antique chess board Archives - chessbazaar Blog

Introduction

Do you want to start playing chess, but don’t know how to choose the perfect board? This step-by-step guide will help you find the best board for your needs. There are a few things to consider when making your purchase, such as size, materials, and style.

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced chess player, choosing the right chess board is important. The wrong board can make the game more difficult and frustrating than it needs to be. In this blog post, we will discuss the different factors you need to consider when choosing a chess board, as well as some of the best boards on the market today.

Let’s get started!

How to Choose the Perfect Chess Board?

While choosing a chess set may be partly based on preferences, it’s also important to consider the practicality of your decision. Do you prefer wooden or vinyl? By knowing precisely what you want, the decision will be much easier.

Some of the criteria that you might want to keep in mind are

Serious gameplay or purely decorative?
Travel Vs Home
Size
Material
Design
Budget

Let’s take a closer look at each one of them

● Serious gameplay or one that is purely decorative?

When purchasing a chess set, you might not think to ask yourself whether the set is for play or decoration. However, it’s an important question with a surprising answer – some sets are made purely for decoration and aren’t meant to be played with at all. While all of our sets are beautiful, some don’t play as well as others. For example, take a look at our “Slightly Imperfect Chessboard Series“– they are all stunning! However, because the pieces aren’t easily identifiable, it can be tough to play a game with them.

● Is the chessboard meant for home use or travel?

One of the most important steps in choosing a chessboard is whether you want a portable set or one for your home. If you plan to travel with it, make sure it’s not too heavy or delicate. You wouldn’t want it taking up valuable space in your luggage either.

Usually, portable versions of anything come with some sort of sacrifice in quality. For example, cheaper boards are likely to be less aesthetically pleasing than their sleeker counterparts that stay at home.

For those wanting a more convenient option, consider purchasing a folding board or small wooden chessboard with designated hollow spaces to keep all the pieces in one place.

A magnetic chessboard is a great option for pieces that are less likely to get lost on long trips. This way, you can also play while traveling without the risk of losing pieces.

Check out our Travel Series Chessboard.

● Size of the Chessboard

The size of your chessboard will affect both the cost and accessibility, with larger boards being more expensive but easier to play on if you have bad eyesight.

If you buy the board and pieces separately, make sure that the size of the pieces fits 75% of a square on the chessboard. If you buy them together, don’t worry as they come sized correctly for one another.

● Material of the Chessboard

There are a few things you should take into consideration when deciding what type of chessboard to buy. Ask yourself how important the material is to you, and weigh that against other factors such as price and durability.

For example, materials like wood or marble might be more attractive but they’re also usually more expensive and less durable. Wooden chess boards can easily get scratched, and marble can chip fairly easily as well.

If you don’t travel with your chess board, however, this shouldn’t be an issue. Otherwise, plastic chess sets are both affordable and durable; though they lack the feeling of authenticity that often comes with hand-crafted pieces.

● Design of the Chessboard

There are endless possibilities when it comes to choosing a design for your chessboard. If you buy the board and pieces together, they will usually match in color and style.

Some people prefer a more classic look while others prefer something more modern or even whimsical.

One important thing to consider is how good you are with chess notations.

If you can easily recognize a square without having the letters “a to h” and numbers “1 to 8” printed on the edge of the board, you should probably go with one that doesn’t have them.

On the other hand, if you’re just starting or need a little help keeping track of where each piece goes, it might be worth getting a chessboard with these notations.

● Budget

Your budget is, of course, a major factor when choosing any type of chess set. If you’re looking for a high-quality board with beautiful pieces, you can expect to pay more.

If you’re just starting, however, there are plenty of chess sets available at a lower price point. You can always upgrade later on as your skills improve.

Consider these factors when choosing a chess set and you’re sure to find the perfect one for you!

Shop CB Genuine Black Leather Sling Bag for Wooden Chess Board Fits up to 21″ or 54 cm Square Chessboards

Conclusion

So, what’s the best chessboard for you? It depends on your needs and preferences. We hope this article has helped make the process a little less daunting.

If you’re still stuck or have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below and we’ll do our best to help.

Happy shopping!

If you are just beginning your chess journey there must be one thing but you struggle with more than anything, it is probably regarding openings. Learning chess openings can be quite a struggle since there is so much to study, this article will help you on that.

