Guide for buying the right chess set Archives

Chess February 1, 2016

How to find the right size chessboard for your wooden chess pieces

The pleasure and excitement of a chess game increases many fold when you lay the pieces on a beautiful wooden chessboard and that too of perfect size. Like the chess pieces, chessboard is equally important as the game moves around on the chess board. It is of utmost importance that the size of chess pieces and the size of chessboard should be appropriate and perfectly matching. To make your game much more interesting and professional, chessbazaar brings you a very simple way to calculate chessboard size and piece size –

For calculating the chess board size, you just need to know the base size of your chess piece i.e the diameter of the chess pieces. So, the simple formula is:

Chess board size: 4/3 of king’s base.

CB Trends

To find out a perfect chessboard size for your chess pieces, multiply the base of the piece with 4/3 and you will get the size of the chess square. For example: For a set with king’s diameter 2’’ will be perfectly suitable with chessboard of size: 2’’ x 4/3 = 2.66″.

And vice-versa to find out the size of the perfect chess pieces, if you already possess a chess board. For this you need to know the size of the square.

Chess piece size: 3/4 of chess board’s square size.

CBboard

Multiply the size of the chess square with 3/4 and you will get the size of the piece. For example: For a chess board with size 2.66’’, a perfectly suitable King’s size would be: 2.66’’ x 3/4 = 2’’.

Dubrovnik_cropped

So, enjoy your favourite game this winter season on a beautiful wooden chess board with the most beautifully handcarved chess pieces perfectly matching to each other. Take a look of our amazing collection of handmade wooden chess pieces and chess boards.

Chess Woods Guide October 27, 2015

Understanding Types of Chess Woods

Sheesham wood

Sheesham wood is the most popular Indian wood across the globe known for its durability, natural rich grains, and longevity. The heartwood of sheesham ranges from golden brown to a darker reddish brown .Being hard wood, it copes with the stresses and strains of everyday use. Sheesham has a straight grain though it can be interlocked and wood has a good natural luster.The solid wood has natural grains which varies from piece to piece, thus making each and every chess piece unique. Wood comes directly from the source, treated for termite-resistance, seasoned and put to use to make awesome chess sets which lasts and just lasts with all its grace and lusture.

Boxwood

Boxwood has a fine, even texture with a natural luster. Color of the boxwood tends to be a light cream to yellow, which tends to darken slightly with prolonged exposure to light. The grain tends to be straight or slightly irregular. It is superbly suited for turning. Boxwood is also easily available and hence the chess pieces made from boxwood are cheaper than other woods. But the beautifully carved chess pieces look as attractive as the expensive woods.

Ebonized boxwood

Boxwood is sometimes substituted for Ebony because it is much easier to find and is available at reasonable prices. Regular boxwood is light in color and usually used for the white pieces and it is ebonized for use as black pieces because it’s cheaper than real ebony. At www.chessbazaar.com you can find number of reasonable chess sets made from ebonized boxwood, that are very much like the real ebony chess pieces.

Ebony wood

Ebony is a dense black wood. Black Ebony is one of the most valuable and expensive types of wood in the world. Black Ebony is prized for the black color of its wood that grows denser and blacker the older the tree. Heartwood is usually jet-black, with little to no variation or visible grain. It has fine even texture with very high natural luster. It is finely-textured and has a very smooth finish when polished, making ebony a valuable beautiful chess wood.

Rosewood

Rosewood is a classic wood, also known as Indian Rosewood. The wood of these trees is prized and in high demand throughout the world due to its excellent qualities of having a long straight bore, its strength, remarkable coloration and its high density, which makes it another luxury chess wood with ebony. Very hard and has a dark reddish brown color. Rosewoods also exhibit very dark streaks along their growth rings, creating striking patterns. The wood is also extremely resistant to rot and water damage. It is hard to work with rosewood and takes high polish, but after all the difficulties, chess sets and chess boards made from rosewood are grand feast for the eyes.

Bud rosewood

Bud rosewood is again a type of rosewood. Its source is rosewood but the quality of the bud rosewood is much higher than the ordinary rosewood. Rosewood is reddish brown in color but bud rosewood is more on reddish tone. The very superior quality wood makes it an expensive and luxury chess wood.

