Chess set dimensions: official board and piece size standards
I was trying to make my own chessboard recently. Frustratingly, the recommended measurements/plans seem to be all over the place on the web. This is my attempt to put everything I've learned in one place.
FIDE recommends the following measurements for their official tournament board sets.
Piece sizes
The diameter of the piece's base should measure 40-50% of its height. These dimensions may differ by up to 10%, but the order must be kept.
| Piece | Height (cm) | Diameter of base |
|---|---|---|
| King | 9.5 (100%) | 3.8 - 4.75 |
| Queen | 8.5 (89.47%) | 3.4 - 4.25 |
| Bishop | 7.0 (73.68%) | 2.8 - 3.5 |
| Knight | 6.0 (63.16%) | 2.4 - 3.0 |
| Rook | 5.5 (57.89%) | 2.2 - 2.75 |
| Pawn | 5.0 (52.63%) | 2.0 - 2.5 |
(Percentages in parentheses show the height relative to the King for proportional reference. These are not in the standards.)
Square size
The side of the square should measure 5-6 cm.
In other words, the square side should be at least 2x the diameter of a pawn’s base (four upright pawns placed flat on their bases must fit on one square without overlap).
Note: Some sites suggest that the King's base diameter should be 75-80% of the square's side. There is no mention of this rule in the FIDE rulebook but it does check out in the above recommendations.
Table size
- The length of the table is 110 cm (±15%).
- The width is 85 cm (at least 15 cm gap between the edge of the table and the board for each player). This allows the overall board size to be up to 85 - 2 x 15 = 55 cm.
- The height of the table is 74 cm.
USCF
USCF uses inches instead of metric units to define their recommended dimensions. These values don't differ by a lot when converted to centimeters but aim to be nice rounded values intended for US board makers.
- The King is 3.75" tall with 1.5" base. Pieces usually take 75-80% of the square.
- The square is 2 - 2.25" long. The four-pawns test should hold.
- The board is 20 - 22" long.