Where would you most use the set? Which one would you use the most: a full-size home set, a portable set, or a true travel set that is small? What is your budget?
Buying a Set
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Start with buying a combination of a good plastic set with a vinyl board, maybe. There are many out in the market, but I'd suggest you to buy a weighted chessmen.
My favorite is the professional plastic chess set from thechessstore
Link: https://bit.ly/3jYOTVE
For the vinly chessboard you can check the chessstore as well. They have some pretty big variety. If you're still confused, I'd recommend reading an article for the best chess set under $50.
https://www.chessequipments.com/best-chess-sets-under-50/
Good luck !
When you decide to bust out the Alegria pieces for your casual street blitz games, make sure your opponents wash their hands first out of respect.
Chess Sets for Club & Tournament Play...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/chess-sets-for-club-tournament-play
The sets I have and can recommend are: 1. The Marshall analysis set- a nearly perfect set for analysis. It is also the smallest set that I would play blitz chess with. All in all excellent. 2. A small , cheap (like 5$ cheap) analysis set and board. It is very small and light. I take it in my carry on when travelling. 3. My old Dreuke players choice set and roll up vinyl board. 3.75" king, 2.25" squares. This old friend is the perfect size. I'd recommend a similar good, weighted, Staunton plastic set exactly the same size to anyone. 4. I also bought a larger plastic set w. 4" king and board w. larger squares only because my local club used a larger sized set for tournaments and I had trouble adjusting to the extra size. I use it enough to be adjusted [so I take in the whole board at a glance without having to scan across it]. I also have a nice wooden set that was a gift from my MIL and nice wooden board a gift from a daughter. I'd suggest #1 and something like #3 for everyone. #2 for those who travel and want to go thru a chess book during down time. I love #4 for its beauty and the thoughts behind it but would never take to a tournament [actually I won't now take my DReuke set either but a similar good plastic one is what I'd take]
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Hi @thewoodsofjordan,
We recently purchased the Marshall plastic chess set (https://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-marshall-series-plastic-chessmen-3-75-king.html) and a PVC folding board (https://www.houseofstaunton.com/pvc-tournament-chessboard.html) for our everyday plastic chess set. We are happy with the purchase though the pawn's bases in our opinion could be wider. Still, it is a good value for the money.
@sound67 had a good review of it and others here.
Good hunting!
Oliver
OP Hasn’t been back online since OP posted it.
This thread is still helpful to other members.
52yrral escribió:
This thread is still helpful to other members.
As another member, I can confirm 
New to forum and my first post. I just got back into chess after a couple of decades of absence. I purchased 2 sets, a cool magnetic travel set with a 12 in. board from Chesshouse and the Sher-E-Punjab set from Chessbazaar. Also ordered a wood board from JKCreativeWood on Etsy. My thinking was a set I could poke around on solving puzzels and whatnot while reclined or at an outdoor location etc and one I could have set up to admire (the Sher-E-Punjab knocks my socks off) and maybe play the occasional game with friends and follow games played in tournaments.
Sounds good!
@Brynmr Welcome back! Your story sounds a lot like mine. I stopped playing for 25 years or more. I got back into it casually in 2015/16 by playing chess on my phone and eventually bought a 12" magnetic board from chesshouse.com in 2019. I bought a 2.25" board from JK Creative 6 months after that. How do you like the JK Creative board?
MCH: Thanks! I haven't received any of the 3 items I ordered as yet so I can't comment first hand but the images and reviews are all great. We have a small apartment so space is at a premium which is why I ordered the borderless board from JK Creative. I was looking for a 2.5 square board but couldn't find one I liked or was reasonably priced so I settled on the (nice looking) 2.25 one. A little snug for the Sher-E-Punjab set but should be fine. Btw, that set is called Bucephalus Staunton at the Chess Store. Bucephalus was Alexander the Great's beloved horse. Interesting. My chess cells got awakened watching the (awesome) Queen's Gambit series. I owned multiple sets over the years and played fairly often so the Netflix show just reignited me. I don't enjoy competition much but I love solving problems. Purchased the (Kindle) book by Irving Chernev: Logical Chess - a fun read so far. I'm super excited to get my hands on everything!
@Brynmr Let me know what you think about the board when you get it. I was just curious to know how yours is like. Mine only has one misaligned square on one side. Mine is also very smooth which is really awesome. I can't feel where the walnut squares end and the maple ones start. I have another board from the Colorado Woodworker which is very nice too but the finish is a little rough. It feels more natural where as the JK one feels more preserved. I like the finish on the JK one much better.
I have not watched the Queen's Gambit as I don't have Netflix. My cousin told me about the show two weeks ago so I have been considering buying a subscription. I have not done it yet but maybe soon. The Sher-E-Punjab set is big. It will be very snug on a 2.25" board but if you like it that way then that's all that matters.
I have images of the Punjab set on a 2.25 board and it looks acceptable but if it's too snug I may have to buy another board and another set for the JK board. Oh well. My wife is very accommodating LOL. I get Netflix for $9 a month. The series alone is worth that. I was GLUED to that show and will watch a second time. One of my all time faves. I read your review re: the search for an acceptable board. The misalignments I could have lived with but the rest was not good at all. I will definitely let you know about the JK board. I hope it's as good as yours.
@Brynmr Snug or not snug is all in the eye of the beholder. Having an excuse to buy one more board and one more set of pieces isn't the end of the world.
When it comes to Netflix it isn't money. It is more stubbornness. My coworker told me about Netflix back in the early 2000s when it was just starting out as a DVD rental company. I didn't sign up then and I guess the idea all these years is if I have not done it up this point why start now kind of situation.
If you are referring to the Hit or Miss review, yes, there were lots of things wrong with the products I bought from Etsy during that time. The box was the worst of the bunch. Luckily the JK board was really good. Let me know how you like the board.
I'm trying to buy a chess set but I am getting lost on the type of set I want. I was actually thinking about purchasing two or three sets, a nice plastic set with a vinyl or pad board, a decent wooden set, and maybe a travel set? I think Staunton design is probably best, can anyone offer any sites to order from and sets for recommendation?
Thank you