Chess Pieces

Since 2008 The Regency Chess Company has been sourcing the finest chess pieces from around the world. We source directly from the manufacturers and artisans in Italy, Greece and India to be able to offer the best selection that our customers can buy from stock.

How it all began

In the summer of 2008 Julian Deverell, the founder of Regency Chess had a chance meeting in London with the son of Rajesh Sharma who at the time owned and ran one of the world’s most prestigious chess piece factories. For the previous ten years he’d been the exclusive supplier to House of Staunton in the USA who has created an incredible brand and reputation selling the best wooden chessmen.

After seeing the samples, Julian knew he was onto something, so The Regency Chess Company was born and a range of chess pieces was brought to market. Since those days we have added a host of other fine producers to our supply chain including Italfama in Italy and Manopoulos in Greece.

The four basic styles of chess piece

• Staunton
• Isle of Lewis
• Themed
• Pre Staunton

Chess piece production

Our range of chess pieces is extensive, we sell classic Staunton pieces, themed pieces, metal, marble and stone pieces. Each type has a unique production method.

Wooden Chessmen

Wood is without doubt the most popular material for chess pieces and our wooden sets make up the vast majority of our sales. There are many wood types available and species like ebony and boxwood are ideal for making pieces. The production method usually involves turning the pieces on a lathe (in the traditional way) with hand carving of the more intricate pieces and knights. You can see how wooden chessmen are made in this video. 

Woods used in the production of chess pieces

The best wooden chessmen are all crafted from dense hardwoods. A hard tight grained wood is essential for high levels of detail and durability. Boxwood is the most common wood and is always used for the light side of the set. The dark side is typically made from Ebony, Rosewood, Stained Boxwood, Acacia, Sheesham, and a host of other hardwoods. You can learn more about the woods used in chess set creation on our woods guide page.

Other materials used to make chess pieces

Stone

The most common production method for stone chessmen involves mixing powdered stone with a resin and using moulds. This means the pieces can be mass produced more easily and they remain consistent. We have sold thousands of stone resin sets of pieces in the form of our Lewis Chessmen which are the second most popular design after Staunton.

Metal

There are fundamentally two production methods for making metal pieces, lathe turning or casting. The lathe turning is the most expensive method but without doubt offers the best results. Casting is a cheaper method and can be used for pieces with more surface detail but for that engineered look a lathed piece is always preferable. We source all our metal chess pieces from Italy and Greece and sell only the very finest quality.

Marble

Marble is another material that lends itself well to be crafted into chess pieces. Heavy, durable and often highly attractive it can be worked and polished into lovely chess pieces. We only source marble chess pieces from Italy to ensure the very best quality.

Chess piece frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Are your chess pieces weighted?

All of our wooden chess pieces are weighted for perfect balance. The metal, stone, resin and marble pieces are not weighted due to being naturally very heavy.

What is the difference between double and triple weighted?

There is no difference. The term ‘double weighted’ was a marketing phrase to make a certain retailers pieces look heavier than their competitors. Before long someone created the term ‘triple weighted’ to create the perception of something even better. The reality is that you can only weight the piece according to the size of the base and in most cases the maximum weight is inserted. Our pieces are weighted for balance which is more important that outright weight.

How do I choose the right chess pieces for my board?

Size is the most important factor to consider when you’re buying chessmen for a specific board. Our helpful sizing guide will guide you through how to select the perfect pieces.

Are your chess pieces covered by a warranty?

Yes, we cover them with a two year warranty and offer a free piece replacement service in cases where a piece gets lost or damaged.

Chess piece basics

The composition of a set of chess pieces {can this little section be graphical? Maybe a photo of each piece next to the name ? ]

For the game of chess, the set of pieces always follows the same format. There are only six different pieces in a set and a total of thirty-two of them. Although some sets come with extra queens making the total thirty-four, but this isn’t necessary and a set of chess pieces is regarded as complete when there are thirty-two present. The six pieces in order of size are:

• King
• Queen
• Bishop
• Knight
• Rook
• Pawn

How many of each piece is in one set? 

A full set of chessmen will comprise of the following

• Kings 2
• Queens 2
• Bishops 4
• Knights 4
• Rooks 4
• Pawns 16

Chess pieces useful resources

We have some useful tools to help you find the perfect chessmen. Our chess piece finder has an excellent search facility that means you can see the perfect chess pieces within a few seconds.

Chess pieces by size