John Skelly is the owner of Quality-Chess.net, an online chess store found at http://www.quality-chess.net, where you can browse for a variety of chess products, including wood, glass, marble, alabaster, and metal chess sets, chess pieces, and chess boards.
There are lots of different kinds of chess sets, ranging from tiny travel size versions to analysis sets and large patio sized chess sets. When shopping for a chess set, you will find different kinds made for decoration and tournament play, made out of a number of different materials and in a number of different styles.
When I talk about a chess set, I am talking only about the pieces and not including the chessboard, which is a different matter entirely. There are two main categories into which we can put chess sets. The first kind of chess set is one that comes pre-packaged and includes a matching chessboard. The Second type of set is one that would NOT include a chessboard.
One thing that you have to consider when deciding to purchase a chess set is the amount of money you want to spend on it. Because of the large amount of variety in chess sets and also a variety in how they are used, there is no one “right” price to pay for a chess set. You should spend what you can afford and no more. Also remember that buying a chess set is a rather long term investment because you are likely to have the chess set for the remainder of your life.
A more important factor to consider when buying a chess set is what type of chess set you are going to buy. This is a decision that depends largely on your unique taste and personal style and whether it is a set you intend on playing or just want it for display. If the display is not very important to you, or it just sounds like something you aren’t really into, you probably shouldn’t get a themed chess set, where the chess pieces all revolve around a theme such as firefighters, or civil war soldiers.
You should also give some thought as to the size of the chess set you would like to buy. Generally, it is considered in our society that bigger equals better, because they are more impressive to look at and to touch. Deciding where you want to play your chess games will be a large determinant of the size your chess set should be.
So, now that you have picked out a chess set, you need to find a matching board. This means you need to find out what size chessboard fits with your chess set. Almost all chess sets have the option of buying a matching chessboard with them, but you can, of course, choose an entirely different chessboard. The way in which you would find out what size chessboard to get, is by measuring the diameter of the king chess piece’s base.
Essentially, the width of the base of the King should be no more than 78% of the width of the square. In other words, you would divide the King's base diameter by 0.78 to get the minimum square size.
For example, if you have a King with a base diameter of 1.5", the square size would be calculated as follows:
1.5" divided by .78 = 1.92, rounded to 2.0 inches
Therefore, if the King base diameter is 1.5", the chess board should have squares of no less than 2 inches.
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