Best Chess Set For Beginners and Experts

Are you looking forward to buying the best chess set? Well, you have come to the right place.

Games bring people together and also increase thinking capacity in real life. Chess is considered as a test of your strategic analysis, wit, and patience against the opponent, termed as checkmate. Despite the decade-long history of computer chess games, chessboard games are still a popular pick. Chess is not only a great hobby but also helps to improve children’s learning ability as well as social skills.

In this post, we have listed some of the most popular and best chess sets to suit different budgets as well as preferences.

Best Chess Set For a Fun Match

Here are our favorite picks for different types of chess boards and pieces from Amazon.

Chess Armory 15″ Wooden Chess Set

This is the best and most popular chess set on Amazon currently. This wooden chess board set comes with inlaid walnut and playing pieces in Staunton style. The compartments for storing playing pieces feature felt inlay that adds a nice touch. The chessboard is 15 X 15, and the king is 3″ in height. This is the perfect chess set for adults as well as kids as young as three years old, thanks to its classic design.

Quadro Magnetic Travel Chess Set

If you are looking for the best magnetic chess set, then your search is over. Quadro Magnetic chess board is not only amazing but also cheaper compared to other magnetic chess sets. The playing pieces are made of HIPS plastic with a smooth texture and are lightweight and portable. The chessboard is perfectly sized and is appropriate for both kids and adults to play comfortably.

Smart Tactics 16″ Folding Chess Set

This is another best wooden chess set for kids that the USA Toy Safety Standards test. The wooden chess board is made of new Zealand, basswood, and walnut veneer and is certified by FSC for its quality. The chessboard is 16′ featuring velvet-lined compartments to keep pieces, and it folds easily, allowing easy storage.

SUPER MARIO Chess Set

We all love Super Mario; it is a special part of everyone’s childhood. So, it should not come as a surprise that this Super Mario collection is one of the cool chess sets on Amazon. It comes with 32 custom-made and hand-painted Super Mario Bros, chess pieces, and also a customized Super Mario board. It comes in collectible tin packaging, making it environmentally friendly. If your kids or friends are a fan of Super Mario, this is the best chess set to gift them.

CHC Dragon Chess Set

This is one of the unique chess sets on our list and also the best glass chess set on Amazon. This is made with a partial glass construction and looks so exotic and elegant that it can also be used for decorative purposes in your living room, office or study. The checkboard is made into 13.5-inch superior quality solid-glass engraved in a stone base.

The museum-like antique design of CHC Dragon chess sets makes them a true masterpiece. There is a lot of craftsmanship involved in the construction. It not only looks like a stunning piece of art but is also durable at the same time. This is the reason why it is one of the priciest glass chess set on the market. If you love antique and vintage-themed items, this one surely belongs in your chess sets.

Avant-Garde Glass Chess Set

Do you want to bring some elegant yet modern touch to your chess set? If this is the case with you, it’s time to purchase this Avant-Grande chess set. This modern chess set has a classy design and consists of a glass and frost set with a mirror board. This chess set will get you plenty of compliments from your friends and family members.

This is the best chess set food of any rank of players, i.e., experts and beginners. The chessboard sticks firmly in the background to maintain the arrangement. This chessboard can be used for both personal and professional matches.

Read more- How To Play Chess For Beginners?

Types of chess sets

There are more than 50 types of chess sets, and here we have listed some of the most common and popular ones.

Wooden Chess Sets

Wood is usually the first choice of people when it comes to durability and intricate designing. Wooden chess sets have some exquisite pieces that can also be admired simply as a decorative piece. These are made of ebony, rosewood, sandalwood, maple and polished to enhance their beauty.

Wood is considered a traditional material choice for making chess board sets, and they still serve as a testament to their durability. If you are a professional player, we would recommend you to buy a chessboard larger than 21 inches and 16 inches for kids.

Staunton Chess Sets

Staunton chess sets are the most precious thing a player owns. These are used in formal competitions with specific pieces made for the game. Staunton chess pieces are so finely designed that even the choosiest person cannot resist buying. These chess sets are available in different sizes, with a small pawn and king, which is over 4.5 inches.

All the Staunton pieces are hand carved or luxurious materials like porcelain, walnut burl, genuine ebony, 400 years old fossilized mammoth ivory. A combination of metal pieces on wooden boards is alluring.

Plastic Chess Sets

Chess lovers or collectors often find the idea of using plastic chess sets very repulsive because of how tacky they look. However, they are some people who prefer to buy boards to serve as a game and not an expensive decorative item. For those people, a plastic chess set is an ideal choice.

Plastic chess sets are easily available for under $5-$10. However, when you think of buying such cheap sets, keep in mind that they might not have enough weight to play a decent game.

Themed Chess Sets

Apart from the standard chess pieces – king-queen, knights, bishops, pawns, and the rocks, there are some chee sets that have images of Marge Simpson and Homer as the King and Queen, and Bart serves as they spawn. Another popular theme is the Harry Potter chess set involving Hermoine and Ron.

There are numerous themed chess sets available ranging from Star Trek to Star Wars, Game of Thrones to the Lord of Rings, for all the fans out there. These unique chess sets have their own charm and a personalized touch that will win over your heart. However, themed chess sets are expensive and also available in limited editions.

