Which chess sets to buy when you start organising tournaments

Two people play at one board, so you need half as many boards as players. A first tournament usually draws 10-20 people:

• 10 players - 5 boards and 5 sets of pieces.
• 20 players - 10 boards and 10 sets of pieces.

So a new organiser needs between 5 and 10 sets. With an odd number of players one person sits out each round, so no extra board is needed. More on counting boards - chess boards for a tournament.

A vinyl board rolls up, weighs almost nothing, cannot break and wipes clean with a damp cloth. Ten of them fit into one bag. For tournaments they beat wooden boards: you do not mind carrying them around, and a spilt coffee is no disaster.

The size is 44 centimetres. The squares on such a board are about 5 cm: pieces with a 9.5 cm king stand comfortably, and there is still room next to it for a clock and a scoresheet. A smaller board and the pieces jostle each other; a bigger one takes up too much of a cafe table.

This one will do, at about 300 RUB: a roll-up chess board on Ozon (Ozon is Russia's largest online marketplace).

Plastic pieces are light and do not break if dropped. Good ones have felt glued underneath, so a piece does not slide or scratch the board. What matters most is the size: a king about 9.5 cm tall and a pawn about 5 cm. This is the standard tournament size: the pieces are easy to see and easy to pick up.

A set costs about 500 RUB: chess pieces on Ozon.

Once your tournaments take off and you want pieces that stand more firmly and feel heavier in the hand, you can switch to weighted wooden ones. A good option from the Russian maker Wood Games is Rossiyskie No. 3 weighted chess pieces, sold without a board: beech, matt lacquer, a 10.5 cm king and a 5.2 cm pawn. They cost 1,650 RUB a set.

Their king is a little taller and wider than the plastic one, so on a 44 cm board the pieces stand more tightly, but they are still comfortable to play with. The board stays the same vinyl one: there is no reason to change it.

If you want games to be recorded automatically and shown live, each board needs a phone holder. A flexible clip-on holder for about 250 RUB will do: a flexible phone holder on Ozon.

The phone is fixed above the board, the Vibe Chess app records the moves, and the game can be watched live on the live games page. How it works for a player - recording a chess game with your phone camera. You only need holders for the tables you want to record, not necessarily for all of them.

• Ozon with delivery from China - noticeably cheaper than Russian sellers, but it takes 2-3 weeks. If the tournament is a month away, this is the best option.
• Russian sellers on Ozon, or Avito (a Russian classifieds site) - a little more expensive but fast: a few days, or straight from the seller's hands. A lifesaver when the tournament is next week.

The prices in this article are a guide as of October 2026: on marketplaces they change every week.

Using the prices above - the cost of one set and of a kit for 10 and 20 players:

And a comparison of options - what you get with phone holders and with wooden pieces:

Bottom line: a starter kit for 10 people starts at 4,000 RUB. A tournament for 20 people is equipped for 8,000 RUB, or 9,250 RUB with holders on half the boards. The whole kit for a beginner costs no more than 10,000 roubles. The 10-board options that fit within that sum are marked green in the table.

Clocks are the most expensive part of the equipment, but at the start you can do without them: the free chess clock on your phone works on any smartphone, and the Vibe Chess app handles the pairings and the standings itself. When you want real clocks, here is how to choose them - chess clocks for a tournament.

If you have found boards, pieces or holders that are cheaper or better - or your buying experience was different - write to me on Telegram. I am the author of this article: I will add what you tell me and update the piece so it helps the next organisers.