- What size space do you have available for a chess board?
- How large are the chess pieces you have or are considering buying?
- Are you looking to install a permanent chess board or are you looking for a board that you place on an existing surface like a patio, driveway or the lawn?
- Are you looking for a board for your home or for use in a commercial setting?
- Do you want a board that is our most of the time or that you need to set up and take down frequently or after each use?
Considerations When Purchasing a Giant Chess Board
How much space do you have available for your chess board?
The biggest mistake customers make when selecting the size of the giant chess board, is that they use the board to fill all the space they have available. Generally, we suggest that customers allow for at least a two-foot wide area around the edge of their chess board.
You will spend a lot of time on the edge of the board when you play. Standing on the edge of the board gives you a great vantage point to survey the game. It allows friends and family room to walk around the board as they observe the competition. A two-foot are also allows you room for the out pieces.
From there, the size of your chess board depends on the size of the chess pieces and the visual you want to create for the area.
How big is your giant chess set?
So which comes first, the pieces or the chess board?
Choices for chess set sizes vary by visual impact desired (the bigger the better), the cost, and the ability of players to lift the pieces. A chess set where the king is 2-foot tall is the most popular because that marks the transition from the table top set. Anything smaller is out of place on the ground.
A set where the king is 3-foot tall appears much larger than the 2-foot set. A set with the 4-foot king makes a memorable impression. A set where the king is 6-foot tall is only for the outlandish. If many of the players will be kids or those of retirement age, stick with a set where the queen is no heavier than 20 lbs. The king isn't as important because he moves only one square and can be rolled into an adjacent square.
The general rule of thumb is that the width of the square on the board is half the height of the King. (An exception being the taller plastic chess sets which can use smaller squares.)
| King Height | Square Width |
|---|---|
| 8” | 4” |
| 12” | 6” |
| 16” | 8” |
| 24” | 12” – 18” |
| 36” | 18” – 24” |
| 48” | 18” – 24” |
| 72” | 24” |
Our you looking to install a permanent chess board or are you considering a board that lays on an existing surface?
About 25% of our customers install a permanent chess board for their giant chess set. Some our built by homeowners but many are installed by landscape professionals. If you are in the process of thinking through a permanent installation, you may want to download our Chess Park Design Guide. It is full of ideas and spans more than 37 pages filled with photos of boards installed by our customers!
If you are considering purchasing a giant chess board that lays on an existing surface, the rest of this article is for you!
The Six Different Types of Giant Chess Boards
Quick Fold Nylon Chess Boards
- Made from heavy-duty nylon cloth, these chess boards are designed for customers who have to quickly take down their chess set after each use.
- These boards are very popular in schools and churches, with chess teachers and with rental companies.
- These chess boards have metal grommets in the corners which adds some weight to keep the edge of the board down and are used with the included metal stakes to pin the corners down on grass. Includes a nylon storage bag for the board and stakes.
- Our least expensive giant chess board comes with squares widths of;
- 4” Squares – typically used for an 8” tall giant chess set
- 6” Squares – typically used for a 12” tall giant chess set or our 4” checkers
- 7” Squares – typically used for a 16” tall giant chess set or our 4” wide giant checkers
- 13” Squares – typically used for our 25” and 37” tall giant chess sets and our 10” wide giant checkers
- 23” Squares – typically used for our 49” tall giant chess sets and our 10” wide giant checkers or customers who want to play human chess
Hard Plastic Chess Boards
- Made from hard plastic that snaps together using button type snaps or T-Snaps. Once assembled, these boards create a semi-permanent piece of plastic. These boards are easy to assemble and come with a details set of assembly instructions.
- This is a residential grade chess board but we have many companies that also purchase this board.
- The Hard Plastic Chess Board with 18” squares also comes with ADA compliant safety edge ramps to reduce trip and falls at the edge of the board.
- These boards work well on grass and any hard surface. They are not recommended for soft rubber gym floors.
- Our mid priced giant chess board comes with squares widths of;
- 75” Squares – typically used for a 12” tall or 16” tall giant chess set or our 4” checkers
- 15” Squares – typically used for our 25” and 37” tall giant chess sets and our 10” wide giant checkers
- 18” Squares – typically used for our 37” and 49” tall giant chess sets and our 10” wide giant checkers. This board comes with ADA compliant safety edge ramps that reduce the height of the surface of the board to the ground.
- The hard plastic Chess Boards also come in two roll-up versions, which are more popular with our commercial customers. Those boards that roll-up are very convenient for customers who need to move their chess boards frequently and those that put their boards directly on a dirt surface.
