We would never set these out as art.

He also has a Chinese set, a Russian Christmas set, a Roman set, the Civil War set...  that are definitely display models.  We don't really play the game with them.  And he would certainly never travel with them.

Answer 4

lamae said it right! Buy the set that is playable for you!

As a note, I only bought a separate travel box for the pieces for the extra protection of my "park" playing tourney pieces.

If you are looking just to spend money on the best chess sets made......

In my opinion there is no Stradivarius of the chess board world that every player would recognize! However there are a few "carvers" out there that are worth a look.

A site I have used to find several is

http://thechesspiece.com

Many others out there.