This is a compilation of all the best beginner chess openings out there that can help your learning curve, these are all beginner-friendly so you wouldn’t struggle too much. The quest to find the best beginner chess opening starts here, keep on reading if you are interested.

Best Beginner Chess Openings for White

In order to make things more fair, it is important to discuss many of the recommended beginner chess openings for white. It is not like there is only one “chess opening” that beats all, there are many theoretical lines that can be just as optimal in the right situation.

If you are a beginner here are the most recommended chess openings for white:

Beginner Chess Opening #1 Ruy Lopez

If you have watched any competitive chess tournaments lately then you are likely to have encountered this variation in most of the games, this is for a good reason. It is probably the most fundamental chess opening out there that features everything about a chess opening.

It allows white to gain an advantage right out of the opening (specific regarding space and development), but not so much that black is just completely losing. This is a theme that is common for all good chess openings that you will ever study.

There are only really few chess openings that can completely decide the game if the opponent plays correctly, more often than not the lines would just be normal. This is recommended for beginners since it can introduce them to the true nature of chess.

There is a lot going on but the advantage gained is subtle, it is also deemed safe since the position is relatively stable. White will gain an advantage without too much effort, a player only needs to remember some 3-5 key moves in order to be decent.

Another reason why it is so good comes from the position that it promotes, it has a complete package offer of what is common in all other openings. By mastering this particular variation you are likely to play themes in all other openings that you will eventually encounter.

It can serve as a good base knowledge before you delve into much more complicated variations, this will make you a more complete learner. I would agree that starting with this is somewhat difficult (since the lines can also be extensive), but it can be worth the trouble.

Beginner Chess Opening #2 English Opening

This opening is something that I see a lot of beginners thrive in, the English opening is a variation that offers a quiet position without a lot of things going on. White wouldn’t gain too much advantage but they would still be slightly better.

This is actually why beginners do prefer this particular opening, it is so quiet that there aren’t many traps that can end the game quickly. People can actually play the middlegame or even possibly the endgame without suffering from opponents that studied traps extensively.

With this opening beginners will also learn how to play positionally, something that a lot of people struggle with when starting. The only downside is that you don’t gain much from the opening, but let’s be real beginners probably wouldn’t convert their small advantage anyway.

This is why the English opening can be a good asset for beginners, people can reach the middlegame without falling for a theoretical preparation.

Beginner Chess Opening #3 Queen’s gambit

This is probably the most important variation following the 1.d4 line, understanding how this is played will unlock more opening opportunities for beginners. Unlike the 1.e4, the 1.d4 is much more quiet, although not as quiet as the English opening (1.c4).

If you have played on lichess or chess.com, there is no way you wouldn’t have encountered the queen’s gambit, the themes in this opening are so elementary that it is used in many 1.d4 variations. Slav defense, London system, King’s Indian defense, etc. all arise after the queen’s gambit line.

This also introduces the idea of gambits to a beginner, since most people who start playing chess only care about material and never about positional edge. Punishing an opponent that overguard their gambited pawn is also quite easy.

You don’t need to memorize a lot and many quick wins can be achieved by a properly implemented queen’s gambit. After learning about this it is also easy to study about other defenses that may not be as popular, it will increase your overall opening repertoire.

Beginner Chess Opening #4 Italian Game

If you look at the picture above the italian game is very similar to the Ruy Lopez except the bishop was developed to a different square, however, this is a completely different chess opening. This is not as rudimentary as the Ruy Lopez but it is still good for beginners.

I will suggest this more on people that likes to attack but doesn’t necessarily have their tactical game on point yet, it features rich attacking opportunities that are not too crazy (maybe except the fried liver attack). This is the one that I recommend so you don’t just attack like a barbarian monkey.

If you are an aggressive player and do know how to convert advantages, some other openings like the scotch game would be better. Italian games are usually on the positional side with a good attacking setup.

You will have chances but it is still relatively quiet that you can probably perform better.

English Opening: Best Beginner Chess Opening for White

So what’s the verdict? What is the best opening for beginners regarding the white pieces? I would say that it would definitely be the English opening.

It is a quiet opening that doesn’t give too many opportunities for one to mess up, many people who have played chess know a lot of variations that can end the game quickly. Beginners usually cannot keep up with this initial knowledge, the English opening provides a safe way to get in the middlegame without many pitfalls.

