How to make carved chess with your own hands

made of wood;
paper;
clay;
plastic bottles.

To do this you will need some available materials, a small amount of free time and creative imagination. Modern Internet capabilities will allow you to find suitable examples of work with the exact manufacturing sequence. This will help reduce the time needed to create all the pieces and the playing board.

DIY chess

Chess is one of the most ancient, famous and greatest board games in the world.
It is more than one and a half thousand years old and has not lost its relevance to this day. Many families still keep chess sets inherited from the older generation. If it so happens that those who want to practice this game do not have such a set at home, then it can always be purchased at any souvenir shop. There is another alternative option - to make chess with your own hands: For this you will need some available materials, a small amount of free time and creative imagination. Modern Internet capabilities will allow you to find suitable examples of work with the exact manufacturing sequence. This will help reduce the time needed to create all the pieces and the playing board.

Wooden chess with magnets

For the New Year, my beloved wife gave me a chess set.

The chess pieces are quite miniature, but they are made nicely and in the classic Staunton style.

Everything was fine, but I definitely didn’t like the lightness of the figures.

I considered weighing these figures down with lead, as they do in larger sets, but later came up with an unexpected solution: make this set magnetic! Magnets will create a feeling of heaviness when a piece is torn off the board, eliminate the possibility of pieces slipping and falling, and will also automatically center them on the selected field.

Neodymium magnets of the appropriate size were purchased. And at the same time some other useful things)

Felt backings are carefully cut off

Holes for magnets are drilled

And carefully glue the magnet onto the super glue

The main thing is to maintain polarity! So that it does not happen that on some fields the figures attract, and on others they repel. I figured this out for the third figure, but by luck the polarity coincided in the first two)

Gradually, the figures are completed and magnets are glued to the back of the board (also observing the polarity).

Fully finished figures

The result even exceeded my expectations! The figures rise very pleasantly, heavily and are funnyly drawn straight to the center of the field. The result is a very nice, camping set that has retained its natural woodness)

Source: https://pikabu.ru/story/derevyannyie_shakhmatyi_na_magnitakh_5800224

How to make chess from wood

If you have previously been involved in wood carving or at least have an idea about this process, then making three-dimensional figures from this material will not be difficult. The detailed video tutorial describes all the intricacies of creating chess pieces and presents personal recommendations from the master.

The first thing you need to do before manufacturing is to prepare sketch templates, wooden blanks, a set of special tools (cutters, chisels), grinding and decorating materials. After this, you can safely proceed to watching prepared video lessons from Konstantin Belyaev, who is a master of wood carving:

Konstantin Belyaev cuts all chess pieces by hand, without the use of special equipment or expensive tools. The main material used is linden boards, the width of which varies from 25 to 28 millimeters. When all the chess pieces are ready, they need to be sanded with sandpaper. If desired, you can burn or decorate with acrylic paints.

In order for chess pieces to be fully used, it is necessary to make a playing base for them. You can make a chessboard from natural veneer. If there is no such material, then ordinary plywood 5 millimeters thick is suitable as a replacement. The frame can be made of slats. The playing field should be drawn out and painted with black acrylic paint. The entire manufacturing process is described in this video:

Giant wooden chess

Among big fans of strategic board games, exclusive chess sets of very large sizes are increasingly in demand. They can decorate spacious halls of houses or garden areas. If you try to purchase such a set in a store, you will find that the price is unacceptably high, so those who want to own giant chess pieces manage to make them with their own hands. It's not as difficult as it might seem at first glance.

To make large wooden chess, you need to purchase a pine beam, the width of which can vary from 10x10, 30x30 centimeters or more. The wood should not have cracks or knots, as this may affect the quality of the product. To make the figures you will need a lathe and sandpaper. Details of the entire process can be seen in the video created by wood carving master Valery Grishin:

Figuratively speaking. 35 unusual chess sets

Mathematicians have calculated that the number of possible positions of 32 figures on 64 cells is greater than the number of atoms in the Universe. The number of chess sets is, of course, smaller, but their diversity is amazing. The blog “About Chess” offers its own version of the “best of”, leaving the list far from complete...

Since we are on a sports site, we will start with this topic.

