News & Updates
WHY RULES FOR EQUIPMENT
Chess is a very complicated game that demands concentration and focus. Certain rules have been adopted for pieces, boards, and clocks to keep them from distracting from the chess game. If a set is too detailed or the pieces are too similar then they may distract the player who has to spend time figuring out which pieces are which. At the same time a chessboard with graphics on it or squares that are too bright can become irritating after looking at the board for several hours.
CHESS PIECES
Chess pieces must be of the staunton style. The staunton style is the very classical look of pieces that most of our sets feature. This includes the King with a cross, a queen with a spiked crown, a rook that looks like a tower, a bishop with a diagonal slit, a knight that looks like a horse head, and a round-headed simple pawn. Many “fancy” sets are too detailed and it becomes hard to tell the pieces apart. Some modern sets feature pieces that look almost identical and can be frustrating for opponents who are not familiar with the pieces. Each set of chess pieces must also be significantly different in color – one light set and one dark set (usually white/cream/natural/light wood vs. black/dark brown/dark wood). Chess pieces are generally measured by the King’s height. Tournament chess pieces should be between 3.5″ and 4.25″ (King height). The base should be 40-50% as wide as the height. The pieces should not be overly shiny and should be made of plastic or wood. The pieces should also be significantly weighted as to not tip over easily. Generally if your pieces weigh at least 1 lb. for all 32 pieces you are fine. Heavier pieces are not needed, though they do feel nice. If you have any questions about your chess pieces check with your tournament director. Wholesale Chess offers a number of tournament chess sets.
- Classic staunton style
- 3.5″ – 4.25″ King height
- Made of plastic or wood
- At least 1 lb set of 32 pieces
CHESSBOARDS
Chessboards must be plain squares of alternating light and dark colors. The colors should not be too bright and should also not blend in too much with the pieces. For this reason the most popular colors are matte green and blue (and why black/white is usually not recommended – it blends in with the pieces). The material may be any material that is not too shiny. Generally vinyl chessboards are recommended or folding paper boards. Wood may also be used. The squares must be between 2″ and 2.5″. They must fit the pieces proportionally – not too crowded, not too spread apart. Wholesale Chess offers a number of tournament appropriate chess boards.
- Alternating light/dark squares
- 2″ – 2.5″
- Made of vinyl, paper, or wood
- Not too bright colors
CHESS CLOCKS AND TIMERS
Chess clocks and timers are used to control how much time each player uses. There are mechanical/analog clocks and digital clocks. Both are acceptable, though digital clocks are usually preferred if there is a time delay featured in the tournament (check with your Tournament Director). Clocks should be near silent. The player with the black pieces gets to choose on which side of the board they would like to have the clock. Wholesale Chess offers a number of tournament appropriate chess clocks.
- Analog and digital clocks are allowed, though digital may be preferred
- Clocks must be near silent
OTHER TOURNAMENT CHESS EQUIPMENT
Besides pieces, boards, and clocks, you may need some other materials like scorebooks or scoresheets. Those are used to record, or write down, your games for record. Ask your Tournament Director if you are required to write down your games.
HOW TO USE AN ANALOG CHESS CLOCK
Analog (or mechanical) chess clocks were the first clocks to be invented. They use mechanical parts like levers, gears, and springs to control the time. Analog chess clocks are much easier for kids, beginners, and those who don’t want to read a huge manual to understand the digital clocks! Almost all analog clocks are the same, so if you understand one you understand them all.
Analog Chess Clock
Analog chess clocks use a regular clock face. Each side also has a small flag on it. When the long hand of the clock starts to approach the 12 position it will pick up the flag and raise it as it moves. When it passes the 12 position the flag will fall. Therefore, you always set an analog chess clock backwards with the amount of time you want per player. So, if you wanted a 15 minute game, you would set the long hand to be on the 9 – exactly 15 minutes before the straight-up 12 position. If you wanted to set the clock for one hour per player you would set the long hand to the 12 position so that one full hour would pass before the flag would fall. Remember to set both sides equally. The short hand of the clock is generally set back from the 6 o’clock position. A 2 hour game would start at 4 o’clock. You use small knobs on the back of the chess clock to manually move the hands on the face, just like you would adjust the time on a clock that hangs on your wall.
HOW TO USE A DIGITAL CHESS CLOCK
Digital chess clocks and chess timers use LCD displays and digital components to tell time. They are more fully-featured than analog clocks (supporting more advanced features like time delay, move counters, etc), but can be very complicated for users. Each digital chess clock is different, so you will need to learn the specifics about each clock you use.
Digital Chess Clock
Instead of a clock face and hands that travel around it, digital chess clocks and timers use a digital display to show the amount of time left. Time is usually shown in the hours:minutes:seconds format. For example: 1:23:45 means the player has one hour, twenty three minutes and forty five seconds before their time runs out. Both players still have buttons to start and stop time. Instead of a visual flag falling, digital clocks may have an audible beep, or the display might start flashing. Also, each chess clock has a different way of being set by pushing a combination of buttons. You will need to consult the instruction manual that comes with your digital chess timer for its specific operational details.
NEW! September 2010:
You can watch special videos we’ve created that will teach you how to use the chess clock you purchased from Wholesale Chess. Simply visit Wholesale Chess on YouTube and view our Chess Videos.
New! Chess Clock Timing Modes:
We’ve put together a list of popular chess clock timing modes and which clocks use those modes. Check it out for help learning about some of those modes you’ve never known how to use!
This is a continuation of information set forth in the We Need Authors post. Read on:
WHO AM I WRITING TO?
