News & Updates
The Fritz series of chess software has always been one of the most popular chess playing pieces of software ever sold. Fritz is known as the most premier software for playing chess because of it’s easy-to-understand interface, it’s ability to play at any level and its ability to help players learn the art of playing chess. Chessbase, the maker of Fritz, has announced it will be releasing Fritz 13 sometime during mid October. You can preorder your own copy of Fritz 13 right here at Wholesale Chess. The moment we receive Fritz 13 in stock, we will send your pre-ordered copy to you so you can get into the program as soon as possible. Here are some of the features of Fritz 13 that may get you excited about the upcoming release:
- Improved and enhanced database management.
- Improved user interface.
- A new chess engine for Fritz 13.
- High level of tuning for deep chess analysis.
You will still have access to your favorite parts of Fritz including:
- All-inclusive chess studying tools.
- Professional chess graphics.
- Chess engine management.
- Adjustable playing strength.
- Coaching tools.
- Move explanations.
- Automatic game analysis and commentary.
- Training modules for chess openings, middle game and endgames.
- Database of more than 1.5 million chess games.
- Ten hours of private instructional videos from chess grandmasters.
Don’t miss out on your chance to get Fritz 13 at the earliest possible time! Pre-order today!
The standard colors for chess pieces are black and white. In fact, they are named black and white during play, so it makes sense that most chess pieces remain black and white. Often in wood sets, the actual colors may vary, based on the types of woods used to craft the pieces. You may see pieces with more brown or even red colors for the “black” pieces, and anywhere from nearly white to a dark boxwood for the “white” pieces.
If you’re looking to shake up your chess game, consider investing in some low-cost, durable basic colored chess pieces! We have a great offering of colored pieces that you can purchase for your own game. All colored chess pieces come in the international standard size of 3 3/4″ king height, though our colored pieces are not weighted.
With our great selection, you can mix and match your own two half-sets and have chess games in any color your choose! We have ten different colors to choose from including red, blue, yellow, green, purple, pink, black, white and now we even feature gold and silver colored chess pieces.
Our colored chess pieces are great for:
- Early Development Chess Clubs
- School Chess Clubs
- Family Chess Sets
- Fun Chess Tournaments
- Chess Pieces For Demonstration and so much more!
You can view our great selection of colored chess pieces here. You can also find more colored chess sets with pieces and boards to match by going to our Kids Fun Chess Sets here.
The summer is winding down, but there is still time to get your own Giant Chess set and play a few more times outside! Wholesale Chess has a great selection of giant chess sets to keep you busy with giant chess. Our sets are some of the most durable giant sets available.
These pieces are on the small side of “giant”, but don’t let that stop you from grabbing your own set. Our 8″ giant chess set features a king height of 8″ with other pieces matching to boot. The set comes with it’s own 3 foot x 3 foot vinyl chess board in black and white. The board and pieces are lighter weights, making them very portable so you can take your set with you anywhere you’d like! The pieces are durable enough to withstand the rigors of outdoor chess as well.
This is our mid-size giant chess offering. Our 12″ pieces are small replicas of their larger cousins, the 25″ giant set. The king piece stands at 12″ high with the rest of the set matching in proportion. This set comes with a 5 foot x 5 foot chess board that uses clip-together hard plastic board pieces. It can take some time to set up, but this board is very durable and great for extended stays outside or inside. If you don’t like the clip-together board, consider investing in our mini giant travel chess board which matches these pieces in size and is made of vinyl that can be rolled or folded up quickly and easily.
The largest set we offer, the 25″ giant chess set is perfect for outdoor chess and giant chess games. This set features a king height of 25″ and matching pieces. The set can be purchased with just the pieces alone, great if you already have your own chess board or a board built into the ground. The Giant Chess Set Combo also comes with a vinyl chess board and bags to carry the chess pieces. These pieces are all hollow with removable bases. This works great if you would like to add weight to your pieces, helping them to withstand stronger winds.
Need taller chess pieces? Our 25″ giant chess set can fit our giant chess set extensions. These extensions can add an additional 12″ to your chess pieces, allowing the king to stand at 36″ in height.
You can view all of our giant chess sets by clicking here.
Recently, we were made aware of something interesting going on in India. The program is called D.A.A.N. (or Development Action Awareness Nationwide). The program was introduced to help out a few select areas in India. As part of the program, Irinette brought in some chess supplies to help teach the game to kids. As you can see by the article, chess was a huge hit! We are proud to be a part of this. You can read more by visiting the D.A.A.N. Blog. Click Here.
Some of our customers who are new to the chess scene sometimes ask us what the difference between Fritz 12 and Rybka 4 is. That is an excellent question that we’d like to clarify. Both programs are chess software that help teach chess. Here are a few other similarities:
- Both programs are in the “starter” chess market, offering a complete package for the chess player new to chess software.
- They both offer chess-playing engines, allowing you to play against a computer from beginning to advanced levels.
- Both programs feature a huge database of past games (over 1.5 million games in each) from the 17th century and later.
So what makes these two programs different? They are both quite similar and offer a very similar set of features. It is important to note that Fritz 12 is geared more toward the new and learning chess player. The program offers better competition for players who are newer to the game and are looking to improve. Rybka 4, on the other hand, is much more geared toward advanced players looking for a challenge. While they both offer the different skill levels, Rybka 4 is much better in the advanced category.
