Six Inch King - Too Big?

Hello all - first post here after joining recently.

I'm in the market for an heirloom chess set, and had zeroed in on sets with 4" kings. Seems logical to make my beautiful set the same size as my tournament set.

That being said, HOS has a magnificent set at 1/2 price with a six inch king for less than the same set with a four inch king.

While I love me a good bargain, I worry that a set of that size would be so large as to hinder my enjoyment of the game. I've played on a 3.75 inch Staunton set that my father owned for the past 30 years, so even a 4 inch set is a step up for me.

What do you think? Am I right in thinking that a six-inch king set would be just a bit too big?

Thanks,

GAD

where are you, 'flags?

I'm sorry, but I don't know what that means.

The size does not matter

It's not how big your "king" is, its how you use it.

To answer: Personally, for half the price, I would get a twelve-inch king.

It's too big for general use, you'd need a massive board which would entail uncomfortable reaches.

Sorry. Seriously, I have a hand-carved set with a 6-inch king and don't like to play with it but leave it set up to admire.

Thanks guys, both for the information and the humor. I think I'll like it here. :)

Way too big. 3,75" is the optimal size, with the squares at 50-55mm, for a good overview of the board.

Six inches would have your eyes and head working overtime, while the pieces are also crowding your line of sight. 4" and 4.4" are also workable. You'll also find that pieces that large are cumbersome to move around during analysis.

When Kramnik was to play in Elista, he nixed the suggested pieces for being too large. The organizers had wanted something imposing. They ended up with the 3.75" pieces that have become standard for tournament play.