Buying a chess set: how to choose

The shelves

The pieces

The Staunton pattern

Staunton pieces are the classic chess pieces: the king with a cross on top, the queen with a crown and the bishop with a notch in its head. The design came out in England in 1849, was first sold by Jaques of London and was named after Howard Staunton, one of the strongest players of his day. FIDE's rules call for the Staunton pattern in tournament play, and require the tops of the king and the queen to be clearly different, and those of the bishop and the pawn too.

The size

FIDE's rules for tournament equipment give the height of each piece:

The heights may vary by up to 10 percent, as long as the pieces keep the right order of height. The base should be 40–50 percent of the piece's height. So a king of 86 mm, like the one in the DGT Starter Box, is within the limits. At home smaller pieces are fine, as long as they fit the board.

Weighted pieces

Weighted pieces have extra weight in the base. They stand more firmly and feel better in the hand, and felt underneath lets them glide quietly across the board. FIDE requires pieces to stay standing if the board is tilted about 30 degrees, and to have felt or another quiet, non-slip material underneath. If the description says weighted and felt, that is a good sign.

Wood or plastic

FIDE accepts both wood and plastic. Plastic survives a fall to the floor and costs less. Wood feels warmer in the hand. Light wooden pieces are often boxwood, maple or sycamore, dark ones rosewood, walnut or stained wood. If it says ebonized, the wood has been stained dark to look like ebony; it isn't ebony.

The board

FIDE says the squares on a tournament board should be 5–6 cm (2–2.4 inches) and that four pawns should fit on one square. A common rule of thumb among sellers is that the king's base should take up about three quarters of the square, 75–80 percent of its width. That rule isn't FIDE's, but it gives a set where the pieces neither crowd each other nor look lost.

The surface should be matte, so that it doesn't shine. The contrast should be clear but calm: FIDE mentions light against brown, and wants even someone who is color-blind to be able to tell the squares apart. Rubber or felt underneath keeps the board in place. Letters and numbers around the edge help when you are learning notation, but FIDE's rules say nothing about them.

• Roll-up boards in vinyl or silicone are cheap, tough and fit in a bag. FIDE's rules ask for tournament boards of natural wood, so a roll-up board can have FIDE's square size but not its material.
• Folding boards in wood or cardboard are easy to put away. A folding wooden board can also be the box for the pieces.
• A wooden board is the most beautiful and the heaviest. It stays put and lasts a long time.

Five real chess boards, from roll-up to bird's-eye maple.

The clock

Analog or digital

An analog chess clock has two faces and a small flag that falls when the minute hand reaches the hour. FIDE requires a mechanical clock to have such a flag. An analog clock can't add time after each move. Many digital clocks can, but not all: look for the words increment, bonus or Fischer.

An increment per move

With an increment, also called bonus or Fischer, a player gets a few extra seconds after every move. To be approved by FIDE, a digital clock must have built-in settings for, among others, 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per move, and blitz with 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move. If you are going to play rapid or blitz, an increment is worth having, even at home.

FIDE's register

FIDE keeps a register of equipment that has passed its technical review. When we read it on October 28, 2026, the digital clocks on it were: DGT 2010, DGT 2500, DGT XL, DGT 3000, Leap KK9908, Leap KK9909, CE Clock, Sistemco and Silver Timer. At home it doesn't matter whether your clock is on the list.

Five real chess clocks, from the simplest to an analog classic.

The books

Someone learning chess gets the most out of a book with plenty of diagrams and exercises to solve. Children do best with a book written for them; adults who know the rules can go straight to the classics. Many older chess books write the moves in descriptive notation (P-K4 where today's books write e4), so check the edition.

Six real chess books, for children, beginners and anyone who wants to go further.

What suits whom?

Our view, with links to the shelves:

How the pieces move and which way the board faces are explained in the chess rules.