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13” Squares – typically used for our 25, 37” and 49” tall giant plastic chess sets and our 10” wide giant checkers.
- 26” Squares – Typically used for customers who purchase our largest 36” 48” and 72” tall teak and fiberglass chess sets.
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13” Squares – typically used for our 25, 37” and 49” tall giant plastic chess sets and our 10” wide giant checkers.
Commercial Roll-up Chess Boards
- Made from an incredibly durable, flexible material that lays perfectly flat when in use and rolls up tightly like a carpet to move or store. This is our most popular giant chess board.
- This is a commercial grade giant chess board that is favored by resorts, shopping malls, corporate campuses, rental companies, and everyone who needs to move their chess board frequently.
- The Commercial Roll-up Chess Boards come with ADA compliant safety edge ramps to reduce trip and falls at the edge of the board. The boards are easy to clean and can take force of a pressure washer easily.
- These boards work well on any hard surface.
- There boards come in four sizes and two styles
- Rubberized Vinyl Giant Chess Boards (our top selling boards)
- 12” Squares – typically used for our 25” and 37” tall giant chess sets and our 10” wide giant checkers
- 24” Squares – typically used for our 37” and 49” and 72” tall giant chess sets and our 10” wide giant.
- Hard Plastic Giant Chess Boards – These boards roll-up like the Rubberized Vinyl Chess Boards, but don’t roll-up as tightly)
- 13” Squares – typically used for our 25” and 37” tall giant chess sets and our 10” wide giant checkers
- 26” Squares – typically used for our 37” and 49” and 72” tall giant chess sets and our 10” wide giant.
- Rubberized Vinyl Giant Chess Boards (our top selling boards)
Synthetic Wood Chess Boards
- Has the look of a wooden chess board, but lasts forever. The problem with wooden chess boards is that the dirt, sand and grit of everyday life builds up on the bottom of our shoes. Since we walk on Giant Chess Boards while playing, the grit on the bottom of our shoes wears away the protective polyurethane and stain on the board, leaving the bare wood exposed. Synthetic wood looks so life like, it is the best choice if you want a wooden chess board.
- This board is our fastest growing board with new commercial and residential customers.
- The Synthetic Wood Giant Chess Boards come with ADA compliant safety edge ramps to reduce trip and falls at the edge of the board.
- These boards work well on any hard, flat surface.
- There boards come in two sizes
- 12” Squares – typically used for our 25” and 37” tall giant chess sets and our 10” wide giant checkers
- 24” Squares – typically used for our 37” and 49” and 72” tall giant chess sets and our 10” wide giant.
Teak Giant Chess Boards
- Teak wood has fantastic color. Our top selling teak chess boards are our smaller chess boards used with our 8”, 12” and 16” teak chess sets.
- The top seller is the teak chess table designed for the 8” teak chess set and 4” teak checkers.
- Another top seller is the Teak MegaBox with a 4” Square. This is also designed for the 8” teak chess set and 4” teak checkers.
Giant Chess Board Templates
Personally, we love our giant chess board templates. A number of our customers need to bring their chess pieces in each night. Schools, city parks, corporate campuses, shopping malls, etc… don’t have the security to leave their chess pieces out after hours. We have some very clever solutions to help these customers store their chess sets. But until recently, we didn’t have a great solution for their chess boards. The giant chess board templates help these organizations solve this problem. The templates assist customers paint a giant chess board on playgrounds, blacktop, concrete, wood decks and almost any solid surface. We make the templates in two sizes, each size also allows for a 1” boarder between squares.
These templates are very well made and they are not inexpensive. But this review from one of our customers sums up the value of the templates perfectly, “This is literally a flexible piece of plastic, it comes as a 3x6 square template…. I was working with a concrete pad that wasn't square so this option was a good one. As I stated in the title it is overpriced but I would have never achieved the results without it.”
- Giant Chess Board Template with 13” Squares – typically used for our 25” and 37” tall giant chess sets and our 10” wide giant checkers.
- Giant Chess Board Template with 21” Squares – typically used for our 37” and 49” tall giant chess sets and our 10” wide giant checkers.
Other options for searching for your Giant Chess Board
By hovering over the words Giant Chess Boards and Tables in the main menu, you’ll find that you can also search for boards based on the size of the chess board you need and based on the use of the giant chess board.
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to us at 800-634-2055 or email us at info@MegaChess.com. We are more than happy to help you!