The best size for board and pieces

Hello,

I'm making my own chess board together with pieces and I'm looking for perfect dimensions.

At the moment my choice would be:

• board square size 2.25' or 5.72cm
• king base 1.7' or 4.32cm
• king height 4'  or 10.16cm

What in your opinion is THE BEST SIZE for board and pieces?

2 1/4" squares

1 5/8" king base

3.75" king height

I recently put together a spread sheet of recommended dimensions based on USCF regulations. As you can see, it offers a fairly broad range of options. I've extended the calculations beyond the 2 - 2.5" boards sizes recommended for tournament play.

The "standard" tournament set (typical USCF piece set you can buy anywhere) on a "standard" tournament vinyl board is 1.5" base on 2.25" squares, so if you are comfortable with that ratio, 1.6" would be just fine.

Piotr,

A 1.6" diameter king would have a scaling factor (king diameter/square size) of about 71% on a 2.25" board, which is slightly smaller than what is called for in the USCF guidelines. But I say, if it looks good to you, go with it!

I use the above tables as guidelines. Ultimately, it's your set, so go with what you like.

If we look at my ABC's for properly sizing chess sets and boards, there are three considerations: (A) is sizing the King to the board, (B) is sizing the remaining back row pieces to the size of the King, and (C) is sizing the pawns to the rest of the set. If you think about it, pawns make up half of all the pieces on the board. If they're too small or too large the set will look "misproportioned" (aka not so good).

If we look at our three considerations, (A) is variable, you can match any size king to any board you wish; while the other two, (B) and (C), are fixed by the design of the chess set. That's why I no longer consider buying sets that are misproportioned (pawns too small, other pieces too large, etc.), regardless of their beauty or commemorative appeal.

If you start with a well-balanced chess set, where the back row pieces and pawns are properly proportioned to the king, then matching that set to the appropriate chess board becomes a matter of preference. Some folks prefer a board with lots of room, others prefer a cozier arrangement. If the set is properly balanced, when set up on the board of your choice, the set will look great!

Best size depends on the surface space available...

Best size board and pieces for what?  or where?

I don't play tournament chess anymore, so I prefer tighter boards. 1.625 on 2 inch squares is what I prefer. It just looks better and easier on me when I study the board. I seem to play better that way, but I have no idea why.

Makes complete sense, a smaller board is easy to see all the pieces. 

kenardi,

I agree, that's why I use seven different boards from 1.75" to 2.5", and acquired sets to match each board size. I have a few in-between sets that will play nicely on two different size boards.

In many cases, where space is limited, I've trimmed off the indexing on vinyl boards in order to accommodate a larger set in the same space. A 1.75" vinyl board (sans indexing) will fit perfectly on a 24" round table at my local coffee shop.

I started collecting sets about a year and a half ago. At first, I was buying sets willy-nilly. I soon found that not many would accommodate the limited space available at the local cafes and coffee shops. That's when I shifted gears and started selecting boards first, then went looking for sets to match. I even had three solid wooden boards custom made (2", 2.125" & 2.5"), sans frames, to minimize the footprint (a 2.5" board, without frame, is only 20" square, about the same size as a 2.25" vinyl board with indexing.)

I'll use it only for kind of correspondence chess. The board will stay at home. No tournaments or outdoors play.

I think to make it smaller now to fit more places. I don't want to end up with board on the floor :)

But isn't 1.75' board too small? On the other side I'll play alone (correspondence chess) so maybe it's good?

All depends on the pieces.  A 1.75 inch square size might be a little small for some pieces.  If you prefer/need a smaller board for a space you will find smaller set of pieces that fit the board.  For example, a 3.5 inch king vs. a 3.75 inch king, the base will be smaller on the 3.5 inch king of the same design.

First, I would measure the space and determine what size board you want for that space.  Then you can start looking for pieces to match.  Always account for space for other items like a pad and clock, but it sounds like this won't be an issue here.

There are several tests to determine a good square size for a set of chess pieces, none are very useful when shopping on the internet.  I suggest finding the size board, and then you have a square size, now multiply that square size by 0.778, and now you have a good base size for the king, and go from there.

The king usually has the largest base in the set and most dealers on the internet will provide the base size of the king in the descriptions.

You always have the option of purchasing the board already matched with smaller pieces too.

It all depends upon how much space you have, and how much of that space you want to dedicate to your chess board. The 1.75" board is perfect for analysis and small cafe tables. I use it with a set that has a 1.3" diameter king. Here's the set I'm using with this board:

http://www.houseofchess.com/fierce-knight-staunton-wooden-chess-pieces-king-size-3-inch-golden-rosewood-boxwood.html

What size pieces for a board I already have

I recently found myself selecting chess pieces for a 49.5 mm (1.95 in.) squares board I already had. I did of course follow the very good advice from “Loubalch” found in this forum regarding King and Pawn proportions (.765, .586, etc.). In some cases, however, I found that my bishops would bump into my bigger pieces when sliding into play. I did find a very useful video by Mr. Jonas Žnidaršič, https://youtu.be/zJeVid62NZo  which helped me in the end with the correct sizing of all my pieces

What Jonas video shows is that the bishop or the fatter of your other pieces (beside K and Q) should be able to slide between the two other bigger pieces. For example, Bishop between K and Q, or Q between K and Rook. To test Mr. Žnidaršič’s method you would need to use the dimensions (base diameter) of the three pieces with the broadest base on the set you are considering, jointly with your board dimensions.

