There are many sites on the Web concerning the game of chess and chess sets. Consequently there is no need for this section to be exhaustive about the subject. Rather, the focus is upon the chess sets in the collection.
Like playing cards, the subject of chess and the design of chess sets is quite diverse since there is considerable information available - information spanning a number of centuries and from many different regions of the world.
Some major references are the 900 plus page A History of Chess by H.J.A. Murrary, Oxford University Press, 1913; Avedon & Sutton-Smith, The Study of Games, John Wiley & Sons, 1971; David Parlett, History of Board Games, Oxford University Press, 1999.
This page is the Table of Contents for the section. For the most part, chess sets in the collection are identified with respect to the country in which the set was created, or the culture that the set design is suppose to invoke.
Click on a title in the list below to be taken to a page with comments and photographic illustrations about a specific set in the collection.
National & Regional Sets
Some sets are not "culture specific" and have been created to serve special purposes. For the most part, all of the special purpose sets are the European version of chess. These sets are composed of a range of materials and formats.
Special Purpose Sets
Last update February 15, 2010