Chess Set Staunton Pieces

Staunton chess pieces

The chess set is a thing of beauty. There is nothing quite like a hand carved Staunton style chess set. The pieces are tactile and need to be held and this I feel is the fascination most people have with chess sets and pieces. Collectors who cannot even play chess are intrigued by the beautiful shapes of individual pieces.

Wood Staunton sets

Ebony can be used for the black pieces and the white pieces can be made of a lighter colored wood like ivory. Hardwoods are best to use and are longer wearing but there are many wood types to choose from for the individual piece sets. Each half of the set consists of 1 King, 1 Queen, 2 Bishops, 2 Knights, 2 Rooks and 8 pawns all of one single ‘light’ color and an identical 16 pieces in a different ‘darker’ color complete the set. The full chess game set is 32 pieces.

Chess set colors

The 8 pawns are considered to be minor pieces (mere pawns) in a chess game, although they can be promoted to higher ranking pieces upon reaching the opponents first rank on the chessboard. The other 8 pieces are more highly valued, especially the king. White and black are the traditional colors used for each side but many blue, green, red and other color sets exist too. The material used apart from wood, are plastics of all types plus silver, gold, marble, soapstone, pewter and numerous other metals. Cardboard chess pieces too can be bought or even homemade.

Classic Staunton set

Great entertainment can be provided by a classic Staunton chess set with young children using the pieces to fight imaginary battles whilst learning how to play chess. Many magazines are sold as part-work where a piece is given free with each issue until such time as all 32 pieces are gathered. Make sure that it is a good chess set size (Staunton piece sizes: King should be a minimum of 4 inches high). These are usually cast aluminum chess pieces but sometimes glass or plastic is used instead. Many themed sets are available featuring great battles or can be fun collectible versions such as The Simpsons, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Lego and Disney characters sets.

Correct size of the chess squares?

A chess set will be described in terms of being suitable for a chessboard with certain size squares (usually 2 inch squares are best) and most regular sets fit well with the correct size board. The chess set height is usually given as the King height as the king is the tallest piece on the board.

Ideal chess set

A good size set would have at least a 4 inch high king with a 2 or 2.5 inch base. The remaining pieces will be proportionally smaller but a set size is measured by referencing the King. The Queens are the only females on the board but they are the most powerful pieces.

Identifying chess sets for visually impaired players

Chess players who are blind use a beautifully crafted pegged chess set where each piece is uniquely identified by a carved symbol, notch or bump, on the uppermost part of the piece. This distinguishes the pieces from one another whilst also identifying the white and black piece differences. The chessboard has a hole in the center of each square and the pegged pieces fit snugly into these holes. The black and white squares are differentiated too by having all the black squares slightly lower that the white ones (or vice versa).

Reading the position on the board

The blind, or partially sighted, chess player then reads the position throughout the game by moving his or her hands over the board and pieces. When they have decided upon their move they will speak and call the move to the opponent and the referee will move the piece on the regular chess board. The sighted opponent, using the regular board, will speak all moves to their visually impaired opponent.

Build your own metal chess set

Metal chess molds of each piece

Staunton chess molds are available in hobby shops, so you can make your own Staunton metal chess pieces or the sets can even be made from candle wax or chocolate. The main thing is to enjoy your chess set and be sure to buy one that is ascetically pleasant on the eye. Ideally it should be triple weighted so that the ‘feel’ is right.

Weighted pieces

Wooden pieces are weighted by inserting metal shims into the base of each piece so that each piece has a heavy clunky feel to it (weighted). The U. S. Chess Federation is a good reference site for all things chess and if one wishes to learn how to play chess then I would recommend Fischer’s book called ‘Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess’.

Checker chess symbols

A less attractive chess set is one when checkers are used and the chess symbols are stamped on each checker disc. This two dimensional set is a poor set when compared to the fullness of the three dimensional figures standing brazenly or proudly on the board.

Staunton chessmen

A chess set consisting of Staunton pieces is a wonderfully visual experience so look out for them in specialist stores. Buy a set for your home, you dont need to be able to play, just admire the craftsmanship. Chess should be fun so why not try an oversize Staunton chess set for the garden which will be a talking point for visiting friends and family and the children will have hours of enjoyment playing with the large pieces of this chess set.