Reproduction Chess Pieces

Our take

This is the part of the catalogue I enjoy most, and the part buyers most often misread. Every set on this page is a new set of chessmen cut to an old pattern. They are not antiques and we do not sell them as antiques. What you are buying is the shape: the knight's head, the height of the bishop's mitre, the way a particular rook was turned, reproduced in fresh timber you can actually play on without worrying about it.

That distinction is the whole appeal. A genuine set of period chessmen is fragile, expensive and usually incomplete. A reproduction of the same pattern gives you the design, a full 32 pieces plus spare queens, and a set you can leave out and use. The honest limitation is the one people miss on their first order: these are pieces only. No board comes with them, and the board is a separate decision you need to get right, because the wrong square size will make a beautiful army look wrong on day one.

My advice on where to start: if you want one set that looks like the idea of a chess set, take one of the 1849 Staunton patterns. If you want one with more character, the Soviet and pre-Staunton designs are where this range gets genuinely interesting.

Blake Sterling, Founder, Sterling Chess

Reproduction, antique or replica: what you are buying

These three words get used loosely and they mean different things when money changes hands. An antique set is an original from the period, sold on its provenance and its condition, and priced accordingly. A reproduction is a new set made to an old design. A replica usually means the same thing, with more marketing attached to it.

Everything in this collection is a reproduction. Nothing here is presented as period stock, nothing carries provenance, and no piece in this range has ever been in a tournament. What it does carry is the pattern, in new timber, complete, and built to be played with. If you are hunting a genuine antique set, an auction house or a specialist dealer is the right place to look and we will say so rather than sell you something else.

The patterns in this range

Almost every set here takes its name from a specific pattern, maker or event. They fall into a few broad groups.

• The 1849 Staunton and its Victorian descendants. The pattern most people picture when they picture chess, in many readings across the range, from the Nathaniel Cooke 1849 Staunton in ebony through to a 158mm giant version that needs a very large board.
• Dubrovnik and Zagreb. Two of the most recognisable mid-century patterns, both well represented here, including the 1950 Dubrovnik and the 1959 Zagreb Staunton.
• Soviet and Eastern European. The deepest group in the range, and the one with the most distinctive shapes, from the 1935 Botvinnik Flohr to the tall Averbakh at 123mm.
• Championship and tournament patterns. Sets named for the events they are associated with, including the 1972 Fischer Spassky and the Piatigorsky Cup.
• Pre-Staunton and 19th century English. The designs that came before the pattern settled, which look unlike anything modern. The Edinburgh Northern Upright and the Grand Divan Simpsons in the Strand are the two to look at first.
• Continental and design-led. French, German, Austrian and modernist patterns, including the French Lardy and the 1924 Bauhaus Geometrical, which at 49mm is the smallest army in the collection.

Choosing by king height, and matching a board

King heights across this range run from 49mm to 158mm, and most sit between 80mm and 119mm, which is the normal band for a full size board. Height is the number in every product title here, so the range is easy to scan once you know what you are looking for.

Matching pieces to a board is the step that goes wrong. Measure the base diameter of your king and choose a board whose square is comfortably wider than that base, leaving room for two pieces to stand on adjacent squares without touching. FIDE puts competition squares between 5cm and 6cm. Every listing in this range gives its king height and base diameter so you can do that arithmetic before you order rather than after. Our chess boards range lists square sizes for the same reason, and the wood chess boards are the natural pairing for a timber reproduction set.

If you would rather not do the matching yourself, our reproduction chess sets range pairs historic patterns with a board already sized to them.

Timbers and finishes

Ebony is the most common dark timber across this range, with ebonised boxwood the next most common, where the grain is stained rather than solid ebony. The light side is usually boxwood, often antiqued, which is a deliberate warm patina rather than a fault in the finish. Sheesham, rosewood, bud rosewood and mahogany-stained options appear across a smaller number of patterns.

Antiqued and distressed finishes are worth understanding before you order, because they photograph as wear. That is the intent: the finish is applied to make a new set read as an old one, and it is even across the whole army rather than concentrated where a hand would have worn it. If you want a clean modern finish instead, the wider wood chess pieces range is the better place to look.

These are pieces only

Every listing on this page is an army of chessmen on its own, with no board and no storage included. That is normal at this end of the market and it is deliberate, because a collector buying a Dubrovnik pattern usually has strong opinions about the board it goes on.

Two things worth adding to the order. A board, sized as above. And storage, because a set like this should not live in a bag: our chess piece storage boxes are made to hold a full army with the pieces separated. A Dubrovnik in the range, cut for Chessnut Pro sensor compatibility, is the exception worth knowing about if you play online on a physical board, and it pairs with our electronic chess boards.

Frequently asked questions

Are these antique chess pieces?

No. They are new chessmen made to historic patterns. Nothing in this collection is period stock and nothing carries provenance. If you want a genuine antique set, a specialist dealer or auction house is where to look.

Do reproduction chess pieces come with a board?

No. Every listing here is pieces only. Boards are in our chess boards range, and if you want the pair matched for you, look at reproduction chess sets instead.

What board size do I need for these pieces?

Take the base diameter of the king and choose a square comfortably wider than it, leaving room for two pieces on adjacent squares without touching. FIDE puts competition squares between 5cm and 6cm. Each listing gives you both figures, so you can check before you buy rather than discovering the mismatch on the table.

Why does the finish look worn on some of these sets?

Because it is meant to. Antiqued and distressed finishes are applied deliberately to give a new set the tone of an old one. It is a finish, not damage, and it is applied evenly across the army.

How many pieces are in a set?

A full complement of 32 chessmen, and most of these patterns include spare queens so a promotion does not mean borrowing a rook. Exact counts are on each listing.

Which reproduction pattern should a first-time buyer choose?

One of the 1849 Staunton patterns, in a king height between 90mm and 100mm. It is the shape the game is most associated with, it suits a standard board, and it will not date. The unusual patterns are more rewarding once you know what you like.

Can I use these for tournament play?

Many of them, yes, if the king height and weighting suit your club's requirements. Check the height against the board you will play on. If regulation proportions are the priority rather than the pattern, our Staunton chess pieces range is a more direct answer.

Do you ship reproduction chess pieces Australia wide?

Yes. These ship from Australian stock with local support, and every order is covered by 100 day free returns.

Backed by Sterling Chess

We handle and set up the patterns we stock before they go into the catalogue, which is how we can tell you that a distressed finish reads darker in the hand than on screen, or which knights lose their detail at a smaller king height. Where a pattern is not right for what someone is trying to do, we would rather say so than take the order.

This is the part of the range where a conversation before ordering saves the most trouble, usually about matching an army to a board you already own. Call us on (03) 7037 0931 or email support@sterlingchess.com.au with the square size of your board and we will tell you what fits. Everything ships from Australian stock and is covered by 100 day free returns. More on how we work is on our why buy from us page.