Theme Chess Sets

Our take

Themed sets get bought for someone else more often than any other category we stock, and that is where they go wrong. The set gets chosen for the theme and nothing else, it arrives, it looks great on a shelf, and nobody ever plays a game on it. The good ones in this range are the ones that survive the second test as well as the first.

So the question worth asking is which of the two things you actually want. If it is a display piece for someone who loves the story, the pewter and stainless steel sets are the right answer and you should not apologise for it. If you want a set that gets used, look at the ones with conventional proportions underneath the theme, because a piece you cannot tell apart from its neighbour at a glance stops being fun by move ten. The Queen's Gambit sets are the ones that manage both, which is why we keep two of them.

Karl Matias, Customer Experience & Resident Player, Sterling Chess

Screen and story sets

The largest group here, and the one most gift buyers are after. Royal Selangor cast theirs in pewter, which gives them real weight in the hand and a finish that does not chip.

• Royal Selangor Star Wars Classic: pewter figures from the original films, the most requested themed set we carry.
• Royal Selangor War of the Rings: the fantasy end of the range, and the set that reads best as a display piece.
• Ferrer Queen's Gambit Official and the Dal Rossi Queen's Gambit 50cm: both timber, both with ordinary Staunton proportions, so they play like a normal set and only announce themselves if you know what you are looking at.
• Captain America 98mm with a 45cm board: weighted plastic rather than timber, which makes it the one in this group you can hand to a child without worrying.

Architecture and cities

Skyline Chess make the most distinctive sets in this collection: stainless steel pieces modelled on real buildings, with each city's landmarks standing in for the ranks. Four editions are stocked.

The Paris Edition and the Singapore Edition are single city sets. The London vs New York Edition puts two skylines against each other, which is the version people buy for an office. The World Icons Edition spreads the landmarks across both armies. The whole range sits in our Skyline Chess collection, and these are steel rather than timber, so they also appear in metal chess sets.

Historic and folkloric

The Dal Rossi Isle of Lewis 40cm is the oldest design in this collection by a long way, and it is the themed set most likely to be bought by someone who plays seriously. The pieces are copies of a medieval carved set rather than an invention, which is why it does not date the way a licensed set can. It sits in our Isle of Lewis chess sets collection alongside its sibling.

Display piece or playing set?

This is the decision that decides whether the set gets used. Ask three things before you order. Can you tell a bishop from a knight across the table at a glance? Are the bases wide enough that pieces do not tip when a hand brushes them? And is the board big enough that a crowded position is still readable?

Themed sets that answer yes to all three play as well as anything. Themed sets that answer no are display pieces, and there is nothing wrong with buying one on that basis as long as it is the basis you chose. If it turns out you want a playing set after all, our Staunton chess sets and wood chess sets ranges are built for exactly that, and the theme chess pieces range covers themed armies sold without a board.

Frequently asked questions

Can you actually play chess on a themed set?

On some of them, comfortably. The Queen's Gambit sets use standard Staunton proportions, and the Captain America set is weighted and sized for play. The pewter and steel sets are heavier on character and lighter on legibility, so they suit display and occasional games better than a weekly one.

What are themed chess pieces made from?

In this range: pewter for the Royal Selangor sets, stainless steel for the Skyline city sets, timber for the Queen's Gambit and Isle of Lewis sets, and weighted plastic for the Captain America set. Each listing names its material.

Are themed chess sets a good gift?

They are the best gift in the catalogue if you know what the recipient likes and you are honest with yourself about whether they play. Buy for the story if they are a fan and for the proportions if they are a player. If they are both, one of the Queen's Gambit sets is the safest answer we have.

Do themed chess sets come with a board?

Most do, and each listing says so. If you want a themed army for a board you already own, look at theme chess pieces instead.

What is the Isle of Lewis set?

A reproduction of a famous medieval carved set, with squat, expressive figures quite unlike Staunton chessmen. It is the one themed design that predates the modern game's standard shapes rather than departing from them.

Which themed set holds its value best?

We do not make investment claims and would be wary of anyone who does. What we will say is that the pewter and steel sets are built from materials that do not degrade, and a design based on history rather than a current licence tends to look less dated in ten years.

Do you ship themed chess sets Australia wide?

Yes. Everything here is Australian stock, shipped domestically with local support and packed for the weight of metal pieces where that applies, and every order is covered by 100 day free returns.

Backed by Sterling Chess

Every set here has been unboxed and set up before it went into the catalogue, which in this category mostly means finding out how well the pieces read on a board rather than in a product photograph. That is the thing you cannot judge online and the thing we can tell you.

If you are buying a themed set as a gift and you are not sure whether the recipient wants a display piece or something to play on, ask us. Call us on (03) 7037 0931 or email support@sterlingchess.com.au. Orders ship from Australian stock and everything is covered by 100 day free returns. More on how we work is on our why buy from us page.