Chess Sets for Club & Tournament Play
Plastic chess pieces for club and tournament play
the following are several (plastic) sets which I consider to be above average in quality and appearance, offered by reputable chess dealers.....(click text under pieces for more info)...
Bobby Fischer Ultimate Chess Pieces (V3)**
Legend Alegria Staunton Chess Set
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Note: all of the companies mentioned in this article are USA-based online/internet stores and are reputable chess equipment retailers which I have purchased sets from, and have generally been very pleased with their products and service. As far as I am aware, all of the plastic chess pieces mentioned are made in China, including the sets depicted above. Virtually all wood sets are made in India All of the retailers cited here offer both plastic and wood sets/pieces, boards and chess equipment.
More choices from these sellers...
The Chess Store...
https://thechessstore.com/plastic-chess-pieces/
House of Staunton...
https://www.houseofstaunton.com/chess-pieces/plastic-chess-pieces.html
Raphael Neff's ChessHouse...
Shelby Lohrman's (aka 'Chess Gorilla') American Chess Equipment and Rochester Chess Center...
Dennis Peterson's Legend Products has received good reviews on Chess.com.....I recommend to check out The "Alegria" set and the "Legend Staunton - King's Indian" plastic set...
https://www.legendproduct.com/index.html
Wholesale Chess...
https://www.wholesalechess.com/chess-pieces.html
ChessUSA...
United States Chess Federation (USCF)...
https://www.uscfsales.com/chess-pieces.html
Note that the better pieces are weighted - usually double- or triple-weighted - for enhanced feel and stability.
Chess Set Sizing - Pieces vs Board...
The primary sizing criteria for the set and board is that of square size vs King base diameter...
A good rule of thumb is...
King base diameter = 0.75 * square size
or equivalently....
Square size = 1.33 * King base diameter
For example, for a board with 2.25 inch squares, King base = 2.25*0.75 = 1.6875 inches
For 50 mm squares boards, King base = 50*0.75 = 37.5mm = 1.4764 inches (1 inch = 25.4mm)
Any variation from these ratios, or the size/height of individual pieces and pawns becomes a matter of personal preference...
http://blog.chesshouse.com/how-to-select-the-right-size-chessboard-for-pieces/
The FIDE Manual, Sections 2 & 3, also specifies board and pieces sizes (i.e., for official FIDE events)...
https://www.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/Standards_of_Chess_Equipment_and_tournament_venue.pdf
Chess Board Dimensions | Basics and Guidelines...
https://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-board-dimensions
Rollup Chess Boards
I recommend either the regulation vinyl rollup boards or a relatively recent product - the 'Flexpad' board, which has a cloth playing surface and rubber backing (similar to a mousepad) and can be rolled up (or folded for short periods, without creasing or wrinkling) for storage and transport.
The Flexpad chess boards are offered by Raphael Neff's Chess House and by Shelby Lohrman's American Chess Equipment...
https://www.chesshouse.com/products/flex-pad-club-chess-board
https://www.chesshouse.com/collections/club-style-chess-boards
https://amchesseq.com/collections/tournament-chess-boards
Additional commentary and perspective on roll up boards....
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/new-mousepad-chess-boards
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/the-chess-house-flex-pad-club-board
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/light-blue-roll-up-board
If you get a vinyl roll-up board, I recommend those with a cloth backing - this inhibits wrinkling. Also be sure to roll up these boards with the PLAYING SQUARES OUTWARD as shown in the following photo, and store it in a cardboard mailing tube - this will prevent wrinkling and creasing, and ensure that it lays flat for playing...
https://www.chesshouse.com/collections/club-style-chess-boards/products/20-vinyl-roll-up-chess-board?variant=32275371329
The mailing tube should be at least 2 inches longer than the dimensions of the board to accommodate the plastic end-cap inserts which typically come with it.
Cardboard Mailing Tubes...for rollup board storage.....
Note that the canvas "tubes" sold by many chess retailers will not work as well as stiff cardboard or plastic tubes which are structurally rigid and so are able to more effectively protect and constrain the rolled board from creasing, wrinkling or warping....
https://envelopes.jampaper.com/search?p=Q&lbc=jampaper&uid=20620283&ts=custom&w=tube&isort=score&method=and&view=grid&af=size:2x24
https://erdie.com/pages/twist-n-pull-mailing-and-shipping-tubes
https://store.yazoomills.com/custom-mailing-tubes/heavy-duty-kraft-tubes
Dennis Peterson's Legend Products sells a cardboard tube for roll-up boards (they do not give the dimensions, but it has to be at least 2" x 22", or so, in order to accommodate the standard size roll-up board).....located under products - equipment - storage tubes....price is $USD7.95 plus $USD7.00 shipping...
https://www.legendproduct.com/index.html
Raphael Neff's Chess House informed me that although a cardboard tube is not a product that they normally feature on their website, they will sell one to anyone who contacts them and wishes to purchase one (dimensions = 2" x 24") . Also any purchase of a roll-up board is typically shipped in a cardboard mailing tube. If this is your preference, I suggest to always confirm it with the seller, just to be certain.
