Chess Tables

Our take

A chess table is bought for the furniture and lived with for the square size. Every table here is cut to a fixed square, and each one publishes the king base it is built around. Get that pairing wrong and the pieces either crowd each other or float. It is the one specification worth checking before anything about timber or styling.

Four of the five tables are sold without pieces, so you are matching a set to the board yourself. If you would rather not, four bundles ship the table and pieces together. Worth knowing that the bundled pieces are a single 104mm Pro Staunton across three of them, and that sits differently on each table: comfortably on the 58cm, a little tight on the 56cm, and above the published base range on the 76cm. We say so on those pages rather than pretend one set suits every board.

The other thing people are surprised by is storage. The two wood-on-wood tournament tables and the Chessmasters have felt-lined drawers. The two acrylic ivory tables have none at all, and pieces live in a box beside the table. Neither is wrong, but it is worth deciding before the set arrives rather than after.

Karl Matias, Customer Experience & Resident Player, Sterling Chess

Match the pieces to the squares

Each table states the king base diameter it is designed for. These are the published figures, and they are the fastest way to narrow the range down to one or two tables.

• 53cm table: 53mm squares, for a 40mm to 45mm king base.
• 56cm table: 55mm squares, for a 38mm to 46mm king base and an 89mm to 95mm king.
• 58cm table: 57mm squares, for a 38mm to 48mm king base and a 95mm to 100mm king. The most forgiving of the five.
• 61cm round table: 51mm squares, for a 35mm to 42mm king base.
• 76cm Chessmasters table: 54mm squares, for a 36mm to 44mm king base and an 85mm to 95mm king.

If you already own a set, measure the base of the king and work from that figure. If you are buying pieces to suit a table you have chosen, our chess pieces range lists base diameters on every listing.

The wood-on-wood tables

Three tables use Golden Rosewood for the frame and dark squares with Maple for the light squares, and all three carry drawers.

• Golden Rosewood & Maple 56cm Chess Table: a 56 by 56cm board in 55mm squares, 69cm high, with two green-felt-lined drawers and brass handles. About 14kg, the lightest of the three.
• Golden Rosewood & Maple 58cm Tournament Chess Table: 57mm squares on a 58 by 58cm board, 69cm high, with two drawers on opposing sides. At 18kg this is the one built around full tournament-size pieces.
• Chessmasters Series 76cm Chess Table: the only rectangular table, with a 61 by 76cm top and 54mm squares at 67cm high. The extra width gives you borders for captured pieces, a clock and a scoresheet. One deep drawer, about 18kg.

The acrylic ivory tables

Two tables use an acrylic playing surface instead of timber, with ivory light squares and black dark squares set into a Golden Rosewood frame and border. The contrast is much starker than wood on wood, which is the point of them.

• Golden Rosewood & Acrylic Ivory 53cm Chess Table: 53mm squares, 69cm high, on four carved cabriole legs with ivory inlay running down them. No drawers, and at 6.1kg it is comfortably the easiest table here to move between rooms.
• Golden Rosewood & Acrylic Ivory 61cm Round Chess Table: the only round table in the range, 61cm across with 51mm squares, at 63.5cm the lowest of the five. The border carries hand-set Indian inlay work, elephant motifs and floral vines. No drawers, about 8.6kg.

Table and pieces bundles

Four bundles ship a table with a matched set of 34 hand-carved Pro Staunton pieces, 32 plus a spare queen for each side. They remove the piece-matching question, with the caveat noted in our take above.

• 58cm Tournament Chess Table & Pieces Bundle: a 104mm king on a 47mm base, inside the table's 38mm to 48mm range. The best-proportioned pairing of the four.
• 56cm Tournament Chess Table & Pieces Bundle: the same 104mm pieces on the smaller 55mm squares. The 47mm base sits just above the table's published 38mm to 46mm range, so the pieces fill the squares more fully.
• Chessmasters Series 76cm Chess Table & Pieces Bundle: the same pieces again on 54mm squares. The 47mm base is above the table's 36mm to 44mm range, so movement clearance is tighter than on the 58cm.
• Golden Rosewood & Acrylic Ivory 61cm Chess Table & Pieces Bundle: a smaller 92mm king on a 39mm base, well inside the round table's 35mm to 42mm range. Ebonised Boxwood and Boxwood rather than rosewood, for maximum contrast against the acrylic board.

Storage, and what to do without it

The 56cm and 58cm tables each carry two green-felt-lined drawers, and the Chessmasters carries one deep drawer. The 53cm and the 61cm round have no integrated storage at all.

That is not a fault so much as a different design. Where there are no drawers, a dedicated case does the job and keeps the pieces better protected than a drawer does. Our chess piece storage boxes are sized for standard Staunton sets and sit neatly beside a table.

Which table suits you

• Serious club or tournament practice: the 58cm. Its 57mm squares take the largest pieces of any table here and it is the only one whose published range comfortably fits a 104mm king.
• Long sessions with a clock and notation: the 76cm Chessmasters. The rectangular top is the only one with room for anything beside the board.
• A small room or an apartment: the 53cm. Lightest, smallest footprint, and the acrylic surface reads clearly under poor light.
• A piece of furniture first: the 61cm round. The inlay work is the reason to buy it, and the round top changes how a room reads in a way the square tables do not.
• A first proper chess table: the 56cm. Drawers, wood on wood, and the smallest of the three tournament-style tables.

Frequently asked questions

Do chess tables come with pieces?

Four of the five are sold as the table only. If you want pieces included, the four bundles pair each table with a matched Pro Staunton set.

How do I know which pieces fit?

Every table publishes a recommended king base range. Measure the base of your king and check it against that range. A base above the range crowds the squares and leaves little room to move a piece without knocking its neighbour; a base below it looks visually loose.

Are chairs included?

No. Every table here is supplied on its own, and seating is not part of any listing or bundle. Table heights run from 63.5cm on the round table to 69cm on the 56cm and 58cm, which is worth measuring against the chairs you plan to use.

Do the tables need assembly?

They ship with the legs detached to protect them in transit. Attaching the legs to the base is straightforward and needs no specialist tools.

Can a chess table be used as ordinary furniture?

Yes, and most are. A chess table works as a side table, a lamp table or a games table between matches. The practical benefit is that the board never has to be packed away, so a game can sit half finished without taking over a dining table.

What is the difference between the acrylic and the timber boards?

The three wood-on-wood tables use Golden Rosewood and Maple squares, so the contrast is warm and relatively low. The 53cm and the 61cm round use an acrylic board with ivory and black squares, which is a much higher contrast surface and easier to read at a glance under artificial light.

Which table takes the largest pieces?

The 58cm Tournament table, with 57mm squares and a published range up to a 48mm king base.

Backed by Sterling Chess

Chess tables are the part of the catalogue where a specification error is expensive, because the board cannot be swapped once it is built into the top. If you tell us the king base of the set you own, or the pieces you are planning to buy, we will tell you which of these tables it actually suits and which to avoid.

Every table ships from Australian stock with local support and 100 day free returns. If a chess table is not the right answer, a board on an existing table often is, and our chess boards range covers that. The full chess accessories range carries the clocks, cases and storage that go around a table. For buyers who shop by brand, the Dal Rossi collection covers boards, sets, pieces and chess tables.