Your One-Stop Online Shop for Chess Equipment

Looking for a dependable place to buy chess boards, pieces and accessories ? Welcome to chess-set.co.uk — your specialist online store for chess equipment, offering a wide variety of gear, from pocket-size magnetic sets to premium tournament boards and pieces.

Chess Boards: Materials, Sizes & Price Guide

Common Woods & Finishes

• Walnut & Maple – rich chocolate grains paired with pale sapwood for classic contrast.
• Mahogany & Sycamore – warm reddish tones with tight, uniform lines.
• Wenge & Birch – near-black squares against creamy white for contemporary interiors.
• Padauk – striking orange-red that deepens with age; often veneered to keep weights sensible.
• Ebony (Ebonised Boxwood) – jet-black elegance without the CITES paperwork.
• Rosewood & Sheesham – reddish-brown swirls beloved by collectors.
• Olive or Walnut Burl – dramatic marbling on luxury display boards.

Typical Chess-Board Price Range:

• Entry-level vinyl roll-ups
  – £7 – £20
  

• Veneered hardwood boards (15″ – 18″)
  – £70 – £120
  

• Solid luxury boards (21″ – 23″)
  – £200 – £400
  

• Hand-inlaid exhibition boards (24″ +)
  – £450 – £800 +
  

Board-to-Piece Size Guide

Chess Pieces: Names, Roles & Sizing

How Many Pieces in a Set?

A standard set contains 32 pieces—16 per side

• King × 1 — one square in any direction

• Queen × 1 — any number of squares, any direction

• Rooks × 2 — straight lines horizontally or vertically

• Bishops × 2 — diagonals only

• Knights × 2 — “L-shape” (two squares one way, then one square perpendicular)

• Pawns × 8 — forward 1 (or 2 on first move); capture one square diagonally

Piece Size Guide

Complete Chess Sets

What Exactly Is a Staunton Chess Set?

• Origin & Date – Introduced to the public on 29 September 1849 by the games-maker John Jaques of London. The design itself was registered earlier that year. 

• Designer vs. Namesake – Patent credited to illustrator Nathaniel Cooke, but the set was branded with the name of England’s top player of the era, Howard Staunton, who formally endorsed it.

• Immediate Impact – Its clean, easily recognisable silhouettes supplanted ornate “St George” and “Regence” styles, quickly becoming the preferred pieces for serious play throughout Europe and America

• Key Visual Features

  • Broad, felted bases for stability

  • Knight sculpted as a realistic stallion’s head

  • Bishop with a deep mitre slot

  • Distinct coronet-crowned queen and cross-topped king

• Practical Advantages – Standardised heights and weights make the pieces comfortable to handle, easy to manufacture, and simple to identify at a glance—critical for fast or competitive time controls.

• Modern Status – The Staunton pattern (or close derivatives) is mandatory for FIDE-rated events and remains the reference design for virtually all tournament equipment worldwide.

High-Quality Woods

Our wooden chess sets from Poland and India are fashioned by skilled artisans using quality hardwoods such as walnut, maple, and sycamore—selected for their strength and natural beauty. Meticulous hand-finishing across all pieces gives your board a crisp, distinctive character you’ll notice the moment you start playing.

How Much Does a Chess Set Cost?

• Plastic club kit with roll-up vinyl board
  – £15 – £30

• Mid-range wooden Staunton set on veneered board
  – £120 – £250

• Luxury triple-weighted ebony set with walnut board & storage box
  – £500 – £900 (varies with wood rarity and hand-carving labour)

What Is “Rule 35” in Chess Equipment?

• What it means – For a 45 mm square, the king’s base diameter should be no greater than 35 mm.

• Origin – A collector’s shortcut built from the official FIDE guideline that a king’s base be roughly 75 – 80 % of the square width (and 40 – 50 % of its own height).

• Why it matters – Keeping bases under the “35 mm on 45 mm” threshold prevents pieces from crowding files and ranks, reducing accidental knock-overs in fast play.

• How to use it – Apply the same 75–80 % rule to any board size:

  • 50 mm squares → king base ≈ 37–40 mm

  • 55 mm squares (tournament) → king base ≈ 41–44 mm

  • 60 mm squares → king base ≈ 45–48 mm

Magnetic, Electronic & Themed Equipment

Magnetic Travel Sets – Play Anywhere, Zero Slip

• Fold-up briefcase design (7–12″ closed): board halves latch shut, with a felt-lined cavity to store every piece.

• Rare-earth magnets in both base and square give a firm “click” that survives train jolts, café bumps, even light turbulence on flights.

• Weight & balance: kings average 18–25 g, heavy enough for blitz yet light enough for backpacks.

• Materials: injection-moulded ABS for budget kits; sheesham-and-boxwood or maple-and-walnut veneers for premium miniatures.

• Ideal users: commuters, students, holidaymakers, coaches running demo boards.

