From Mark Weeks,
Your Guide to Chess.
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Looking for a new chess set? Choosing a chess set can be a daunting task. A glance at the many hundreds of sets available offers few clues to the merits of the different sets.

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  All Chess Sets

The following links, all leading to the same [Compare Prices] service, classify the many sets according to their different characteristics.

Staunton Chess Sets

When people think of 'chess sets', they usually think of Staunton style sets. One reason for their enduring popularity is because they are the only chess sets that can be used in official chess tournaments. Even the Staunton sets have different characteristics between one set and another. Here are all of the Staunton sets seen together.

• All Staunton Chess Sets

Pay attention to the size of the pieces (usually indicated by the height of the King) and to the wood used for the light colored pieces ('White') and for the dark colored pieces ('Black'). Following are some of the different woods used in the manufacturing of sets, listed in rough order of popularity.

• Boxwood • Boxwood for the 'White' pieces; sometimes Ebonized Boxwood for 'Black'.
• Rosewood, Ebony, Sandalwood, and Sheesham • These woods are popular for the 'Black' pieces.

Another popular style is the travel set. These almost always use the Staunton pattern.

• Travel sets • The pieces are secured to the board with pegs or magnets.

Chess Sets Other than Staunton

If tournament play with your set is not a priority, there are other styles of sets. The following are historical sets that were used before the Staunton style was developed in the mid-19th century.

• Calvert Sets (1800-1850) • The Calvert pattern was popular before the introduction of the Staunton pattern.
• Lewis Sets (1150-1200) • Discovered on the Isle of Lewis (Outer Hebrides, Scotland) in 1831, the pattern was popularized by the Harry Potter films.

Theme/Themed Chess Sets

Themed chess sets are popular with collectors of chess sets and with collectors of the particular theme.

• Battle Themes • Battles of Hastings, Trafalgar, Troy, Waterloo, more...
• War Themes • American Civil War, Revolutionary War, more...
  
  
• Alice in Wonderland • The chess theme in the story makes this a natural theme for a chess set.
• Dinosaurs • The range of prices for a single theme can be enormous.
• Cats and Dogs • 'Natural enemies' like these house pets are often used to represent the opposing sides.
• Dragons, Endangered Species, and Foxes • Animal themes are always popular.
  
  
• Golf • Chess may be the ultimate 'Thinking Person's Game', but other games also stake a claim to the title.
• New York Yankees • Change the search term to find your favorite city or team.
  
  
• Hand Decorated Sets • Many of the finest theme sets are hand decorated.

For more theme set ideas, see our page 'Themed Chess Sets' in the link box.

Chess Set Manufacturers

These companies offer classic Staunton sets:

• Chiellini • Volterra, Italy
• Cambor • Cambor Enterprises, Grayson, GA, USA
• CHH • Arcadia, CA, USA
• MegaChess • San Clemente, CA, USA • Specialists in extra large sets.

These companies specialize in theme sets:

• Studio Anne Carlton • Hull, Yorkshire, U.K. • Specializing in theme sets for collectors.
• USAopoly • Carlsbad, CA, USA • Specializing in theme sets for sports, films, etc.

Accessories

Although our emphasis here is on chess sets, a set is useless without a board.

• Boards

And don't forget about the storage of your set.

• Boxes
• Pouches