Beginners
The Best Chess Sets for Beginners (and How to Choose One)
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The best first chess set is not the most beautiful one. It is a set you can read at a glance, that does not fall over when you knock a piece, and that matches the size of the sets you will meet at a club or tournament. Get those three things right and a cheap set will serve you for years. This guide explains what to look for, in the order that matters.
1. Choose Staunton-pattern pieces
Almost every serious set in the world uses the Staunton design, registered in 1849 by Nathaniel Cooke, made by the London firm Jaques and named after Howard Staunton, the leading English player of the day, who endorsed it. FIDE's equipment standards call for Staunton-style pieces in official play. The shapes are designed to be told apart instantly: the king has a cross, the queen a coronet, the bishop a mitre with a cut, the knight a horse's head.
Themed sets (movie characters, fantasy figures, abstract art pieces) make nice gifts, but they slow you down and teach your eye the wrong shapes. Every diagram, book and screen you study from uses Staunton-style symbols, so learn on Staunton pieces.
2. Get the standard size: 3.75-inch king, 2.25-inch squares
The set you will see at almost every chess club and scholastic tournament in the United States has a king about 3.75 inches tall on a board with 2.25-inch squares. FIDE recommends a king of about 9.5 cm (3.74 inches), so the two standards meet at the same size. Practising on this size means nothing feels strange when you sit down at a club.
The pieces and the board have to fit each other. A good rule of thumb is that the king's base should fill roughly three-quarters of a square, so that pieces do not crowd each other and you can still pick one up cleanly. If you buy pieces and a board separately, check both measurements: a 3.75-inch king belongs on 2.25-inch squares; a smaller travel set needs a smaller board.
Search for tournament chess sets (3.75-inch king, 2.25-inch squares) on Amazon
3. Plastic, weighted pieces are the smart first buy
Plastic tournament pieces are cheap, almost unbreakable and exactly what clubs use. Look for two details:
- Weighting. Sets are sold as single, double or triple weighted, meaning a metal weight is set into the base. Weighted pieces stay upright when the board gets bumped and feel far better in the hand. Double or triple weighted is worth the small extra cost.
- Felt or rubber bases. They protect the board and make pieces slide quietly.
A common "club set" bundle contains a full set of weighted plastic pieces, a roll-up board and a carry bag. It is the single most useful chess purchase a beginner can make, because it goes to the club, the park and the kitchen table.
Search for weighted club chess sets with a roll-up board on Amazon
4. Pick a board you can read
Roll-up vinyl or silicone boards are the club standard. Silicone lies flat faster after being rolled; vinyl is cheaper. Green and white (or green and buff) is the most common tournament colour scheme, and a matte surface keeps glare off the squares under bright lights. Boards with algebraic coordinates (a to h, 1 to 8) printed around the edge are a real help while you are learning chess notation.
Search for roll-up chess boards with 2.25-inch squares on Amazon
5. When a wooden set makes sense
A wooden set is the right choice for a set that lives on display at home or as a gift. Some useful vocabulary when shopping:
- Boxwood is the classic light wood for the white pieces.
- Ebony is the traditional dark wood, and expensive. Ebonized means boxwood stained black, which looks similar for much less.
- Sheesham (Indian rosewood) and acacia are common, affordable dark woods.
Apply the same size rules as for plastic: a 3.75-inch king on 2.25-inch squares for a full-size set. Avoid folding wooden boards with very small squares sold with large pieces; they look fine in photos and are frustrating to play on.
Search for wooden Staunton chess sets on Amazon
6. Travel and magnetic sets
A small magnetic folding set is handy for trains, flights and working through a book on the sofa. Its pieces are tiny, so treat it as a second set, not your main one.
Search for magnetic travel chess sets on Amazon
7. Add a clock when you start playing timed games
Once you play with friends or at a club, a digital chess clock turns casual games into real practice. Choose one that supports both increment (time added after each move, used in most FIDE and online play) and delay (a few seconds counted before your own time starts to run, common in US Chess events). Our guide to time controls and clocks explains both.
Search for digital chess clocks on Amazon
What to skip
- Pieces with no weighting and no felt. They tip over and scratch the board.
- Glass sets. Beautiful, but the two sides are hard to tell apart, and they chip.
- Mismatched sizes. Pieces that overhang their squares cause constant knocked-over pieces.
- Small sets for young children. Tiny pieces can be a choking hazard; check the age label, and full-size pieces are easier for small hands anyway.
Set it up correctly
Two quick checks every time: the board goes with a light square in each player's right-hand corner ("light on the right"), and each queen starts on her own colour, so the white queen goes on d1 and the black queen on d8. Our page on how the pieces move covers the rest of the setup and rules.
Key takeaways
- Staunton-pattern pieces, a 3.75-inch king and 2.25-inch squares: the size you will meet at any club.
- Weighted plastic pieces with felt bases plus a roll-up board is the best-value first set.
- Buy wood for display or gifts, and a magnetic set for travel, as extras.
- Add a digital clock with increment and delay once you start playing timed games.
No set yet? You can play the computer or pass and play on this site for free while you wait for yours to arrive.