Of course the other openings can just be as good in their own ways, but most beginners will find more value in playing the English!

Also Read: How to Set Up a Chessboard – Step by Step – chessbazaar’s Guide

Best Beginner Chess Openings for Black

This is the thing with this question, it is hard to pinpoint the best chess opening since both black and white will have their own respective variations. This means that the best opening for white will not be applicable to the black pieces, they need to be separated.

So if you’re playing the black pieces you wouldn’t be able to apply the openings for white, this is why it needs its own list. For the most part here are the best chess openings for beginners:

Beginner Chess Opening #5 Berlin defense

This is like the Ruy Lopez of the black pieces, the themes are also rudimentary and there are many positional nuances that can give black an equal position. The Berlin defense is also a response to the Ruy Lopez itself which adds more to the congruency.

Many chess professionals who play against the Ruy Lopez will prefer to go with the Berlin defense from among all other variations, the main line leads to an endgame that is somewhat drawish. This is good for beginners since they can avoid opening traps and go straight into the endgame.

One of the most common pieces of advice for beginners is to first master the endgame among all else, this is pretty hard if you could not even survive the middlegame. The Berlin defense ensures that the player can reach the endgame with minimal effort, this makes it a good option.

Beginner Chess Opening #6 Petroff defense

This one is still common in the high levels although not as common as the Berlin defense, the goal of this opening is pretty similar though. The Petroff is considered to be a somewhat drawish chess opening that will give an equal position if both sides play correctly.

There are some aggressive sidelines that can arise from the Petroff but it should be somewhat dry in most cases, the positions do not offer as many pitfalls as other openings. If you are a beginner that is looking for quiet positions without necessarily waiting for a Ruy Lopez then the Petroff is for you.

The Berlin defense is still pretty good, however your opponent can deviate with an Italian game for example and suddenly you wouldn’t know what to play anymore. The petroff can allow you to take the pace of the game without giving chances for a deviation, you only need the 1. e4 move to do this.

Beginner Chess Opening #7 Sicilian defense

This is probably the most solid reply to the 1. e4 move, there are many things that white you can do to gain a significant edge in the opening. Most positions arising from the sicilian are relatively quiet yet also possess good space, beginners will have an easier time developing their pieces.

Of course there are some Sicilian variations that can get very funky (Sicilian Dragon, Poison Pawn Variation, etc.) But black will be the one to decide if they want to take this route. White will have some edge in the opening (as it always does) but the advantage is so minimal that it wouldn’t count that much.

There is also another greater benefit in playing the Sicilian defense, mainly of the variety that the player can study rather than sticking to a single opening. The sicilian offers numerous lines that give unique positions over its other variations so beginners can experiment quickly.

If you have mastered the Sicilian defense: classical variation for example you can go for a scheveningen variation without too many problems. This flexibility can give a lot of room for beginners to learn more broader but specialized openings.

Also Read: How to measure a perfect chessboard for a particular king size?

Beginner Chess Opening #8 Queen’s Gambit Declined

If you have noticed the opening suggestions above they are all a reply to the 1. e4 move, this is for good reason. Such openings are just that solid and do not give many traps for beginners to fall into, however it wouldn’t do justice if a reply to the 1.d4 move is not included.

So here it is, the Queen’s gambit declined is probably the most solid reply after 1.d4, there isn’t much white can do to have a significant advantage. White naturally is better in space at this particular variation but black should be just fine with normal play.

At the top level this is probably the most played variation after 1.d4 (the other being slav defense) since it offers a good middlegame initiative for black without too many concessions. The only downside is the difficulty of developing the light-squared bishop but should still be playable in the long run.

Sicilian Defense: Best Beginner Chess Opening for Black

After all has been said and done the best chess opening for black is probably the sicilian defense, it is simple yet can be broader due to its numerous variations. It doesn’t give many pitfalls yet can be flexible depending on how the player wants to play. It is the best recommendation.

Conclusion

The best beginner chess opening for white would be the English, it ensures that the player won’t have to deal with many aggressive variations and can easily transpose in the middlegame.

On the other hand the best beginner chess opening for black would be the Sicilian defense, it is pretty solid and black is usually the one who will control the tempo of the game. It also has numerous lines that will provide opportunities for future opening study.

Also Read: Chess Board and Pieces Dimensions