Marble Chess Sets

A marble chess set naturally comes with radiance and glow from within. It is extremely eye-appealing and makes its presence felt with dominant colors in the marble. Marble chess sets are low maintenance and highly durable that can withstand extreme temperatures and weather conditions. They can easily survive under sunlight, rain and even snow, making them an appropriate pick for playing outdoors.

The prices for marble chess sets vary depending on the size and finish. Some marble chess sets are polished to bring out the immaculate shine, while others are poorly crafted. You can easily point out the difference when these two will be placed together.

Glass Chess Sets

Glass chess sets are a perfect example of “minimal is beautiful.” Glass chess sets produce captivating, fancy, and luxurious pieces and boards. There are two different types of glass chess sets- hand-blown glass(fragile) and solid glass (durable). These are also available in various colors and are paired with mirrored boards to enhance the beauty by many folds. After wooden chess sets, glass chess sets are more common and are available as both custom-made and mass produced.

Metal Chess Sets

Metal chess sets are refined, shiny and portray the imaginative historical landscapes on the chessboard. The presence of metal chess boards will invite you to play with it and will give you confidence as if you are already a winner.

A metal chess set tops the list of durability and portability. This also serves as a splendid and ethereal decorative item. The price of the metal chess board depends on the metal used for making it.

Electronic Chess Sets

Thankfully, with the development of technology, chess boards have also undergone progression. An electronic chess set provides player flexibility to play human vs. human or human vs. computer. Such chess sets allow the player to increase the difficulty level and sharpen the playing skills.

Electronic chess sets come in two types- handheld sets and tabletop sets. Tabletop sets are the best for people who like to play traditional games. This gives the player the freedom to choose whether they want their opponent to be a human or a machine.

As compared to handheld chess and electronic chess, the game has more features. Pre-programmed opening, game recording, practice attacks, suggestions and analysis for next move, and so many more amazing features.

After you have go9ne through this chess list, you might have gained an insight into different types of chess sets available in the market. Your major deciding factor should be based on usage, taste, need, and budget. To get the best chest set, you need to prioritize all these factors. Let’s take a look at these factors in details

How To Buy The Best Chess Set?

Although computer chess games have become more popular in the last decade, the chessboard has seen a big resurgence recently, making them more popular than ever before. The primary reason behind this is to develop intellectual skills among children. If you are also looking forward to buying a new chess board for your kids, here are some important factors that you should consider to buy the best chess set.

Who will use the chess set?

The proven benefit that chess improves the cognitive development of children. It should be a good motivator for you to buy cool chess sets for the young ones. However, when you are purchasing a chess board for your kids, we would recommend that you do not spend a lot of money. Instead, get them something cheaper so that they can play freely without any fear of damaging and breaking the board.

If you are buying a chess set for yourself or an adult, pick something made of higher quality. Pick a wooden chess set made in the Staunton design, which can be easily used in official tournaments.

Should you buy the pieces and board individually?

Most people prefer to use chess sets that come with everything that is required to play a game; however, some people prefer to buy both boards and pieces separately. When you buy a board separately, be careful that you do not end up buying a small-sized board, or else your king will end up occupying 75% of the space.

One best way to pick the right-sized chess board is by checking a pawn’s height with the same width as the squares. Also, it will be better to pick a non-reflective surface so that it’s less distracting. As far as chess pieces are concerned, you can pick any theme or design that you love.

Is a foldable or traditional board the best option?

If you want to buy chess that you can easily carry with you anywhere, then a foldable chess board option is perfect for you. For travelers, magnetic board chess sets are the perfect thing to hold your pieces together on a bumpy road. The best thing is that these make a great companion on flights as they are small enough to carry.

If you plan on buying a rollable chessboard, then buy one which is made of high quality which is less likely to become wrinkled or creased.

Modern foldable chess board sets also come in magnetic versions with excellent wood finishing and at very affordable prices. The best brands also comply with Staunton standards and come with padded compartments to store the pieces inside.

Budget

The best thing about chess boards is that they are affordable to play with. Even with a small budget, you can buy some cool chess sets on the market. You can find plastic chess boards for under $20, and by adding a few extra bucks, you can even buy a wooden chess set. However, if you wish to buy a Staunton set, be ready to spend more than $50.

For $60-$70, you can easily get premium quality and unique chess sets. There are plenty of options available for every budget. Some of the best chess set options are made of premium quality woods like walnut, rosewood, etc.; if you like to play on marble chess, better start saving at least $100.

Theme

If you are a real chess fan or a collector, you are lucky. Now you don’t always have to spend a lot of money to begin your chess collection. The collection-themed vintage and antique chess sets are available for as low as $60, like the medieval figures and Roman figures. Some of the most popular and cool chess sets are Star Wars and Harry Potter.

If you have a good budget to start with, we will suggest you buy a Viking chess board set that retails for $150 and a three-dimensional Star Trek chess set that costs more than $600.

Do you love to play chess? Which type of chess sets do you own? Let us know in the comments below!

Best Chess Set For Beginners and Experts