The Best Chess Set & Clock For Beginners

If you’re just getting into chess, you’ve just joined your first club, or are moving from online to over-the-board, one of the first steps is getting equipment. Fortunately, with chess, it’s pretty simple: you need a chess set and clock. 

The only tricky part is dealing with the enormous variety. Still, many chess sets and clocks tick all the boxes for a new player. This guide will help you pick from a few of the best for beginners. 

Chess Sets for Beginners 

Chess is deeply embedded in cultures worldwide. The beloved game is so common that walking through just about any city, you will quickly come across a chess set in a cafe, second-hand shop, or on a park bench.

There is also an incredible variety. Chess sets are made from just about any material that can be crafted. Wood, plastic, marble, bone, stone, metals, porcelain, and glass are just a few. They range from tiny pocket sets to life-size games in Italian town squares during the summer. Styles and themes reimagine the classical pieces as a myriad of different characters.

As a beginner, you may want something simple and affordable, tournament-ready, or a luxury collector's item. Whatever the case, the following will give you a quick intro to the most common features on beginner chess sets. 

Materials, Dimensions, and Styles 

Most beginners want a chess set that's durable, portable, attractive, and a comfortable size to play on. These features are all found in a wood chess set. Quality wood ages beautifully, looks fantastic, and feels great. Overall, the classic appearance, durability, and timelessness of the wooden chessboard and pieces make it a natural choice for beginners.

Related: What To Look For When Buying A Wooden Chess Set

The runner-up is the more affordable option for a pragmatic club player. This set uses a material board made of vinyl or silicone and weighted plastic pieces. At chess clubs and tournaments, this is a very common choice. If all you want to do is play a lot of chess and prepare with the usual equipment, this is the perfect choice to start off with. 

In terms of dimensions, the tournament-regulation sizes are sensible. Not only do they prepare you for any competitive play, but they are a comfortable size to play on. Similarly, while there are plenty of styles to choose from, one is the most classic and familiar. The Staunton chess pieces are a natural choice for beginners.

Chess Clocks for Beginners

The chess clock is the long-standing companion of the chess set. For a beginner, it’s a crucial piece of equipment. While it may seem like an add-on, most chess games now use some form of time control. Whether it’s a casual game that you don’t want to run on for 2 hours, or a club tournament match, you’ll need a chess clock.

For serious chess improvers, the clock is also a crucial part of training. Knowing how to set it up and use it correctly is important if you hope to play in a tournament. 

Digital vs Mechanical

Chess clocks have been around since the 19th century. They used a simple mechanism that, when you pressed a button, stopped one timer and started another. Gradually, each player's time wound down, and when one timer ran out, a small red flag popped up.

This is still true for mechanical chess clocks. For analog lovers, they are a classic choice: effective for simple time controls and hardy, fixable machines. However, they aren't equipped for all modern time controls. 

This is where the digital chess clock comes in. They are highly programmable machines with settings for different types of time controls and tournament conditions. For example, they allow you to set increments, a small amount of added time after each move. This is very common in chess tournaments today. Similarly, delays, presets, and the ability to create automatic stages are all useful for modern play.

For a beginner, a mechanical chess clock is a fine choice for getting more experience with time controls. However, if you want to be better prepared for club, tournament, and often casual play, a digital clock is the way to go. 

The Best Chess Set and Clock Combos

To get down to specifics, the following are great starting chess sets and clocks that work well together. The best choice for you will come down to your preferences, chess goals, and budget. 

Ultimate Tournament Chess Set Combination

US Chess allows you to design a combination of a tournament wood chessboard with your selection of pieces, bag, and chess clock. This is a great place to start. 

You receive a quality wooden folding board with notation for rows and columns. You can also choose from a selection of woods; mahogany and maple are a classic pairing with a good natural contrast. The board dimensions meet tournament regulations: 20 x 20 inches with 2.25-inch squares. This makes the board tournament-ready and a comfortable size for seeing the position and moving pieces. Quality wood and a simple hinge mechanism mean the board will last a long time, even with heavy use.

The combination includes hand-crafted Staunton pieces available in Golden Rosewood and Natural Boxwood. They are tournament-regulation sizes, with a 3.75" King and a 1.5" diameter base. They are heavily weighted for stability and have a billiard cloth base.

Add a Chess Clock

As for chess clocks, the beginner pick is the DGT North American. It is almost as programmable as most of the pricier options, and it’s tournament-ready. The full range of timing choices, 30 presets, and a large display make it comprehensively effective and easy to use. The cheaper options are also great for beginners, but this classic tournament clock has everything you need.

This combination gives you quality craftsmanship at a reasonable price. It is a great choice for beginners because it will support both casual and serious play later on.

Silicone Chessboard, Plastic Pieces, and a Simple Chess Clock

If you want a more affordable starting point, you can choose a combination with a vinyl, silicone, or mousepad board, a chess bag, and your choice of plastic pieces. While not as durable as wood, these boards are still tough and offer a great playing experience. They are also extremely easy to store and clean.

More specifically, I suggest the silicone board and triple-weighted plastic pieces. This is a very common set you’ll find at chess clubs. The weighted pieces add stability for fast games. Silicone can be rolled or folded and is less likely to develop creases than vinyl. Overall, it lasts well, and pieces move over it comfortably.

Wholesale Chess Advanced Digital Chess & Game Timer

If you want to keep costs down, try the Wholesale Chess Advanced Digital Chess & Game Timer. This is a very simple but effective chess clock. Despite being much cheaper, it can still be programmed with increments, delays, and bonus time. The main downside is that, unlike the DGT, it is not accepted at some larger chess tournaments. Nevertheless, as a starter digital chess clock, it remains a great choice for the price. 

Luxury Wood Chess Set: Collectors' Starting Point

Both options are great choices for people who want to get into competitive chess. They also suit casual players and those focused mainly on the game itself. However, they may not suit a more collector-focused chess player. If you are starting out in chess and imagine yourself as both a chess player and connoisseur, you may be after something special for your first set. 

The American Staunton Chess Set, Box & Board Combination is a luxury option. It is pricier because it is made from high-quality materials, handcrafted, and features intricate piece designs. Compared with some very rare and extravagant chess sets, it sits on the lower end of the price range. 

The Golden Rosewood and Natural Boxwood are finely finished for a lovely, classic look. A mahogany sliding-top box is included to store the carved pieces. Overall, it has everything you’d expect from a luxury wood chess set; the only thing missing is an exorbitant price tag.

As such, if you’re looking for something fancier to start a chess set collection, this is the perfect place to start. 

Picking Your First Chess Set & Clock

Hopefully one of these options stood out. If not, there’s plenty more to choose from. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with starting off with a travel set for your commute or even an e-board to practice against the computer. One of the great things about chess is that on a fundamental level, the equipment is very simple. Whatever you decide on for your first set, you’ll get to enjoy the magic of the game.