Custom Solid Wood Chess Boards.....these makers have received very good reviews...
ColoradoWoodWorker (Brad Borkowski - ETSY - USA)...
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ColoradoWoodWorker
You can check out the board that CWW made for me (my post on 10 March 2017)...
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/cb-gm-blitz-set?page=4
SakisTsiogkasWood (Athanasios Tsiogkas - ETSY - Greece)...
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SakisTsiogkasWood?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=949004808
Analysis Sets...
https://www.houseofstaunton.com/analysis-chess-set-board-combination.html
https://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-marshall-series-analysis-chess-combination.html
https://www.wholesalechess.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=analysis
the following wood pieces (2.5 in. King height, 1-in. base) will work well with boards with 1-1/8" (1.125") to 1-3/8" (1.375") squares...
https://www.chessusa.com/product/20-D09.html
e.g., the wood pieces above (1-in. base) will work well with the following boards (1.25 - 1.375 in. squares)...
https://amchesseq.com/collections/wooden-chess-boards/products/classic-walnut-chess-board-12-inches?variant=7564856787002
Chess Clocks......a variety of recommendations and opinions...
Note: many of the following articles contain commentary by Chess.com subscriber 'Eyechess'. It is my opinion from reading many of his posts on the topic that he is very knowledgeable about the recent, digital/electronic chess clocks, which are the primary focus of most of the following articles. He is not a collector of antique and/or vintage analog chess clocks, so he does not generally comment on these (Chess.com subscriber 'cgrau' appears to be the resident Chess.com collector/expert of the old/vintage analog clocks). Note also that, as might expected of the Chess.com forums, there are differing (occasionally heated) opinions expressed regarding the various clocks...
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/dgt-2500-the-new-official-fide-chess-clock
https://www.chess.com/article/view/an-introduction-to-chess-clocks
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/what-is-the-best-chess-clock-on-the-market-today
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/best-chess-clock-in-2020
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/2016/09/02/time-for-a-new-clock/
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/v-tek-300-chess-clock-review?page=1
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/chess-clocks18
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** On A Personal Note...
Of the plastic sets cited above I prefer the triple-weighted Bobby Fischer Ultimate Chess Pieces (V3). (aka 'Ultimate Chess Pieces', aka 'Ultimates') The set was created by Shelby Lohrman (@ShelbyLohrman on Chess.com) who currently runs the Rochester Chess Center (from which the set can be purchased). Over the years, the set has been produced in several versions, where each version was of a different color [V1='off-white'; V2=yellow; V3 (the current version)='appliance-white']. The set has been sold by various resellers, including Amazon. I believe the V1 and V2 versions are no longer available, except possibly as "pre-owned". The Bobby Fischer Ultimate Pieces is a superb plastic set for casual, club or tournament play. For feel, weight, durability and overall playability you will not (IMO) find a better set.
On the other hand...
A set which I purchased in 1989, and still own....
Cavalier #1491 - by Pacific Game Co.
In terms of overall quality, craftsmanship and aesthetics, IMO I believe this to be the best plastic set ever made.
Unfortunately, the set has long ago gone out of production. I'm pretty sure that Pacific Game Co. does not even exist today. There were several models of Cavalier sets produced by Pacific Game Co., but the #1491 set was by far the best quality of them all. You can occasionally find them for sale on the internet, but the #1491 is a rarity - it has become a collector's item...
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/cavalier-1491-tournament-set
I would call it "The Queen of Plastic Chess Sets" - regal, elegant, graceful. Clearly, the knight is the signature piece...
The Cavalier #1491 set...
The set came in several different boxes depending on year of purchase....I believe the blue cardboard box is for the original sets of the 1960's & '70's...
The brown sliding top bakelite box which came with my #1491 set in 1989...
Below, Garry Kasparov playing with Pacific Game Co. Cavalier #1491 set in 1988....
From “American Gambit” – A documentary video of Garry Kasparov playing a simul against six of America's top junior players of 1988. The six juniors were - Daniel Edelman, Alex Fishbein, Ilya Gurevich, Stuart Rachels, Vivek Rao, and Patrick Wolff. Patrick Wolf was the only junior to beat Kasparov.
The following is an excerpt from the documentary video of that simul. See the Cavalier #1491 pieces in action @ minute 8:21-9:03, during the post mortem following his game with Stuart Rachels who later tied for first place in the 1989–90 U.S. Chess Championship...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c540&v=qChazvEx_IA&feature=emb_logo
Bobby Fischer and GM Larry M. Evans (5-time U.S. Chess Champion and 4-time U.S. Open Chess Champion) playing with Pacific Game Co. No.1491 Cavalier Set.....in 1971 at Manhattan Chess Club I believe...
House of Staunton has produced a copy of the Cavalier #1491 set in wood. They call it the Capablanca series...
https://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-capablanca-series-luxury-pieces-4-king.html
Chessbazaar had also reproduced the Cavalier #1491 set in wood....not sure if it is still available...
An interesting Chess.com forum post about the Pacicific Game Co. No. 1491 Cavalier Chess Pieces...
Cavalier #1491 Tournament set by Ronbo710...
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/cavalier-1491-tournament-set
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