4X Tournament / Quad-weighted / 4.4 in king / Designed in USA

Club-tough. Home-ready.

Quadruple-weighted Staunton pieces with the heft of club equipment, and a double-sided silicone board that sets up anywhere and packs down in seconds.

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Feel the difference in every move

Put the 4X next to a basic plastic set and the gap shows before the first move: heavier pieces, a board that lies flat, a spare queen for each side and a year of cover.

Best Chess Set Ever 4X set up on the green side of the silicone board, with the two extra queens beside it

Best Chess Set Ever

Quadruple weighted

About 4 lb of pieces, extremely hard to knock over

Silicone board

Reversible, rolls up without creasing, wipes clean

2 extra queens

A real queen when a pawn promotes

12-month guarantee

Refund, replacement or substitute part, shipping paid

A generic basic plastic chess set on a creased paper board

A basic plastic set

Light or unweighted

Pieces tip and slide more easily

Vinyl or folding board

Can curl, crease or keep a fold line

Usually no spares

Promote with an upturned rook

Varies by seller

Check the terms before you buy

Modern Staunton pieces, quadruple weighted

Every piece in the 4X set is XL, quadruple weighted with an iron insert, with a matte finish in cream or black and a green felt base. The design is a modern take on the Staunton pattern used in tournaments: a sculpted knight, a crowned queen and a king that stands 4.4 inches tall.

Best Chess Set Ever 4X cream and black kings side by side

The king

The tallest and heaviest piece, crowned with a cross finial. The cream is a warm, matte off-white, and the black keeps a clean outline on the light squares.

  • 4.4 inHeight
  • 1.9 inBase
  • 3.35 ozWeight
Best Chess Set Ever 4X cream and black queens side by side

The queen

A notched coronet under a ball finial, on the widest base in the set. You get two in each color, counting the extra queens.

  • 4.1 inHeight
  • 2.0 inBase
  • 3.28 ozWeight
Best Chess Set Ever 4X cream and black bishops side by side

The bishop

A modern take on the mitre, with one clean, curved cut. It shows clearly in the warm cream and reads as one sharp line in matte black.

  • 3.6 inHeight
  • 1.6 inBase
  • 2.00 ozWeight
Best Chess Set Ever 4X cream and black knights side by side

The knight

The most detailed piece in the set, with a sculpted head and a full, layered mane. The matte finish shows every lock without glare.

  • 3.0 inHeight
  • 1.5 inBase
  • 1.90 ozWeight
Best Chess Set Ever 4X cream and black rooks side by side

The rook

A crenellated turret on a wide, steady base. It weighs more than the bishop or the knight, so it holds its corner.

  • 2.9 inHeight
  • 1.8 inBase
  • 2.40 ozWeight
Best Chess Set Ever 4X cream and black pawns side by side

The pawn

Eight per color, and even the smallest piece is quadruple weighted, with a green felt base.

  • 2.25 inHeight
  • 1.4 inBase
  • 1.23 ozWeight

QUADRUPLE WEIGHTED

Built with real weight

Each 4X piece is quadruple weighted with an iron insert in the base, so the 34 pieces come to about 4 lb together. It is the heaviest set we make.

  • Hard to knock over. Quadruple weighting keeps every piece planted, so they are extremely hard to tip or nudge out of place.
  • Solid in the hand. Every move has a heavy, steady feel.
  • Glides on felt. Green felt bases let the weight slide smoothly across the board.
  • Weight where it counts. The king (3.35 oz) and queen (3.28 oz) are the heaviest pieces, on the widest bases.

REVERSIBLE SILICONE BOARD

Two boards in one

The 20 x 20 inch silicone board has green and white squares on one side and black and white on the other. Play on the side you like and flip it when you want a change.

  • Official size. 2.25 inch squares, with algebraic notation along the edges.
  • Lies flat. Roll it or fold it for travel, and it opens without creases.
  • Easy to clean. Spill and stain resistant, and it wipes clean.

BAGS AND BOX

A place for every piece

The set comes in a compact box made to go wherever you play, with two drawstring bags to carry the pieces.

  • Two drawstring bags, one black and one white.
  • A compact box that holds the pieces, the folded board and the guide.
  • Travel-ready. Roll or fold the board and the whole set goes with you.

32-PAGE STRATEGY GUIDE

The Best Chess Strategy Guide Ever

The Best Chess Strategy Guide Ever comes in every box, and it grows with you: start with the basics and work up to coordinated attacks.

  • 32 illustrated pages, easy to understand for beginners and experienced players alike.
  • Three levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced sections, so there is always a next step.
  • In five languages. Download it free in English, Spanish, Italian, French or German.
Galen Pyle, creator of Best Chess Set Ever, at a chessboard

Happy playing. There is a story in every game.

Galen Pyle, creator

OUR STORY

A tournament player built the set he couldn't find

Galen Pyle found chess at twelve and has played it in thirty countries since. Across hundreds of sets he never found one that was durable, portable and good looking at the same time, so he designed his own: classic Staunton pieces, modern materials and a strategy guide, for tournament players, travelers and beginners alike.

  1. Captain at Reed College

    He founded and captained the Reed College chess team and became a ranked tournament player.

  2. A teacher in a dozen schools

    He taught chess to students at more than a dozen elementary schools.

  3. Chess in thirty countries

    Grandmaster lessons in Armenia, the Bangkok Go Team in Thailand, and a game of chess in every country he visited.

  4. The set he could not find

    Hundreds of sets later, none was durable, portable and good looking at once. So he came home and built the one that was.

THE SET

Why is this the Best Chess Set Ever?

Elite Staunton-style pieces

Weighted Staunton pieces on felt, hard to knock over and easy to read.

An exclusive silicone board

Patented and double-sided, spill and stain resistant.

A 32-page epic guide

Upgrade your game from the basics to advanced attacks.

A modern box

Everything packs away, so the set goes wherever you play.

THE BEST CHESS SET EVER PROMISE

The numbers behind our promise

4.7★

Average rating

Across 151 reviews of our 3X and 4X sets.

34

Pieces in the box

An extra queen in each color, plus the silicone board, two bags and the 32-page guide.

90,000+

Chess sets sold

Across Amazon, retailers and our own store since 2020.

12 months

Replacement guarantee

Anything wrong within a year, we replace it, and we pay the shipping.

24 hours

Real humans, fast

Answers from people who fix things.

USA

Designed in the USA

Built for serious play and shipped from the US.

FAQ

Do the pieces tip over easily?

How big is the board?

What is the difference between the 3X and 4X sets?

How do I clean the board?

Who is the strategy guide for?

What if something is wrong with my set?

Customer reviews

Customer Reviews
4.7 Based on 3 Reviews
5 ★
67% 
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4 ★
33% 
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Filter Reviews:
A
12/01/2024
Abunidal SVG verified by SHOP
United States United States

Amazing, this is my second best chess set ever after my 4× original.

PR
09/04/2024
Philip R.
United States United States

4x Best Chess set

The set is awesome. I really like the weight and feel of the pieces. 4stars for the off white color on the light colored pieces. I much prefer the bright white of my 3x Best Chess set.

RC
08/03/2024
Russell C.
United States United States

Power of the set

the look and feel of the chess pieces is so inspiring to my students, their game goes to new levels constantly.