Start with three questions: where will you play, who is it for, and what look do you want. Size matters most. As a rough guide, 30 to 35cm suits small spaces and travel, 40 to 45cm is a good size for home, an office or a coffee table, 50cm is tournament size, and 55cm and up is display scale. Then choose your material, plastic for hard-wearing tournament play, timber for home and gifting, stone for something that will be looked at as much as played on, and decide whether you want weighted pieces.

Our How to Choose a Chess Set guide walks through every step, including how to match pieces to a board you already own.

For standard play, aim for a king around 95mm on a 50cm board with 50 to 55mm squares. That is the size used at clubs and tournaments and it works well at home. Go smaller for travel sets or for young children, who often find compact pieces easier to handle, and larger for display or outdoor sets.

If you are matching pieces to a board you already have, the base of the king should cover roughly three quarters of a square. Too small and the board looks empty, too large and the pieces crowd each other.

Weighting refers to a metal weight set into the base of each piece. Single-weighted pieces have no added weight. They are the lightest and most affordable, and perfectly fine for casual play. Double and triple-weighted pieces are bottom-heavy, so they stay upright if the board is knocked and feel far more satisfying to move. Triple-weighted are the heaviest and steadiest of all. Most club and tournament players prefer double or triple.

Competitive play uses a standard Staunton set: a king around 95mm tall, double or triple-weighted pieces for stability, and a board with 50 to 55mm squares, all in line with FIDE guidance. The design is deliberately plain so both players instantly recognise every piece. Anything in our tournament range is built to these specifications.

Our range is sourced from trusted makers around the world, including India, Pakistan, China, Italy, Greece and Spain, each chosen for a particular style or craft. Our marble and onyx sets are made in Pakistan, Rex Noir sets are made in India, and Manopoulos metal sets are handcrafted in Greece. Where we know the country of origin it is noted on the product page. If it is not listed and you would like to know before buying, email info@chessworld.com.au and we will find out for you.

Yes, on many of our wooden sets, boards and pieces, including the full Rex Noir range, Ferrer boards and Manopoulos sets. You can see everything we can personalise in our engravable range. Engraving is laser cut, so the finish is crisp and permanent, and it adds a few days to the usual processing time.

If you cannot see an engraving option on the product page, email info@chessworld.com.au with the set and the wording you would like and we will arrange it. Please note that engraved items are personalised, so they cannot be returned for change of mind.

Yes. A Chess World gift card is delivered by email with a code to use at checkout, so it arrives instantly and the recipient chooses their own set. Gift cards are valid for three years from the date of issue.

Shipping is free on every order, anywhere in Australia, with no minimum spend. Express delivery is available to metro Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane for $29.99, excluding Giant Chess products.

Very occasionally a large item going to a remote area costs more to freight than the order can carry. When that happens we contact you before dispatch to agree a fair way forward, rather than quietly charging you or cancelling. If you would like a delivery estimate for your postcode before you order, email us and we will check it for you.

No, we ship within Australia only. Free shipping applies everywhere in the country, including Tasmania, the Northern Territory and regional Western Australia.

We dispatch orders from our Moorabbin warehouse three times a week, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. As soon as your order leaves us you will automatically receive an email with tracking details, so you can follow it the whole way. If you have not seen a tracking email a day or two after ordering, check your spam folder or email us and we will chase it up.

Yes to both, at our Moorabbin warehouse, Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 11am and 2pm, closed on public holidays. We have not had a retail shop since 2019, so the warehouse is where you can see sets in person. Please get in touch before you come so we can have things ready for you.

For pickup, choose the warehouse pickup option at checkout. Wait until you receive confirmation that your order is ready before visiting, and bring your order confirmation and photo ID.

You can pay by Visa, Mastercard, American Express or UnionPay, or with PayPal, Afterpay, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Shop Pay. All prices on the site are in Australian dollars. Schools, clubs, businesses and government buyers can also be invoiced, see the Schools and clubs section below.

If a product is showing on the website, it is in stock and sitting in our warehouse ready to ship. We do not list items we cannot send. Stock levels update automatically, so you can order with confidence. If something you are after is not on the site, email us and we will let you know if it is due back in.

Yes, we are happy to invoice schools, clubs, businesses and government buyers. Email us the products and quantities you need, along with your PO details if you have them, and we will send through an invoice for payment. It is a common way our education and institutional customers order with us.

Tournaments are played with tournament sets and clocks, and the School Chess Club 10-Pack covers both in one purchase. For teaching a room full of beginners, a demo board is the single most useful thing you can own, and the Chess Kids Teacher Resource Guide is built for planning lessons.

Do not underestimate trophies and medals either. They keep pupils turning up week after week. If you are setting up from scratch, email us your numbers and we will tell you what we would send.

Yes, we accept change-of-mind returns. Start one through our returns portal, with the item in its original condition and packaging. A 10% restocking fee applies if you would like an exchange or store credit, or 20% if you would prefer a refund to your original payment method. Clearance items and personalised products are not eligible.

If an item arrived faulty rather than simply not being to taste, use the damaged or faulty process instead. That is handled differently and costs you nothing.

We are sorry, and we will make it right. Submit a claim through our returns portal within 3 days of delivery and include a few clear photos of the issue. We assess every claim in line with Australian Consumer Law. For a major problem you can choose a refund or a replacement and we cover return shipping. For a minor problem we will repair it, replace it, or credit you for the cost of repair.

Usually, yes. We can normally supply replacements for tournament sets, the Rex Noir range and Giant Chess sets, and tournament and Giant Chess pieces can be bought directly on the website, so a lost pawn does not mean replacing the whole set.

Other sets are harder, because many are made in small batches and matching an older finish is not always possible. Email info@chessworld.com.au with the set you have and we will tell you honestly whether we can match it.