Chess Piece Materials — Wood, Plastic, Metal & Stone Explained

Wood — The Traditional and Preferred Material

Wood has been the material of choice for fine chess pieces for centuries, and for good reason. It is warm to the touch, ages beautifully, and can be carved and turned with a precision that synthetic materials rarely match. The character of the wood — its grain, density, and natural colour — gives each set a quality that is immediately apparent when you pick up a piece.

Not all woods are equal for chess. The best sets use specific species chosen for their density, grain, and natural colouring, each suited to either the light or dark pieces in a set.

Boxwood

Boxwood is the classic material for the light pieces in a fine chess set. It is a dense, slow-growing hardwood with an exceptionally fine and even grain, which allows the delicate details of a Staunton design — the fluted columns, the knight's mane, the delicate finials — to be carved and turned with precision. Its natural colour is a warm cream to pale yellow, evoking the ivory that was historically used for luxury pieces before ivory became rightly prohibited. Well-finished boxwood has a smooth, almost silky surface that improves with handling over decades of play.

Ebony

For the dark pieces, ebony is the prestige choice. True ebony — typically from Sri Lanka or India — is one of the densest commercially available woods in the world. It is deep black with occasional faint grain markings, and it takes a polish that approaches the visual quality of lacquer. Its density gives ebony pieces a natural weight that complements the added ballast of metal weighting. The combination of boxwood and ebony in a single Staunton chess set represents the highest standard in wooden chess pieces and has done so since 1849.

Sheesham (Indian Rosewood)

Sheesham, also called Indian rosewood or Golden Rosewood, has become one of the most widely used woods in mid-range chess sets. It has a rich reddish-brown colour with darker streaking, making it visually striking as the dark pieces in a set. It is harder and more durable than many alternatives and takes a good finish. Sheesham is sustainably available and considerably more affordable than ebony, which accounts for its popularity in quality sets sold at accessible price points.

Sandalwood

Sandalwood is used primarily for its aesthetic appeal — its pale, fine-grained surface has a subtle natural fragrance and a warm tone that works well for light pieces. It is softer than boxwood and less common in serious playing sets, appearing more often in decorative and gift-quality chess sets.

Maple

Maple is a North American hardwood used in some chess sets, particularly those with a more contemporary aesthetic. It is very pale — almost white — with a fine, consistent grain, and is often used alongside walnut (which provides a deep brown-black contrast) in sets that favour a clean modern look over the traditional boxwood-and-ebony pairing.

Weighted Plastic — The Club and Tournament Standard

Triple-weighted plastic Staunton sets are the global standard for club, school, and tournament chess. The reason is practical: a well-made weighted plastic set is essentially indestructible under normal use, dimensionally consistent across thousands of units (critical for tournament conditions), easy to clean, and a fraction of the cost of a comparable wooden set.

The weighting in quality plastic sets consists of steel discs or shot sealed into the base of each piece. This adds meaningful heft — the king in a good club set should feel substantial in the hand — and significantly reduces tipping during rapid or blitz play. The pieces are finished with baize or felt pads on the base to protect both the piece and the board.

Poor-quality plastic sets — the kind sold cheaply without weighting — feel hollow and light. They tip easily, move without conviction, and give a poor impression of the game. If you are buying plastic pieces, weighting is not optional. See our chess buying guide for recommendations by budget and use case.

Metal — Brass, Pewter, and Silver-Plated

Metal chess pieces in brass, pewter, or silver-plate are almost exclusively ornamental. They are heavy (often impractically so for extended play), expensive, and the surfaces can mark and tarnish over time. Metal sets are frequently produced as display items or gifts, and many feature elaborately sculpted figurative pieces rather than the functional Staunton design.

If you are buying metal pieces for display or as a collector's item, they can be genuinely beautiful objects. For actual play over the board, they are not recommended.

Marble and Alabaster

Marble and alabaster chess sets are sold widely as decorative items, and their visual appeal is obvious — the natural veining and translucency of alabaster in particular can be striking. However, both materials are heavy, cold to the touch, and fragile in ways that make them unsuitable for regular play. The edges of carved stone pieces chip with modest impact, and the weight of a full marble set makes extended handling tiring.

