How to Create Your Own Chess Game

Measure your board for the chess set. The dimensions of the squares are up to you; the only requirement is that there are 64 equal squares in alternating colors of dark and light. You should determine the type and style of chess pieces you will be making and base your measurements for the board to fit them. Make the squares at least 1/4 inch larger all around than the base of your king, which is the largest piece on the board. Once you have determined the width of your squares, mark eight columns across and eight rows up and down, and use your yard stick or ruler to make a grid. Mark your lines with something you can cover with whatever you will finish your design with, such as light pencil.

Fill in every other square beginning at the far right corner, using light for that first right corner, then dark, and so on so every other square alternates. You can do this in several ways. Cut out squares of contact paper in a color or design to place in your light or dark or both squares. Paint the squares, leaving the light plain and making the dark the classic black or some other color. Fill them in with paint markers or permanent markers, if desired. Create your own unique design; as long as the right bottom square for each player is light, and they alternate from there, you have a regulation chess board.

Construct your pieces using the wood dowels. If you have extreme wood working skills, you could use a lathe and turn them all into some fantastic design. A simpler method is to simply paint and/or carve the dowel for each piece in a representation of the classic pieces that suits your style. You will need 16 pawns, four rooks or castles, four knights, four bishops, two kings and two queens, with a total of 32 pieces. Cut the dowels to various heights before painting or carving to represent each piece. The pawns are always the smallest; the king, always the largest. The other pieces are in size order according to rank, rooks slightly larger than pawns, knights larger than rooks, bishop is larger than a knight, then the queen is between the bishop and king in size. Choose a theme for your set and create your pieces to follow the theme; anything goes with these. There are commercial sets with everything from Spongebob to outer space designed pieces on the market, and yours should be individual to you. Just remember to make each of the corresponding pieces the same, such as a rook is a rook, but alternate colors like the board -- one light set, one dark set -- to differentiate the pieces when playing.

Place your pieces on your chess board and begin play.