• Typical UK pricing (2025): £18–£30 for plastic 10″ kits, £60–£90 for hand-carved 12″ wood sets with algebraic notation.

Electronic Smart Boards – Stream, Train & Analyse

• DGT USB & Bluetooth: built-in reed-switch sensors detect every move; plug straight into Lichess, Chess.com, PlayChess, or broadcast PGNs to Twitch/YouTube.

• Supported models

  • DGT Smart Board – beech veneer, USB-C; LED rank-file coordinates for teaching.

  • DGT Pegasus – Bluetooth LE to mobile app; lithium-ion battery, 8 h on a charge.

  • DGT Bluetooth Ebony/Walnut – tournament-size 55 mm squares; pairs with DGT 3000 clock for fully FIDE-compliant e-scoring.

• Latency: < 0.1 s per move over USB; 0.3 s over BLE—practically imperceptible during blitz.

• Accessories: padded carry sleeve, piece-scanner for quick set-up, firmware updates via desktop app.

• Typical UK pricing (2025): £220–£280 for entry Smart Board, £500–£650 for full-size walnut tournament bundle.

Essential Accessories

Digital and analogue chess clocks (increment & delay). Felt-lined storage boxes to protect expensive knights. Silicone or leatherette roll-up boards for lessons. Scorebooks & pens compliant with FIDE Article 8. Board carry bags sized 21″–24″ with shoulder straps. Everything ships together under a single, transparent carriage charge.

A Short History of Chess

• 6th century CE · Chaturanga (India)
  Earliest ancestor played on an 8×8 board with four military divisions—infantry, cavalry, elephants and chariots—mirroring the future pawn, knight, bishop and rook.

• 7th – 9th centuries CE · Shatranj (Persia & Islamic world)
  Rules formalised; elephants become the short-range “al-fil”, and the king (shah) is now checkmated rather than captured, giving us the term “check”.

• 9th – 11th centuries CE · Spread into the Mediterranean
  Muslim Spain and Sicily transmit shatranj to Europe, where piece names are gradually Latinised and localised.

• Late 15th century · Birth of modern moves (Spain & Italy)
  Introduction of the long-range queen (formerly the slow “fers”) and bishop (diagonal al-fil), plus the two-square pawn advance, en-passant and castling—accelerating the game into its modern, tactical form.

• 18th century · Coffee-house & Romantic era
  Chess explodes in popularity across European cafés; open, sacrificial styles dominate and national masters emerge (Philidor, La Bourdonnais, Anderssen).

• 1849 · Staunton pattern launched (London)
  Jaques of London releases Nathaniel Cooke’s Staunton design, instantly setting the visual standard still required for FIDE events today.

• 1924 · FIDE founded (Paris)
  The International Chess Federation standardises rules worldwide and organises official World Championship cycles.

• 1997 · Deep Blue vs. Kasparov
  IBM’s super-computer beats reigning champion Garry Kasparov, ushering in the computer-analysis era now integral to training.

• 21st century · Online & AI revolution
  Platforms like Chess.com, Lichess and powerful engines (Stockfish, Leela) make grandmaster-level analysis free, while classical, rapid and blitz formats coexist in global hybrid events.

Top 10 Chess Players

• Magnus Carlsen — peak Elo 2882 (world #1, May 2014)

• Garry Kasparov — peak Elo 2856 (world #1, July 1999)

• Anatoly Karpov — peak Elo 2780 (world #1, July 1994)

• Bobby Fischer — peak Elo 2785 (world #1, July 1972) 

• Vladimir Kramnik — peak Elo 2817 (world #2, Oct 2016)

• Viswanathan Anand — peak Elo 2817 (world #1, Mar 2011) 

• Emanuel Lasker — World Champion (rank #1) 1894 – 1921; won title 1894 

• José Raúl Capablanca — World Champion (rank #1) 1921 – 1927; won title 1921

• Alexander Alekhine — World Champion (rank #1) 1927 – 1935, 1937 – 1946; won title 1927 

• Mikhail Botvinnik — World Champion (rank #1) 1948 – 1963; won title 1948

FAQ

Which wood is best for longevity?

Dense hardwoods like ebony and rosewood resist dents; budget buyers can choose sheesham for similar durability without premium cost.

Can I mix any pieces with any board?

Yes—just keep to the 75–80 % king-base-to-square rule (see sizing guide) to avoid cramped files.

Do magnetic sets feel “cheap”?

Not at all; modern neodymium magnets give a satisfying “click”. Many club players use them for analysis on trains and planes.

Are your products really handmade?

Our wooden chess boards and pieces are handcrafted in Poland and India.

How fast is delivery?

Usually 2-4 Business Days Shipping

Ready to Upgrade Your Game?

From a £20 starter kit to an £800 heirloom showpiece, Chess-Set.co.uk has the board, pieces and expertise to match your ambition. Browse our collections now and enjoy fast shipping, 30-day returns and friendly advice from real players.