Ferrer Chess

Our take

Ferrer are a veneer house that moved into chess boards, and that order matters. Rechapados Ferrer started in La Garriga outside Barcelona in the late 1950s working wood veneers, and the boards came later. It shows in the thing they are actually best at, which is laying a figured timber dead flat and keeping it that way.

The detail most buyers miss is the finish. Every board in this range carries a matte anti-reflection coating rather than a gloss lacquer, and once you have played a long game under a ceiling light on a glossy board you understand why that is worth paying for. It is the single most practical difference between a Ferrer board and a cheaper one, and it is the part that photographs worst and plays best.

Three tiers run through the range. Standard is a genuine playing board, Deluxe steps up the timber selection and the precision of the veneer work, and the Barcelona line sits at the top on timber alone. If you are buying one board to keep, the Deluxe is where the curve flattens out.

We stock the range at 50cm. That is the size that suits the pieces most people already own, and it is the one Ferrer build their best specifications around, so it is where we have put the catalogue.

Blake Sterling, Founder, Sterling Chess

Who Rechapados Ferrer are

Rechapados Ferrer have been making boards in La Garriga, near Barcelona, since the late 1950s. They began as wood veneer specialists before moving into chessboard production, and over six decades became a regular supplier to major international tournaments and to other chess brands worldwide. Every board, set and piece in this range is made in Spain.

That tournament background is the reason the range reads the way it does. The boards are built around playing specifications first, with the decorative timbers chosen to fit those specifications rather than the other way round.

Standard, Deluxe and Barcelona

• Standard. Walnut or mahogany over sycamore, in 55mm squares at 50cm. The playing specification is the point, and notation is available on the coordinates versions.
• Deluxe. A clear step up in timber selection and finishing precision, in Ferrer's own words. Walnut, mahogany, wengue and black olive, in 50mm squares at 50cm.
• Barcelona. The top of the board range, in wengue or walnut over sycamore, at 50mm squares. Same 13mm profile, chosen for the timber.

The practical consequence is square size, and it catches people out. At 50cm the Standard boards run 55mm squares and the Deluxe and Barcelona boards run 50mm. A Standard board therefore takes a larger piece than a Deluxe of exactly the same footprint, which is the opposite of what most buyers assume.

The boards

All veneer laid over a core at 12mm to 13mm, all finished matte, all at 50cm.

• Wenge Deluxe Barcelona Chess Board: wengue over sycamore, near black with a strong open grain.
• Walnut Deluxe Barcelona Chess Board: the softer contrast of the two Barcelona boards, and easier on the eye across a long session.
• Black Olive Deluxe Chess Board: olive light squares against black tulipie. The most distinctive timber pairing Ferrer make.
• Mahogany Deluxe Chess Board: warm mid-brown against sycamore, in the Deluxe specification.
• Walnut Deluxe Chess Board: the straightforward Deluxe choice, and the one we point most buyers at first.
• Mahogany Standard Chess Board With Coordinates: algebraic notation printed along the frame, for anyone recording games.
• Walnut Standard Chess Board: 55mm squares at 50cm, the largest squares in the Ferrer range.

Complete sets

The sets pair a Ferrer board with Ferrer pieces at 50cm, which removes the square-size question entirely.

• Wengue Barcelona Deluxe 50cm Chess Set: 50mm squares with a 95mm king on a 35mm base. The top of the set range.
• Walnut Deluxe 50cm Chess Set: same 95mm king and 50mm squares, in walnut over sycamore.
• Black Olive Deluxe Staunton Chess Set: olive light squares against black tulipie, with a 94mm king on a 37.5mm base.
• Queen's Gambit Official Chess Set: the officially licensed set from the Netflix series, in black tulipie with natural wood veneer light squares.
• Walnut Standard 50cm Chess Set With Coordinates: 55mm squares with notation on the frame, and a 95mm king.
• Mahogany Standard 50cm Chess Set: the entry point into a matched Ferrer set, at 55mm squares.

Pieces on their own

Three piece sets, each offered in a 90mm or a 95mm king. Ferrer publish the pairing themselves: the 90mm king suits boards with 40mm to 50mm squares, and the 95mm king suits 50mm to 55mm squares. Against our 50cm boards that means the 95mm king for a Standard board at 55mm squares, and either height on a Deluxe or Barcelona board at 50mm, where the 90mm sits tighter and the 95mm fills the square.

• Black Matte Olive Staunton Chess Pieces: matte black against olive, matching the Black Olive boards.
• Black Standard Chess Pieces: hand-carved with a consistent matte lacquer on the dark side.

If you are pairing Ferrer pieces to a board from elsewhere in the catalogue, our chess boards range lists square size on every listing, and the wood chess boards range is where the closest alternatives sit.

The matte finish, and why it matters

Every Ferrer board is finished with a matte anti-reflection coating instead of a gloss lacquer. On the Queen's Gambit boards that coating is an ICA UV-cured matte, the same treatment Ferrer apply to their professional boards.

Gloss looks better in a photograph and worse on a table. Under a ceiling light or a lamp, a glossy board throws a hotspot straight back at whoever is sitting on that side, and after an hour it tells. The matte coating removes that entirely, which is why tournament boards have used it for decades.

Frequently asked questions

Where are Ferrer boards made?

In La Garriga, near Barcelona, where Rechapados Ferrer have been producing boards since the late 1950s. The whole range is made in Spain.

What is the difference between Standard and Deluxe?

Ferrer describe the Deluxe range as a clear step up in material quality and finishing precision over the Standard. In practice the Deluxe boards use the better timber selection and a tighter veneer lay. Square sizes differ too: at 50cm, Standard runs 55mm squares and Deluxe runs 50mm.

Which king height suits which board?

Ferrer publish it directly. A 90mm king suits boards with 40mm to 50mm squares, and a 95mm king suits 50mm to 55mm squares. On a Standard board at 55mm squares that means the 95mm king; on a Deluxe or Barcelona at 50mm, either height works.

Are Ferrer boards veneer?

Yes, laid over a core at 12mm to 13mm, which is the method that keeps a figured timber flat. It is the standard construction for European tournament boards and it is what Ferrer built their reputation on, having started as veneer specialists before they made boards at all.

Do the boards come with notation?

On the coordinates versions, yes, with algebraic notation printed along the frame. The Deluxe boards are supplied without notation.

What size are Ferrer boards and sets?

Fifty centimetres. That is the size we carry the range at, and it suits the tournament-scale pieces most players already own.

What warranty do Ferrer products carry?

Two years, across the whole Ferrer range. That is double the 12 month term most chess boards carry, and it is the manufacturer's own.

How should a Ferrer board be looked after?

Keep it out of direct sunlight and away from heating vents, which is what lifts veneer over time. A soft dry cloth is all the matte surface needs, and chemical cleaners should stay away from it.

Backed by Sterling Chess

Ferrer is one of the ranges we are asked about most by players who already know the name from a tournament hall. We handle these boards before they go into the catalogue, and the square sizes, king heights and pairings on this page are Ferrer's own figures.

All Australian stock with local support and 100 day free returns, on top of Ferrer's two year manufacturer warranty. If you want a Ferrer board matched to pieces you already own, tell us the king height and base diameter and we will tell you which board it belongs on. For the wider premium board range, the luxury chess boards collection sits alongside this one, and complete sets in other timbers are in wood chess sets.