Chess Boards

Hi
When looking for some nice themed chess set to purchase for a friend with who we used to play a lot, I've noticed it's hard to find some good info on what's best to purchase or where to look for it.
I thought I'll create a site where I can list them and advise what's best. Once I did that done segued a bit into showing sets that are looking nice.
With this being forum with
a) highly intelligent people
b) chess fans and people who know about chess
I thought I might ask for an opinion of what do you think about the site and what would you think might be best to include in an article or what would be useful for people looking for this sort of item. I would imagine some of them would be avid chess players others just a family/friends looking to buy a nice gift not knowing anything about chess.

the site is chess-board.com and an example article
https://chess-boards.com/pokemon-chess-board/

ideally, I would usually be most interested in what's wrong from your viewpoint but if somethings ok that'd be good to know too 😛

Still undecided if I should continue with this or if there will be any interest, but thought it would be good to try to propagate chess to broader masses as much as possible, especially with having got a means to do so.

@chess-boards said
Hi
When looking for some nice themed chess set to purchase for a friend with who we used to play a lot, I've noticed it's hard to find some good info on what's best to purchase or where to look for it.
I thought I'll create a site where I can list them and advise what's best. Once I did that done segued a bit into showing sets that are looking nice.
With this being f ...[text shortened]... propagate chess to broader masses as much as possible, especially with having got a means to do so.

On behalf of everyone here, thank you for thinking of us as "highly intelligent people" 🙂

Regarding your offer, I'm a bit hazy as to whether you want to sell chess sets or to simply advise people on what to buy (or both) I went on your site, chess-board.com and it seems this site is for sale, not sure what that's all about either. If you simply want to advise people, I'd say don't bother. There are many sites that sell chess sets where people can zoom in and know pretty closely what they're buying. If you plan on selling chess sets and equipment, that may be possible, but be aware you'll have a lot of competition. Perhaps using an Amazon.com model where you buy at discounted prices from one company and sell to the general public would be best for you, so you don't have to purchase merchandise in advance. You should also be aware there is a vast difference between standard tournament sets and "themed sets" i.e. Star Trek, Harry Potter, Roman Empire etc. most tournament players won't be very interested in these.

I didn't want to rain on your idea here, but wanted you to be aware of where you're headed.

My daughter's boyfriend is a potter and an artist
He made me a board from a piece of scrap wood and designed all the pieces which he then cast in ceramic.
It's not the most elegant set you could find but it is unique and I appreciate all the work he put in to make it
Perhaps instead of buying a set you could find someone to make you one

hi @mchill thanks for your post , thats sort of what what i am looking for.
not sure why but i gave you wrong website address , missed 's' should be
https://chess-boards.com
and yes it would be more about themed sets rather than tournament , maybe putting links ti where can be bought or indeed sell chess but thats i suppose whole different game

@Chess-Boards

Not fond of wooden board. OK to look at and play on but hopeless for analysing
when you toss the bits about. (like I do).

I prefer roll up green/white or blue/white felted board with triple weighted pieces.
The make a satisfying soft 'whump' when you drop them on a square.

The second picture in Blog Post 442 is the set in question.

Cannot stand in any shape or form ornamental or toy sets. I get given them
by friends and relations (I say wow! thanks) and get rid of them ASAP.

The set in Blog Post 432 I gave away the same day after I took it's picture.

@greenpawn34 said
Cannot stand in any shape or form ornamental or toy sets. I get given them
by friends and relations (I say wow! thanks) and get rid of them ASAP.

I got given a Lego chess set. It's amusing, but completely unplayable.

@Chess-Boards

Make sure the size of the squares matches up with the size of the pieces..

@ogb said
Make sure the size of the squares matches up with the size of the pieces..

Yes, that is a very common problem with novelty sets - the pieces are usually far too large for the board!

In my local chess league, one of the clubs uses a fancy wooden set and board for the top board. It's supposed to be prestigious, but like Greenpawn I'm much happier with a vinyl board and good quality plastic pieces.