The situation that is most common is the need to know if the pieces of a set for sale which is not yet available for you to handle is a  good fit to your board. What I did was to first apply  Loubalch’s proportions to pieces I liked, and then use the old and trusted Pythagorean formula together with some simple geometric to make sure my pieces will not bump into each other while playing. Here is an equation illustrating the mathematical method I used in order to follow the Jonas’ method:

Max Bd ≦ c - Kd/2 - Qd/2

Max Bd = The largest diameter of the bishop base to fit to your board.

Where c = Diagonal line of your board square. Applying the Pythagoras theorem you get  c=√ (a²+b²), which in our case is also c= √ (2a²) since the sides of a square are equal.

Bd is the Bishop base diameter, or the Rook’s, or the Knight’s  (whichever has the broadest base).  In  other words you need to first find the diagonal length of one of your squares (C= √ (2A²) ) and then subtract from that half of the King’s base diameter (Kd/2) and half of the Queen’s base diameter (Qd). This is the diagonal space available between King and Queen. In actual chess playing, I have found that a clearance of at least 2 to 5 mm is practical. In other words, your Bishop’s base should be approximately 2 to 5 mm smaller than the maximum space available ( MaxBd). But, how much of a clearance you like is a matter of personal preference.

Example 1 (Choosing pieces for my 49.5 mm (1.95 in.) board):

Ideal King base: 1.95 x .765 = 1.49 in.

Ideal Pawn base: 1.95 x .586 = 1.14 in.

I looked at different chess pieces and found a Monarch Staunton 3 ¾ in. King at “House of Chess” that is the best match for my board. These were my calculations:

Monarch Set Height/Base in inches:

            King                3.75/1.46

            Queen            3.23/1.46

            Bishop           2.91/1.22

            Pawn              2.05/1.10

Testing for bishop easy sliding between K and Q:

Max Bd ≦ c - Kd/2 - Qd/2    =      (√ (2a²)) – 1.46/2 - 1.46/2

            =          (√ (2 x 1.95²))  -  0.73 + 0.73

            =          2.76 – 0.73 – 0.73

            =          1.30  is the Maximum Bishop Diameter acceptable (Max Bd)

Therefore, my set’s Bishop base of 1.22 is less than 1.30 and is acceptable with a clearance of 0.08 in (2 mm).

In the photo below my Plastic set of 3.79/1.46 King, 2.96/1.41 Queen, 2.56/1.22 Bishop fits tightly on my 1.95 in. (49.5 mm) squares board with around 2.5 mm clearance.

What size board for pieces I like (or have)

If on the other hand you need to get a board to fit pieces you already have or would like to have, you can develop a selection criteria using the Pythagorean formula as well. In this case you need to calculate the dimension of your square (A). Formula would go as follows:

First, let get the diagonal of the squares in your board (C):

c ≥ Bd + Kd/2 + Qd/2

And then you square side (A):

a ≥ √ (c²/2).

Example 2 (Choosing a board for my Chess Bazaar Reykjavik pieces):

Reykjavik Set Height/Base in inches:

            King                3.78/1.65

            Queen            3.06/1.52

            Bishop           2.72/1.38

            Pawn              1.85/1.18

c≥ Bd + Kd/2 + Qd/2           =          1.38 + 1.65/2 + 1.52/2

c ≥ 2.85         then your square sides (A) should be slightly bigger than √2.965²/2

a = square sides ≥ √4.39   A ≥ 2.0965  in.

Then remember to add a minimum clearance of around 2 mm (.0787 in.), then your board size should have squares of at least 2.0965 + .0787 = 2.175 inches, or around 55 mm of squares. But if you prefer a little more working space (I do) then, a 2.25 in (57 mm) square is better.

 In the photo below my Reykjavik bishop fits tightly between K and Q, with just 2 mm clearance on a 2.17 (55 mm) board.

Finally if this entire math is a bore to you, I am more than willing to do the calculations for you. Just send me a note with your dimensions (board or pieces). Thank you for reading.

I want to make chess board from wood. Chess table but I can not decide square size. King height 67mm. If some one help I will be happy. Thanks fot attend.

The diameter of the base of the king is more important than the height of the king.  What is the diameter?

You would probably want to make a board that will fit other future pieces you could buy. I suggest you use the standard tournament size of 2.25 inches squares. 

This wooden chess set and king height 67mm. Another diemension ı dont understand