Marble sets are best understood as ornamental objects that happen to resemble chess sets, rather than instruments of play.

Glass

Glass chess sets — typically featuring clear and frosted pieces — are decorative only. Glass is fragile, the pieces are difficult to distinguish quickly during play (especially under artificial light), and the surfaces provide no satisfying grip. Glass sets look striking on a shelf or coffee table and serve their purpose there.

Resin

Resin has become increasingly common as an alternative to wood in mid-range sets. It can be cast in moulds to high dimensional accuracy and tinted to mimic wood tones, ivory, or other materials. Quality resin pieces with proper weighting are a reasonable alternative to wood for players who want the visual warmth of a wooden set at a lower price point. The key difference from wood is feel and longevity: resin lacks the natural grain and tactile quality of wood, and it can become brittle with age.

Weighting and Felt Bases

Whatever the material, two factors determine the playing quality of a chess piece: weighting and base finish. A properly weighted piece sits on the board with authority, resists accidental tipping, and produces the satisfying weight transfer that distinguishes serious play from casual handling. A baize or felt base protects both the piece and the board surface, prevents sliding, and gives the piece a planted, stable feel.

These are not luxury additions — they are the baseline for any set intended for genuine play. When evaluating any chess set, check both: lift the king, feel its weight, and turn it over to check the base.

What to Avoid

The chess market contains a great deal of product that is unsuitable for serious play. Avoid: unweighted plastic pieces of any price; novelty sets where the pieces represent characters or objects rather than standard Staunton forms (they are difficult to read quickly in play); very cheap resin sets without felt bases; and any set where the king height is below 75mm for home play or 85mm for club play, as undersized pieces are uncomfortable to handle over a full game.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are chess pieces made from?

Chess pieces are made from a wide range of materials, but the traditional and preferred choices for serious play are wood — particularly boxwood for the light pieces and ebony for the dark pieces — and weighted plastic for club and tournament use. Other materials include sheesham (Indian rosewood), maple, brass, pewter, marble, alabaster, glass, and resin. Each has different properties: wood offers the best combination of feel, appearance, and longevity; weighted plastic provides durability and consistency at scale; decorative materials like marble and glass are for display rather than play.

Q: What is the difference between weighted and unweighted chess pieces?

Weighted chess pieces have metal discs or shot sealed into the base, giving them a satisfying heft and stability on the board. They are far less prone to tipping when touched and produce the distinctive feel associated with serious over-the-board play. Unweighted pieces are lighter and cheaper to produce, but feel insubstantial in the hand and are easily knocked over — a particular problem in rapid or blitz play. Most quality sets, whether wood or plastic, include weighting as standard, and it is one of the most important factors to check when buying any chess set for actual play.

Q: Are wooden or plastic chess pieces better?

For serious home and display play, wooden pieces — particularly boxwood and ebony — are the preferred choice for their tactile quality, visual warmth, and longevity. A well-made wooden set improves with age and handling. However, triple-weighted plastic Staunton pieces are the standard for club and school use worldwide: they are extremely durable, dimensionally consistent across large quantities (critical for tournaments), easy to clean, and significantly more affordable. The choice depends on context: wood for home, gift, and display use; weighted plastic for clubs, schools, and any setting where the pieces will face intensive daily use by many different players.

Q: What are the original Staunton chess pieces made from?

The original Staunton chess pieces, created by Jaques of London and endorsed by chess champion Howard Staunton in 1849, were made by Jaques of London from boxwood (light pieces) and ebony (dark pieces). Boxwood was chosen for its fine, even grain and warm cream colour, which closely resembled the ivory used in luxury sets of the period. Ebony was selected for its exceptional density, deep black colour, and the lustrous polish it takes. This material combination remains the gold standard for fine wooden chess sets today, and Jaques of London continues to produce sets in boxwood and ebony to this day.