Chess Sets

Chess set consists of a chess board — 8 x 8 black and white squares — and two sets of pieces, one black and one white. Each set has a king, a queen, two bishops, two knights, two rooks and eight pawns.

It's all very simple, but despite that there are tons of variations. Different sizes, for example: everything from giant outdoor sets to large table-top sets to small travel sets. Materials: wood, plastic, metal, glass and so on. Different looks, from simple to elaborate, classical to modern, plain to fantastical. Think just about any popular movie, TV series, mythology, book or whatever, and I'm fairly sure there's a chess set themed on it.

So, if you want a chess set, there are plenty of options to think about. What do you want? What do you need? What is the purpose of the set? If you are looking for something pretty to put on the coffee table, you can go for fancy looks, but when you're looking for a set to actually use for playing chess, it's usually best to go for the plain styles. The fancy sets can make things difficult, when you can't actually tell the pieces from each other with a quick glance.