Im looking for a website that allows you to piece together your own tournament chess set. By this I mean, chess mat, pieces, and type of clock. I remember seeing this being offered somewhere but cant exactly remember where. Please help me if you can, thanks.

Also, if anybody has any suggestions of what type of tournament set up I should get, that would be great..

The House of Staunton has a wonderful assortment! www.houseofstaunton.com

I'v shopped here many times, and I find it to be better than any other chess buying site! I've bought many tournament sets here, too. You won't go wrong with the House of Staunton!

I shoot you a link to a nice combo there, just hang on...

http://www.houseofstaunton.com/Store/category=House+of+Staunton+Chess+Tournament+Kits&exact_match=on

They have a great set up where you can choose your kit. I have all of the kits pictured, and I would recommend every single one of them!

whr do i get the one they use in wcc games and gm turnaments?

I'd go for an inexpensive plastic set of men, 3-3/4" King, possibly weighted, with a very standard look (nothing exotic). Try to get them with a matte finish (should be easy).

Boards come mainly in two kinds for the tournament player: Vinyl rollup and mousepad type.

You want a square to match the 3-3/4" king. This would be 2-1/4" though if you varied 1/8" it wouldn't matter much.

Some mousepad board owners have complained about a persistent and offensive odor. Be sure not to get one of those.

Vinyl boards can come as a rollup or a folder. Many of the current vinyl rollups don't lay flat and have flaws in the printing. I have one like that and it is made in China. I also have an inexpensive folding vinyl board that is excellent for its matte finish and good non-bright light squares and not too dark dark squares. It is green and buff. Of course it lays flat. Avoid bizarre colors like blue etc..

Your colors should be white/off white and green or brown. If your chess set has brown pieces I'd stay away from brown squares and go for black or green. You want an easy contrast between your pieces and the board.

There are also folding masonite boards which in theory are as good as any, but all the pics I've seen have the light squares quite white which is an eyestrain.

More could be said but those are dependable basics.

Search here in chess.com for comments re digital clocks. Any expensive one from Chronos or DGT would be excellent, and as for the cheaper ones research a little before buying.

For the men:

 http://houseofstaunton.com/Store/product_name=The+Championship+Series+Chess+Set+-+3.75+inch+King/exact_match=exact/user-id=/password=

If you want the sensory board and men to go with it, much more money of course.

Here's a link for that folding vinyl board I spoke of in #6.

Apart from the slight inconvenience of folding vs. rollup, it's a fine board. Colors are better (less eyestrain) than any rollups I've seen in recent years and it doesn't curl up or bulge in the center.

The center crease is relatively subtle and shouldn't bug the vast majority of players.

An okay price too. Just $10.

http://www.thechessstore.com/product/VF03GN?meta=FRG&utm_source=GBASE&utm_medium=CPC&utm_content=&utm_campaign=

Say goldendog,

What size are the squares of the folding vinyl board to which you referred?

I've seen a similar-looking folding board on another website with the squares listed as 53 mm, which converts to 2.09 inches.

That may be a bit small for some sets, although it should be a good fit for the "Club Specials".

By any chance do you have a picture of your House of Staunton Club Series pieces on the folding board?

Thanks,  Michael

The square size (I just measured) of my folding vinyl board is 2-1/4"--the de facto standard for these many years in USCF tournaments.

I see the size claimed on two sites I see is 2-1/8" If I find one that says 2-1/4" I'll post it. I don't know why (or even if) they would be different as I bought the board maybe just 2 years ago.

As you can see the pieces fit the board well. The HOS Club set king has a relatively small base, compared to the more luxurious sets, and doesn't need a big square to make the set look fine. I have a 2-1/8" board on hand and used it for the almost identical plastic USCF set and the fit was likewise fine if less ideal for me than 2-1/4"

The pic was a quick and dirty shot--not so good quality, but you get the idea. The light squares are relatively dark and not white or bright like almost all other vinyl boards.

edit: This site claims 2-1/4" squares:

http://www.chesscentral.com/Folding_Chess_Board_p/fbd-1001.htm

Thank you goldendog.