Football is represented by a set of American football, the "just" football ones that I found are inferior to this:

The most automobile:

The kit is made from the same materials as the Renault Formula 1 car: titanium, steel and aluminum. The figures are made in the form of bushings, pendants, a pilot's seat, and the board creates the illusion of a track. The clean, minimalist lines of the Renault Formula 1 kit symbolize the simplicity and austerity of modernity. Cost: $42,000.

Hockey:

Sumo:

Another question that interests many is the maximum price for a set.

The most expensive chess set in the world was sold in Britain by Jewel Royale. It is made of gold, platinum, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, black and white pearls.

Each figurine is decorated in the middle with a spiral of precious stones. The largest chess piece - the king - costs 100 thousand dollars. Despite the fact that the figures look airy and light, they are quite heavy.

So, the king weighs 165.2 grams. The total cost of the kit was $9.8 million.

The cost, perhaps, could rival Faberge chess,

It’s difficult to say the exact cost, but I was estimated at “from $5 million”

Let's continue the money topic.

Sometimes people come up with very strange ideas, and some even implement them. So, one eccentric, apparently a chess lover, decided to make himself a board and pieces out of money. He collected enough change and took out brand new bills from the bank.

He began to assemble a chessboard from banknotes, bending the pieces of paper in a certain way, and from coins - chess pieces. The playing field was made up of 20-pound and 50-pound notes, and the rim was made up of 10-pound notes.

To prevent the field from starting to unfold on its own, it was kept under pressure for some time.

The figures from the coins turned out to be recognizable. The pawns are 1 penny coins. The cost of the chess was 2402 pounds and 68 pence.

Another value in the “most” category is of interest.

The largest chess set (or rather, one piece) was made by order of Rex Sinquefield in 2012 for the start of the first cup named after him.

The height of the king is almost 4.5 meters, the base is 1.8 meters. The figure is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

You can even watch how the record was prepared.
1
The smallest ones, apparently, were made by master Anatoly Konenko:

Miniature wooden chess pieces are turned under a microscope on a miniature lathe. The height of the chess pieces is 2.0 – 3.8 mm. Playing field 17.0 x 17.0 mm. Checkerboard squares from different types of trees. Birch bark ornament. The bumblebee is real.

The theme of alcohol is popular in chess, and there are many “drunk” sets. My choice fell on this one:

I don’t recommend playing these, but you can admire them.
I understand that you don’t heed the advice, so I suggest using the most stable chess in the world:

This set was invented and developed by industrial engineer Adin Mumma, who back in 1970 was inspired by the roly-poly toys, or, simply put, tumblers, for this masterpiece. The result of the work was so successful that it was awarded the International Design Award.

How to make chess from clay

It will take a little longer to create figures from this plastic material than standard ones made from wood, but the end result will amaze your imagination. The finished chess pieces will be incredibly attractive because the appearance of each figure can be given high detail, where the faces of the characters and their clothes will be visible. Modeling chess from polymer clay can be an attractive activity for the fair sex.

The big advantage of this material is that you can make it yourself. In this case, the owner of future products will also be able to save on clay. All that will be needed for production in the future are special tools for modeling and ordinary food foil for making frames.

A first-class craftswoman under the YouTube nickname Sveta Vrednaya demonstrates in her videos the correct sequence of making figurines:

Great game

Chess helps you learn to think logically, carefully, and calculate your actions many steps ahead. There are different variations of materials for the figures and boards: they could be made of gold and other precious metals, black, mahogany or ebony, ivory, crystal, inlaid or decorated with precious stones, mother-of-pearl and semi-precious stones. In the same way, many versions are known: in the form of fighting armies belonging to a particular historical era, in the form of famous people, various animals, characters from favorite films, etc.

However, the chess order remains unchanged - 32 pieces (16 white / light and 16 black / dark) on a field with a corresponding 64-square cell marking.

There is no need to save up for gold chess, because today they can be made from literally anything. If you know how to carve wood, then it is quite easy to carve wooden figures with your own hands. It’s even easier to cut them out of plywood or glue them from thick paper using a stencil.

Special craftsmen make chess sets from the insides of a computer (the motherboard for the board and chips in the form of figures), from electronic vacuum tubes, from plastic, glass, LEDs or neomagnets, etc. Use your imagination and go ahead.

How to make chess out of paper

In order to make game figures from this material, you need to stock up on office or colored A4 paper. This will involve the Japanese technique of origami, so you may need some crafting skills. You can come up with the type of chess pieces yourself or watch them from a video.