Palisander wood

Palisander wood is a part of rosewood family. Palisander wood has a great beauty and high value. The wood has dense close grains and the tone is slightly lighter than the Indian Rosewood. The wood comes in various tones and the rate of the chess sets and board depend upon the quality of these tones.

Walnut

Walnut is strong, hard and durable, without being excessively heavy. It has excellent woodworking qualities, and takes finishes well. The wood is light to dark chocolate brown in color and is straight-grained. Wavy grain is present toward the roots, and walnut stumps are often dug out and widely used as a source of highly figured veneer chess boards.

Ash Burl

Burl ash wood is generally darker than regular ash and is noted for its rich pattern of swirls, twists and turns. The abnormality of burl, combined with the availability of ash, make this wood especially popular among chess board manufacturers. The wayward grains of burl ash wood give it a unique beauty that is fitting for the world’s most exquisite decor. Ash burl is widely used for structural frames and highly durable and even veneer chess boards are made out of it.

Maple

Maple is a pale cream color when first cut, but will darken to light yellow or pale reddish brown with exposure to sunlight. Maple is easy to cut and shape, and sands to a smooth, even surface. Maple may be common, but it can look uncommonly beautiful when treated correctly. Maple is hard and resistant. Its diffused evenly sized pores give the wood a fine texture and even grain. With these qualities Maple is extensively used for making very durable and quality veneer chess boards.

Chessbazaar.com offers a largest variety of chess sets and chess boards at the most reasonable prices made from these high quality and exclusive woods available in the world.

Guide for buying the right chess set March 31, 2015

A quick guide for buying the right chess set

There are so many options of buying chess sets in market today. So it becomes really hard deciding which one to go with. However a good rule is to buy the best quality set that you can afford because a good chess set lasts ages and will bring memories for the years to come. You will always feel proud when you beautifully lay your game in front of the opponent.

There are few important things which must be considered before buying a right chess set.

1. Purpose: Playing or for decoration?

2. Budget?

3. Match with chess board

4. Determining the quality of chess set?

After you have considered all the above points it becomes a lot easier to choose a chess set.

Purpose: Playing or for decoration?

If you are buying a chess set for regular use like carrying it to tournaments and clubs then you must opt for a sturdy double or triple weighted chess set.
If you want to buy chess set which is convenient to carry to office or trips or to friends place or some café then you should prefer magnetic travelling chess set. They are small and compact and also named as pocket chess sets. They are beautiful handcrafted wooden sets ready for immediate use.

If you are planning to buy a chess set for decoration then you have a wide range to choose from like practical chess sets which are used often for play, to simply for show as a decoration piece or a collectible quality.

Budget?

Before buying a chess set you should fix your budget and depending on that you can proceed further. If you love playing chess then you should buy the best chess that you can afford. A good quality chess set lasts longer which can be passed on to generations with memories.

Match the Chess Pieces to the Board

It is always considered to have a look at the descriptions of chess pieces like the height and base diameter of each King. It helps you find a good match board for your chess pieces. The proper square size for a set of good Staunton chess pieces is such that the width of the base of the King should be 78% of the width of a square. So, divide the King’s base diameter by 0.78 and you get the proper square size. You can increase the square size by 1/8″, but the square size should not be any smaller.

Also consider about the color and wood type of the dark pieces in your chess set and the dark playing squares of your chess board. Choose a board accordingly which looks elegant and gives you good feel of chess game.

Determining the quality of chess set?

The quality of the chess set can be determined in few ways. One way is by the weight of the pieces. Many wooden pieces are double or triple weighted, giving them a sturdy and more solid feel. By looking at the carving of the knight, one can make out the quality of the chess set. A set of finely carved knights and king’s decorative crown can represent up to 50% of the total cost of the chessmen.

The higher the quality, finer will be the carving of the pieces. Don’t forget to look at the quality of uniformity, turnings and finishing touch. The type of wood used in chess sets and boards is also a determine factor in the quality. Example: Ebony wood is more expensive than rosewood and then comes boxwood etc.