Chess Board

I'm new to chess, doing iPad tactic exercises and watching videos. My 10 year old nephew is also learning, and we finally played a game on my iPad. I'd like to get a board so we could play easier, and I've read that 20" is the tournament size.  What would people recommend as far as a board/pieces? I'm disabled and have problems with motor/dexterity, so anything with heavy pieces won't work. I'm on a budget so I'd say $50 is my absolute max budget, but less expensive is better.

Thank you for any feedback!

On that budget you will be looking for vinyl roll up boards and plastic pieces. You should match the square size of the board to the pieces. A common recommendation is 2.25 inch squares and 3.75 inch King height, although some 4 inch Kings would probably work too.

Unweighted plastic chessmen are very light and should suit you fine. These basic chess pieces cost $6.49:

http://www.wholesalechess.com/shop/chess-pieces/club-chess-pieces/basic-club-chess-pieces

Here is a 20 inch vinyl board with 2.25 inch squares for $6.99:

http://www.wholesalechess.com/shop/chess-boards/vinyl-rollup-chess-boards/quality-vinyl-chess-board

A mousepad board will lay flat easier but cannot be rolled up for storage:

http://www.wholesalechess.com/shop/chess-boards/vinyl-rollup-chess-boards/mousepad-chess-board

I would also recommend getting a chess clock because they are a lot of fun to play with. A really good one wont fit your budget, but you could easily afford a cheap analog one (I actually like analog clocks a lot, but they are only useful for home games these days), good inexpensive digital clocks are the DGT North American or the ZMF clocks.

You can also download the chess.com chessclock app (should be free) for your iPad if you want to save money. It has all the features of the better digital clocks, but is not as much fun and cannot be used in tournaments.

I would actually go with these pieces instead, because their slightly beige tint is easier to distinguish on the white squares of the board:

http://www.wholesalechess.com/shop/chess-pieces/club-chess-pieces/quality-club-chess-pieces

Oh, and I would actually recommend green for the dark squares on the board (you can choose between many colors). Black is not very easy on the eyes. There are also boards without the notation (indexes) if you don't want these.

Thank you for the advise! Do you mind me asking when you decided you were ready to get a wooden board? 

 Would this be a good set? I'd love the mahogany one, but the chess pieces I saw were too expensive: https://www.amazon.com/Chess-Set-Tournament-Staunton-Complete/dp/B000SOGHQ4 . I am very sensitive to smell, so wood is better (many reviews of the vinyl say it has a strong smell). 

As to the board, JCM, Polarchess gave you an excellent recommendation for a wood board. It appears you can get a 2.25" wood board for under $40. You may be able to find a used one like it on Ebay or Etsy for less. I own several of these boards and they are very good to play on and complement a wide range of pieces with kings ranging from 3.5" to 4.0", depending on the size of the bases.

Wegiel very well could be the company that made the board sold by House of Staunton that both Polarchess and I recommended. I've never seen this set, so I cannot comment on it first-hand. I would note, however, that it is very well-reviewed on Amazon. I also would note that I do own several Wegiel boards. I like them. They look good and play well. They are very good values. It would seem to me that this set meets your requirements, JC. Perhaps Polar could elaborate on why he thinks it's "junk."

Well if ur playing at home and perfer the expensive pieces that is fine but if u want to goto park n seek out victim then u want to buy the silicone board n cheap sauton club single weight piece... i think on amazon they sell the silicone board n pieces for 30 ish... i personally perfer the silicone board n cheap single wieght pieces because when stranger smash ur pieces its no big deal.. when u become more experience and want to buy a clock i recomend chronos gx.. these are my personal set up. I dont work for any company. U can go buy ur gear from any sites ..

Well if ur playing at home and perfer the expensive pieces that is fine but if u want to goto park n seek out victim then u want to buy the silicone board n cheap sauton club single weight piece... i think on amazon they sell the silicone board n pieces for 30 ish... i personally perfer the silicone board n cheap single wieght pieces because when stranger smash ur pieces its no big deal.. when u become more experience and want to buy a clock i recomend chronos gx.. these are my personal set up. I dont work for any company. U can go buy ur gear from any sites ..

jcm6877 wrote: "Would this be a good set? I'd love the mahogany one, but the chess pieces I saw were too expensive: https://www.amazon.com/Chess-Set-Tournament-Staunton-Complete/dp/B000SOGHQ4 ."

I have a set like that, manufactured by Texma in Poland. It is certainly a step up from plastic and vinyl. The board is not as solid as a separate wood board, but very convenient as you can store the pieces inside it. The pieces are weighted, but not heavily, they are still quite light, but perhaps not as light as unweighted plastic.

Wood and lacquer always has some slight smell, but it is not strong or unpleasant. Certainly not like the vinyl boards which can smell quite terrible.

jcm6877 wrote: "Thanks for the advise! Do you mind me asking when you decided you were ready to get a wooden board?"

I have always played on wooden boards, I actually made my own with plywood and spray paint. As Polarchess pointed out, it is not even that much of an expenditure if you want to buy one. Also nothing prevents you from using cheap plastic pieces on a wooden board. It will still feel nicer than with the vinyl roll up. The reason I recommended that was because you mentioned being on a budget and wanting a very light set.

I do not know how tight your budget is but you could get a very inexpensive set at a five and dime or any kind of department store etc. They are very cheap quality, basic but they will do. That is all I got at home. As I said before very inexpensive.  Under $10.00 for the whole shooting match.