The manufacturing process is relatively fast. When making such chess, you should take into account that the figures require careful handling. Place a piece of paper in front of you, sit comfortably and proceed to watch the training video:

People with good imagination once again prove that even from unnecessary things lying around in the closet you can make beautiful and useful products. So, for example, by taking a couple of dozen empty plastic bottles, a stationery knife, foam balls, acrylic paints, foam, and adding creative imagination, you can make a very interesting chess set for children. You can learn how to make such playing figures from this video:

All the proposed methods are only a small part of what is possible. Choose the option that you like best and start creating! The result will definitely exceed your expectations!

Source

Developing children's creative abilities

From an early age, children love to invent, fantasize, and play. By making chess with the children, parents and teachers develop not only creativity in children, but also practical skills and abilities. Working with paper, wood or clay, kids get unforgettable emotions. And if they work together with adults, then children gain valuable experience in communication and work skills. The pleasure of playing such homemade chess cannot be compared with anything else.

Learn to fantasize, work with your hands and think through games with your head. All-round development of your children is guaranteed!

Peculiarities

The game requires a board of 64 squares of light and dark colors and special pieces that players move around the field. Figures for the game are also divided into light and dark. There are 32 of them in total, a set for one player consists of 16 pieces: pawns (8 pieces), knight (2 pieces), bishop (2 pieces), rook (2 pieces), queen (1 piece), king (1 piece). Various materials are used to make figurines; these can be wood, plastic, marble, metal, ivory, onyx and polystone. Carved wooden chess sets, which are also suitable as a gift, have become very popular among players.

Great game

However, the chess order remains unchanged - 32 pieces (16 white / light and 16 black / dark) on a field with a corresponding 64-square cell marking.

Tools

To start carving wood, a craftsman needs a certain set of tools - these are various chisels and materials for polishing and creating the decor of future figures. Chisels are indispensable tools when processing and creating wood decor; in addition, professional carvers can make special figured chisels especially for themselves. Chisels differ from each other in the shape of the cutting surface.

Straight. The tool is aimed at performing initial finishing of wooden blanks and creating simple recesses on them. The name speaks for itself - a straight working blade.
The chisel is oblique. The blade of this tool is cut obliquely at an angle of 45 degrees. It is also used for the primary finishing of wood and the formation of longitudinal lines.
For carving with V-shaped grooves an angular chisel ; it has the appearance of two paired cutting surfaces, practically closed together.
Semicircular - the most famous and common type. Needed for applying serifs and patterns, which can be of any complexity.
Klyukarza - its shape is similar to a semicircular chisel, only its working blade is rounded not at one end, but also along the shaft itself.
Caesars are the same cranberry, but with a very small blade (only 2 - 4 millimeters).
Stickers with an oblique cutter - needed to create small recesses.
Reverse type chisels , or, in simple terms, tatyankas, have a convex notch and are used to create a relief protruding above the canvas itself.
Riveters are very small chisels, with an equally small and thin blade. Needed to give the ornament clearer contours.

To sand the products you will need sandpaper (sandpaper). Depending on the grain size, there are only 3 types of skins.

Coarse - needed for removing old coatings, such as paint or varnish.
Medium-grained - its help is necessary during intermediate stages of work, it levels surfaces.
Fine-grained - final sanding work is carried out with it, all irregularities from previous sanding are removed.

For chess, only the last two types of sandpaper are used.

Some nuances

A chess set can be very large: such pieces are considered to be outdoor or garden pieces. That is, they can be placed as an element of landscape design to play a party or two in the fresh air. There are also mini-kits that are easy to take with you on the road or travel.

But the most common size of the figures is considered to be the classical measurement: the king has a height of about 7-10 cm, and other figures decrease in size, depending on what rank they are. Take into account the height of the base when working.

As you can see, making chess with your own hands is quite simple. It doesn’t matter at all what material or theme you choose for your set, the main thing is that it will be created with love and soul, which means that the “royal game” will reveal its innermost secrets to you a little...

Chess is one of the most mysterious and greatest games of all time. Shrouded in ancient mystery, black and white figurines continue to excite the minds of countless people across the planet. The favorite pastime of sultans, kings, shahs, emirs and other powerful people has not lost its relevance today.