Members and customers of Wholesale Chess – online shoppers mainly from the United States and Canada, but also from around the world. They are looking for a product to purchase, and are reading your article because they know very little about the product, or are seeking an honest second opinion.
PRODUCT REVIEW GUIDELINES
Product Review Purpose
-Inform and entertain the reader,
-Explain what the product is, how it is used/played,
-Includes both pros and cons of product, and
-Suggests if the product is of good value, and for whom.
In short, the review is meant to help a customer decide whether or not the product is right for them. These articles will be posted on this blog for customers to read.
A Few Suggestions
-Product idea must be approved before article submission.
-You must have actually played/used the product in order to review it!
-Content should be original and unique.
-DON’T include: strategies (submit as a strategy article), extreme opinions (I hate this chess set)
(quick note-if you have strong feelings against a product, feel free to review it on the product page at the store).
-Personal Photos or accompanying images are appreciated.
Samples of Good Product Reviews:
Apples to Apples Review(This article has an enticing heading, is personal, and explains the game).
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/314374. (While a little longer than we’d like, this article has a good heading that gets your attention. It adds a personal feel to the article, then goes on to explain the general setup and play of the game. The article finishes by giving opinion on the game.)
Love the challenge of a strategic game of chess?
Enjoy sharing your opinion with others in written form?
Then please accept our invitation to have your articles published on the Wholesale Chess blog.
EARN STORE CREDIT for well-written product reviews, white papers, and other miscellaneous articles.
HOW IT WORKS
1. Choose a Topic
Want to write about your favorite chess set? Review a chess product? Offer guidance on how to choose a chess set? Have a few tactics up your sleeve you wouldn’t mind sharing? Tips for beginners? Share your knowledge! Check in the comments below to see if your article idea hasn’t already been taken.
2. Submit Your Idea for Approval
Submit your idea by leaving a comment below. Your idea submission should include your name and email address along with your article’s topic, a brief outline, and expected word count. Don’t worry, your comment will not be posted – Using the comments to contact the blog editor is simply the easiest way to go. We will let you know as soon as possible if your topic is approved. A topic may be declined if it has already been covered recently, or if it is irrelevant or inappropriate.
3. Write Your Article!
Be sure to wait until you’ve received approval, so you’re not wasting your time! The blog editor will email you (using the email you provided in your comment) to let you know. Now write! Make it informational, entertaining or both! Edit it well – authors who submit poorly written articles may not be asked to author again.
4. Submit Your Finished Article
You’ll be given more instructions on how to submit the final article when your idea is approved.
5. Your Article Will be Edited and Posted
Articles requiring too much editing will be sent back to the author for re-writing. We reserve the right to edit your submission in any way. Your style is important, and we will try hard to preserve that style. However, we may edit for grammar, clarity, organization, appropriateness, or liveliness – and we reserve the right to decide what entails the definition of each of those points. You will be notified once the article has been edited and accepted. The timeline for posting articles is entirely at our discretion. Blog authors can choose whether or not their name appears as the author of their article.
6. Collect Your Store Credit and Spend!
You will receive $.05 store credit per word. ($12.50 cash for 250 words, $25 cash for 500 words, etc). Payment will be received after the article has been posted. It is important to note that unnecessary words/fluff, run-on sentences, and wordy paragraphs will be edited and removed from the article, and payment adjusted.
IMPROVING YOUR GAME
Chess is a huge, vast, complex, massive game – big enough that you should never get bored with it! To get better you need to do 3 things: play chess, study chess, and get involved in chess. People who get burned out on chess are probably not doing all of these things!
PLAY CHESS
In order to improve at chess you will need to play lots and lots of chess. This means winning games, and losing games. Just remember that you are never losing when you are learning! Learn something from every win and every loss. And never be a poor sport! There are lots of places to play chess. You can play at your local club, online, through email, through regular mail, with friends and family – there is never any excuse not to play!
STUDY CHESS
Along with playing chess, you need to study if you want to get better. First you need to make sure you know all of the rules. Then you should learn the basic principles of the game such as controlling the center, developing your pieces, attacking and defending pieces, piece values, etc. After that you should learn more about tactics and strategies. Don’t start studying openings at all until you fully understand all of the elementary tactics and strategies! You will be wasting your time. Learn to play sound and solid chess. Don’t get caught up in trying to get cheap-o wins with opening traps. Once you understand tactics and strategies, start learning some opening systems and endgames as well. Make sure you study master and grandmaster games so that you can learn what the best players are thinking and doing when they play! Also, it is a good idea to study with a friend. You might also consider getting a private chess coach at some point to accelerate your learning. Most important, find a good chess book for studying the basics and great games of the masters!
GET INVOLVED IN CHESS
If all you do with chess is play online and read books by yourself you are bound to lose interest at some point. Get involved! Teach a friend. Go to your local club. Play in over-the-board tournaments. Teach chess at a school. Get involved somehow and you will see that chess is more than a game – it is a great community as well!
YOUR CHESS CHILD
If you have a child who enjoys learning and playing chess, you should encourage that as much as is healthy. Chess has great social and intellectual benefits that can affect other aspects of their life. But remember that chess is a part of life, not the purpose of life. You might find a few fun chess items for kids for them to enjoy.
GET CONSTANT FEEDBACK
Make sure you know how your child is feeling about chess. If they are feeling burned out then pressuring them may just turn them off more. If they are hungry for chess and you are not feeding that, they make get frustrated.
ALWAYS SHOW LOVE AND SUPPORT
Always make sure that your child knows how much you love them regardless of whether they are winning or losing their chess games. Never show disappointment at their performance – they are most likely frustrated enough on their own!
Copyright 2012 Wholesale Chess. All rights reserved.
