Chess set recommendation...

[Big Rig]

Hi, I need a chess set for a 10 year old. He's a great player, is now playing for the county. Currently has a cheap plastic folding board set.

This will be for Christmas so I want to get him something nice.

I've found this company, but there's so many to choose from I am totally lost. Happy to spend up to £200.

https://www.regencychess.co.uk/traditional-chess-s...

Can anyone advise please?

[Thin White Duke]

This info from chess.com may be of help.

https://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-board-dim...

The chess sets on the page you linked all look excellent. I'd be happy to own any one of those.

[anonymous-user]

Big Rig said:

Hi, I need a chess set for a 10 year old. He's a great player, is now playing for the county. Currently has a cheap plastic folding board set.

This will be for Christmas so I want to get him something nice.

I've found this company, but there's so many to choose from I am totally lost. Happy to spend up to £200.

https://www.regencychess.co.uk/traditional-chess-s...

Can anyone advise please?

I remember as a child having two chess sets within the family.
One was the standard size with folding board which meant having to find space to set it up and the other one was a travelling chess set which seemed to get used the most, similar to the in the pictures below.
This one looks a bit ”cheap” but if the idea grabs you it might be worth look.

[CopperBolt]

Resist any and all temptation to get a Lord of the Rings/Harry Potter/Dinosaur themed set. Stick with the Staunton style pieces as featured in the link above.

[Greenmantle]

for me vintage is the way to go
have a look at
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_fss=1&_sasl...
just don't buy the one I have my eye on.

[akirk]

Prices will probably be similar from most places. The ebay route is good if you strike lucky, but there are also many shops - one of the go to places is chess.co.uk (they are the chess and bridge shop in Baker street, London). so compare them as well...

things to look for:

Pieces
- Staunton is the standard chess set style - don't go for anything else e.g. character sets etc.
- best brand name in the business is Jacques so buying a Jacques Staunton set will usually be okay! (jacques name should be on the pieces)
- older or better quality sets will sometimes have a red crown on one each of the knights / rooks for each colour - to show king's knight / king's rook)
- wood - standard / tradition is boxwood for the 'white' pieces and ebony for the 'black' pieces - they are now expensive woods (esp. ebony) so you may find at your price point that the dark pieces are either 'ebonised' boxwood, or a mahogany / rosewood / type of wood...
- size of pieces - ideally competition is c. 3.75" for the king (the piece which determines size) - you can get bigger or smaller, but worth going competition size if you can...
- the better sets will come with 34 pieces as they have two extra queens (i.e. two in each colour) for when you queen a pawn...
something like this set would be the pinnacle of sets - proper ebony / triple-weighted / 3.75" / crown marked knights and rooks / extra queens... - totally understand that it is pushing the price you have set out and for set only (though comes in close to £200 after the 20% off) - but would be a set for life...
https://royalchessmall.com/en-gb/collections/staun... (though for those who are uber-fussy, these are India made pieces - but not sure I think that is an issue if the quality is good... fun video of how they make the pieces here for him to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGIRxX68jS0

Board
- size of board - no smaller than 2" for the squares - and a 2" border = 20" minimum - ideally a 4" border = 24"
- weighting of pieces - used to be categorised as not weighted / single / double / treble - now tends to be a weight for the king - they are weighted by having lead inserted in the base and then felted over the top - the heavier the weight, the nicer to play with (within reason) - they feel more substantial and more serious! There is no standard other than a need for them to be comfortable to move.
- board in your price range will probably be veneers which shouldn't be an issue - if this is a life-long hobby then consider something better in the future (I had a chess table made for me when I was 21 - british oak with sycamore and walnut squares - the squares are 1/2" thick, not veneers has lasted well over 30+ years!)

you can meet the standards quite cheaply - you will pay more for:
- quality of woods
- weight of pieces
- size of pieces
- hand made v. machine made

other things to consider:
- chess clocks are fun to have and useful to learn if he doesn't already have one
- chesskids.com is a great site if not already on there - and then chess.com for the adult site...

lots of books out there (I have bought 'how to beat your dad at chess' for lots of friends kids, but he might be beyond that!)

what a lovely present though...

(FIDE standards: https://handbook.fide.com/files/handbook/C02Standa...

Edited by akirk on Thursday 2nd November 13:45

[C5_Steve]

CopperBolt said:

Resist any and all temptation to get a Lord of the Rings/Harry Potter/Dinosaur themed set. Stick with the Staunton style pieces as featured in the link above.

You mean the DC Heroe's and Villains set I have at home is no good

[Drumroll]

have you thought about having a bespoke set made?