Buy Rybka 4
Buy Fritz 12
The last piece to discuss on the chess board is the King piece. This piece is the game winner. Once you lose your King, the game is over, and your opponent wins, regardless of the score. The King chess piece is the piece you must protect the most and you cannot live without. Many experienced players, though may find themselves utilizing their king in an attempt to gain an advantage over an opponent, something weaker chess players are very leery of doing. No matter how you choose to use your King piece, he must stay alive at all costs.
How A King Chess Piece Moves
King chess pieces are somewhat limited in their movement. They cannot go riding across the chess board as quickly as most other pieces and they are easier to contain than most chess pieces from an opponent’s perspective. Here are a few rules to note:
- The king piece can move one single square in any direction.
- The king cannot move onto a square the is currently occupied by a piece from it’s own team.
- The king piece cannot move to any square that puts them into a “check” position.
- The king piece can participate in a move known as “castling”, where the piece can move up to three squares while exchanging places with a rook chess piece.
Basic Tactics
Safety first, is the motto most chess players abide by when moving and using their king piece. Experienced players can use their king piece to help set traps and capture opposing pieces, though the King is rarely the aggressive piece in this situation. Most players try to keep their king piece in one of their two corners where there are fewer directions from which an attack can come. Often, castling with a rook piece early in the game gets the King piece to the corner faster, keeping the piece safer from attacks.
Favorite Chess Sets
Here are some chess sets that feature unique or interesting King piece designs:
Pegasus Ebony Wood Chess Pieces ($559.99)
Premier Chess Pieces ($18.99)
Cavalier Ebony Wood Chess Pieces ($449.99)
St. Petersburg Wood Chess Pieces ($89.99)
Zagreb Rosewood 2.5″ Chess Pieces ($44.99)
Considered the most dangerous and versatile piece on the board, the Queen chess piece is also one of the most important. Unless you are an expert chess player, losing your queen piece can easily be the final blow before falling to your opponent. Most players are willing to sacrifice just about any other piece on the board in order to save their queen. So why is the queen so important?
How A Queen Chess Piece Moves
The queen chess piece is like a combination of the Rook and Bishop chess pieces. Each player starts out with one queen piece (although any pawn that makes it to the other side of the board can be traded in for another queen, which is why some chess sets come with extra queens). The queen can move forward or diagonal in any direction. Here are a few notes:
- The queen can move in any direction on a straight or diagonal path.
- The queen cannot “jump” over any piece on the board, so it’s movements are restricted to any direction of unoccupied squares.
- The queen can be used to capture any of your opponent’s pieces on the board.
Basic Tactics
Most players try to keep their queen defended because of it’s ability to move. It is a very useful piece in any chess game and is often involved in endgame strategy. Experts try to get the queen piece toward the center of the board as soon as possible in order to help defend that space and gain an advantage over their opponent. The queen can be used in a variety of defensive strategies and works well to defend the King no matter where the King is on the board, so long as the queen is nearby. The most dangerous piece to a queen is the opponent’s knight pieces. The queen may not be able to attack a knight piece directly that is attacking the queen, so players try to be wary of their opponent’s knight pieces. Advanced players may be more likely to sacrifice their queen in an attempt to win a game, though this is quite rare.
Favorite Chess Sets
The queen piece is often a very beautiful chess piece and in more expensive sets, it may feature a very beautiful crown and piece shape.
St. Petersburg Sheesham Chess Pieces ($109.99)
Zagreb 3″ Ebonized Chess Pieces ($59.99)
Fianchetto Ebony Chess Pieces ($279.99)
Siogne Bud Rosewood Chess Pieces ($289.99)
If you’ve ever been shopping for a chess clock, it can be hard to choose between digital chess clocks and analog chess clocks. Both types of clocks have their own unique advantages, making the choice even more difficult. Here are a few tips:
Analog Chess Clocks
Often, analog clocks are the first types of chess clocks you may be familiar with. Analog Chess Clocks traditionally feature two separate clock faces in the same chess clock, one for each player. The most basic ones feature two buttons at the top for each player to press. With analog clocks, you typically set the time on each clock individually.
Analog clocks are short on features but huge on style. These clocks often have little more than an ability to turn each face on and off and a way to set the clocks. Some chess clocks feature a wind-up design, freeing you from batteries. Others have batteries inside, freeing you from constantly winding your chess clock.
With analog clocks, it’s all about looks. Analog clocks can be very beautiful and offer a greater range of styles. Clocks are often manufactured in elegant woods with interesting patterns. Clock faces are designed to match and these clocks look just great.
Digital Chess Clocks
These clocks are more about utility and accuracy than analog clocks. Digital chess clocks are available in simple to advanced models. The higher the price, the more features and the better the quality. Digital chess clocks often have many different buttons and the user must learn how to operate each type of clock.
Features, features features. Digital clocks are pre-programmed to work as chess clocks, but can do so much more. Digital clocks often have dozens of different timing modes, giving you and your chess game much more variety in types of games to play. Chess clocks can handle blitz modes, delays and more.
When making your decision, make sure you consider why you are buying a chess clock. Analog chess clocks may not be able to withstand the abuse of a school chess program or have the accuracy required for a true chess tournament. Digital chess clocks may just look tacky when you pull out your beautiful rosewood or oak chess set to play your old friend. No matter which clock you choose, though, chess clocks can sure make your chess game more fun and improve your abilities as a chess player.
Digital Chess Clocks
Analog Chess Clocks
Chronos Chess Clocks
BHB Chess Clocks
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