How to Make a Laminated Chess Board

Purchase a piece of white poster board. Choose a board that is durable and more closely resembles cardboard in density than paper.

Decide how large you want your chess board to be. Trim the poster board if necessary. When deciding on the size of the chess board, keep in mind the size of the laminating machine you will be using; make sure the board will fit through the machine.

Use a ruler and pencil to draw a grid consisting of eight rows and eight columns for a total of 64 squares. Ensure that there is a white square in the lower right corner of the board, and then alternate between black and white every square.

Trace the pencil outline with a black felt-tipped pin to add greater visibility to the lines. Fill in the black squares with the black pen. You may label the left side and bottom of the board using chess notation if desired, with the bottom row consisting of A to H from the left corner to the right corner, and the far left column being 1 to 8, with 1 being the bottom left corner and 8 being the top left corner.

Place the poster board inside a laminating sheet or pouch. These normally come with the laminating machine, or they can be purchased at office-supply stores. Run the poster board through the laminating machine, following the machine's operating instructions carefully. Trim excess laminating sheet if necessary.