[iphonedyou]

I always thought the Official Staunton stuff (or a lot of it) looked good, if that's of interest?

https://www.officialstaunton.com/

[akirk]

iphonedyou said:

I always thought the Official Staunton stuff (or a lot of it) looked good, if that's of interest?

https://www.officialstaunton.com/

worth noting that there is nothing 'official' about the Official Staunton company
Staunton is a shape of chess sets introduced originally by Jacques of London - so if anyone ever had claim to the name it might have been them - however it has also become the generic chess set shape and the official shape of FIDE etc. (there is no trademark in the UK for staunton for chess)

Interesting little forum thread here on the subject: https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/w...

Most chess sets now are made in India, and very likely by the same source manufacturers, or those of a similar standard - so ultimately once you get above a certain level of quality (hand made v. machine made etc.) then it is down to what you like / price

[Thin White Duke]

C5_Steve said:

You mean the DC Heroe's and Villains set I have at home is no good

I have one of those frosted glass sets in storage. Doubt I'll ever use it as I hate the look of it. Also no one can ever fully agree on which glass pieces are white or black. For me I'd say the frosted "darker" pieces are black and the clear "lighter" pieces are white. But for everyone who agrees with that, there is someone who says the opposite.

[iphonedyou]

akirk said:

worth noting that there is nothing 'official' about the Official Staunton company
Staunton is a shape of chess sets introduced originally by Jacques of London - so if anyone ever had claim to the name it might have been them - however it has also become the generic chess set shape and the official shape of FIDE etc. (there is no trademark in the UK for staunton for chess)

Interesting little forum thread here on the subject: https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/w...

Most chess sets now are made in India, and very likely by the same source manufacturers, or those of a similar standard - so ultimately once you get above a certain level of quality (hand made v. machine made etc.) then it is down to what you like / price

Just the name of the company. I wouldn't overthink it.

[akirk]

iphonedyou said:

Just the name of the company. I wouldn't overthink it.

not over-thinking it just that where a company makes a claim in their name which doesn't appear to be something they can substantiate, then it raises questions…

[lizardbrain]

If it were me I'd want a sturdy flat board with some border and nice inlay like this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Engelhart-Luxury-inlaid-C...

Once you go over 100 you get into weird stuff by looks of things. So if the money is burning a hole, perhaps also get a nice chess clock and a couple of books?

[foreright]

I like the Dubrovnik style pieces personally - if money wasn't a consideration I'd be looking at these or something similar: https://royalchessmall.com/en-gb/products/1950s-fi... - As it is, money IS a consideration so I have plastic ones instead haha.

I tend to use a set from that site the OP originally posted - the "fierce knight" ones: https://www.regencychess.co.uk/fierce-knight-shees... - They are traditionally shaped with a slightly modified knight and small enough that I can keep a set out without it taking up too much room.

Edited by foreright on Friday 3rd November 22:31

[Origin Unknown]

OP, any interest in making a chess set yourself? I made a board and pieces for my son's 12th birthday a couple of months back, the board is straightforward enough, the pieces a lot harder, but there would be nothing stopping you from just creating the board and buying pieces.

[Digger]

foreright said:

I like the Dubrovnik style pieces personally - if money wasn't a consideration I'd be looking at these or something similar: https://royalchessmall.com/en-gb/products/1950s-fi... As it is, money IS a consideration so I have plastic ones instead haha.

I tend to use a set from that site the OP originally posted - the "fierce knight" ones: https://www.regencychess.co.uk/fierce-knight-shees... They are traditionally shaped with a slightly modified knight and small enough that I can keep a set out without it taking up too much room.

You need to remove the full stops at the end of both of those links to work.

[ecsrobin]

Origin Unknown said:

OP, any interest in making a chess set yourself? I made a board and pieces for my son's 12th birthday a couple of months back, the board is straightforward enough, the pieces a lot harder, but there would be nothing stopping you from just creating the board and buying pieces.

Going off topic but my father had a CNC’d set made for him as a leaving present. Sadly he passed away before retiring though.

[Keypad]

If there's any money left over in the budget, I'd suggest getting a cheapish travelling set as well.

As a youngster in my chess club we'd play through classic games. Normally the books show why a particular line should or should not have been played. But when you follow thatalternate line for more than a few moves, it's really difficult to get back to where you started from. It can get really frustrating! With a second set (e.g. the travelling set) such lines can be followed without losing track of the actual play.

And it'll double up as useful on long car journeys, etc.

[silverfoxcc]

I built three boards for my Dad, FiL and myself. Really enjoyed doing them and easier than you might think. however i did draw the line at tge think edge inlays!!!