Reproduction Chess Sets

Our take

The reason to buy a reproduction as a complete set rather than as an army on its own is one number: square size. A historic pattern only looks right on a board cut for it, and the difference between right and nearly right is obvious the moment the pieces are on it. Too small a square and the position looks crowded from move one. Too large and the army looks lost. Every set on this page has already had that decision made for it.

Where I would push back on myself: if you already own a board you love, buying a set means paying for a second one. That is a real cost and the answer is usually to buy the army on its own instead. This page is for the buyer starting from nothing, or the buyer who wants the pattern presented the way it was meant to look. For a first historic set I would take one of the 1849 Staunton pairings, and for something with more character the Soviet and Central European patterns are where I would spend the money.

Karl Matias, Customer Experience & Resident Player, Sterling Chess

Board and pieces, already matched

Matching an army to a board is straightforward arithmetic and it still catches people out. You take the base diameter of the king, add roughly a third, and that is the square size you want, so a 95mm king on a 40mm base wants a 50mm to 55mm square. Get it wrong and nothing is broken, but the set never quite looks like the photograph that made you want it.

A complete set removes that step. The board sizes across this range run from 37cm to 60cm, scaled to the army they ship with, and the pairing is set before the box leaves. That is the whole difference between this collection and our reproduction chess pieces range, which is the same patterns sold as armies for buyers who already have a board in mind.

The patterns available as complete sets

Twenty patterns are stocked as board and pieces together, spanning designs named for a maker, a place or an event.

• 1849 Staunton. The pattern the game is most associated with, as an ebony and boxwood set on a 53cm board, or in the unusual painted crimson and ivory white finish with a 115mm king.
• Dubrovnik and Zagreb. The two mid-century patterns people ask for by name: the 1950 Dubrovnik in burnt and natural boxwood and the 1959 Russian Zagreb, both on 55cm boards.
• Soviet and Central European. The Averbakh 1949 Moscow Championship, the 1933 Antonio Fabiano Botvinnik in ebony, the 1961 Soviet Baku in sheesham and the Austrian Coffee House Old Vienna.
• Championship and tournament patterns. The 1972 Fischer Spassky low knight in rosewood, the Piatigorsky Cup in ebony, the 1904 Cambridge Springs on a 60cm board and the Imperial Collector Sinquefield Cup 2014 in bud rosewood.
• Continental and design-led. The French Lardy in Indian rosewood, the 1930 German Knubbel, and the 1924 Bauhaus Geometrical, which at a 49mm king is the smallest set here and also sits in our minimalist chess sets range.
• 19th century English. The B and Co 1860s in antique ebony, the oldest design offered here as a complete set.

Board sizes, and what fits where

Board sizes here run from 37cm to 60cm. The two ends of that range are genuinely different objects and it is worth knowing which one you are buying before it arrives.

A 55cm to 60cm board is a full size playing board and it needs a dedicated table or a permanent spot. A 37cm board with a 76mm king is a set you can leave on a side table and still play a proper game on. Most of this range sits at 55cm, which suits a dining table and reads well from either side.

If a board on its own is what you actually need, our chess boards range lists square sizes for every board, and the wood chess boards are the closest match in material to these sets.

Set or pieces: which should you buy?

Buy the complete set if you are starting without a board, if you want the pattern shown at its intended proportions, or if it is a gift and you do not want the recipient measuring anything. Buy the army on its own if you already own a board you like, if you want a pattern that is only stocked as pieces, or if you want to spend your budget on the pieces rather than splitting it.

There are 72 patterns available as reproduction chess pieces against twenty as complete sets, so the pieces-only range is where the unusual designs are. If neither is quite right, the wider chess sets range covers current designs as well as historic ones.

Frequently asked questions

Are these antique chess sets?

No. Every set here is new, made to a historic pattern. Nothing carries provenance and nothing is period stock. If you want a genuine antique, an auction house or a specialist dealer is the right place and we will say so rather than sell you a reproduction instead.

Does the board come with the pieces?

Yes. Every listing on this page is a complete set, board and pieces together, with the board sized to the army it ships with. Most listings name the board size in the title.

What board size should I choose?

Match it to where the set will live rather than to a rule. A 55cm board suits a dining table and is the most common size in this range. A 60cm board wants a dedicated surface. A 37cm or 46cm board will sit on a side table and still play properly with the smaller armies they come with.

Can I buy the pieces without the board?

For many of these patterns, yes. Our reproduction chess pieces range carries 72 armies sold on their own, and most of the patterns here appear in it.

Are these sets suitable for club or tournament play?

Several are, and the ones cut to competition proportions also sit in our tournament chess sets range. Check the king height against your club's requirements. The smaller and more decorative patterns here are made to be looked at as much as played with.

Why do some of these sets look worn?

Antiqued, burnt and distressed finishes are applied on purpose to give a new set the tone of an old one. It is a finish rather than damage, and it is even across the whole army.

Do you ship reproduction chess sets Australia wide?

Yes. These ship from Australian stock with local support behind them, packed for the weight of a full timber board, and every order is covered by 100 day free returns.

Backed by Sterling Chess

We set up the patterns we stock before they go into the catalogue, which is how we can tell you which knights hold their detail at a smaller king height and which boards read better under a lamp than in daylight. Where a pattern is not right for what somebody is trying to do, we would rather say so and lose the order than have it come back.

If you are deciding between a complete set and an army for a board you already own, tell us the square size of that board and we will tell you what fits. Call us on (03) 7037 0931 or email support@sterlingchess.com.au. Everything ships from Australian stock and is covered by 100 day free returns, and there is more on how we work on our why buy from us page.