Giant Chess

A "larger than life" chess set will attract crowds and bring a new dimension to any recreation area or garden. Giant chess is eye-catching but is also designed to be played. The pieces, in each case, are made from a very strong and durable PVC material that is UV protected and completely waterproof.

Premier Giant Chess

The Premier Giant Chess pieces come in 2 parts - the base of each piece can be removed and filled with a little water or sand in order to weight it as necessary. The King is 2 feet high and matching draughts sets are available. Recommended for corporate entertainment, pubs, parties and other public events.

These 3 pictures of are the Rolly Giant Chess set. Please click on the pictures to see a larger version.

Masters Games obtains the largest sets from two manufacturers. The Rolly sets are the original giant chess sets made in Germany. They are ultra hard-wearing and have been used in hundreds of different places - in many cases for over 10 years. The pieces have nice detail.

The Garden Games sets are very similar but have a simpler design and are made from a marginally thinner PVC. Pictured on the left.

Comparative picture: The Rolly Giant pieces are on the left; the Garden Games pieces are on the right. Click on the pictures to see a larger version.

Change to $ Change to C	UK pounds (ex.VAT)	Pounds (incl. VAT)	Typical ETA in wkg days	Add to basket
Rolly Giant chess set (without board)	£303.74	£356.90	1 + transit time
Garden Games Giant Chess Set Price includes delivery!	£236.51	£277.90	1 + transit time
Garden Games Individual Giant Chess piece Price includes delivery!	£33.96	£39.90	1 + transit time	Select ColourWhiteBlack Select PieceKingQueenBishopRookKnightPawn

For an immediate quote and ETA, add to the basket & select your location.

Change to $ Change to C	UK pounds (ex.VAT)	Pounds (incl. VAT)	Typical ETA in wkg days	Add to basket
Rolly Giant King	£59.49	£69.90	1 + transit time	Select ColourWhiteBlack
Rolly Giant Queen	£59.49	£69.90	1 + transit time	Select ColourWhiteBlack
Rolly Giant Bishop	£49.28	£57.90	1 + transit time	Select ColourWhiteBlack
Rolly Giant Knight	£50.98	£59.90	1 + transit time	Select ColourWhiteBlack
Rolly Giant Rook	£49.28	£57.90	1 + transit time	Select ColourWhiteBlack
Rolly Giant Pawn	£46.72	£54.90	1 + transit time	Select ColourWhiteBlack

For an immediate quote and ETA, add to the basket & select your location.

Portable Giant Chequerboard

If you don't want to make your own board (see below), we offer two types for use with the Premier sets. These are essential for temporary situations, sites that cannot spare the space for a permanent board or where giant Chess will be played in multiple places. It also gives the option of playing indoors on rainy days!

The PVC sheet board is very quick to put down or move around and once rolled up, does not take up much storage space. It has eyelets in the corners so that it can be easily pegged down in windy locations. Dimensions 3m square (9ft 10ins sq) - 36cm squares.

The lawn-friendly board comes as 64 plastic squares which need to be connected together. The lattice structure allows grass to breathe and receive light. The Rolly board is 3.5m (11ft, 6 inches) square .

Change to $ Change to C	UK pounds (ex.VAT)	Pounds (incl. VAT)	Typical ETA in wkg days	Add to basket
Giant PVC Sheet Chequerboard (8 x 8 squares) Price includes delivery!	£33.96	£39.90	1 + transit time
Garden Games Giant Lawn-Friendly Chequerboard	£136.09	£159.90	1 + transit time

For an immediate quote and ETA, add to the basket & select your location.

Jaques Giant Chess

Jaques, the oldest games company in the world, originally invented the staunton design for chess pieces that we all know and love today. The design of their giant chess pieces is therefore elegant and true to the correct staunton shape.

This set is about three-quarters of the size of the Premier Giant Chess sets (the King is 1.5 feet, 54cm high). They do not come apart to allow the base to be weighted - so are not suitable for windy or exposed areas. The material is NyloTex bonded plastic which is fully UV protected. The giant chequerboard is made from flexible 28cm (11 inch) plastic tiles with a lattice to allow air and moisture through to the grass. Great for the back garden, summer fairs, village halls etc.

Presently, there are no matching draughts/checker sets available for a chess sets of this size.

Jaques Giant Chess set. Please click on the picture to see a larger version.

Change to $ Change to C	UK pounds (ex.VAT)	Pounds (incl. VAT)	Typical ETA in wkg days	Add to basket
Jaques Giant Chess set with Lawn-Friendly board Price includes delivery!	£211.91	£249.00	3 + transit time

For an immediate quote and ETA, add to the basket & select your location.

Creating your own Board

Many people opt to create a permanent board on hard ground. You can use patio tiles, or paving slabs or just paint squares on clear ground. For the large sets (2 feet high King), squares of around 400-500mm are recommended. Email us for some tips on painting your own board.

Giant Chess Comparison Table

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The Origin of Chess

A great deal has been written about the origins of chess and there is still a lot of debate on the subject. The earliest clear ancestor of chess is shaturanga or chaturanga which was invented by a 6th century Indian philosopher. It was a battle between four armies each under the control of a Rajah (king), two players being loosely allied against the other two and and each containing 4 corps - Infantry, Cavalry, Elephants and Boatmen. The board of 64 squares used for shaturanga, was borrowed from an earlier game called ashtapada, which was a race game played in ancient India.

Under Hindu law, gambling became forbidden early on in the Hindu civilisation and, to avoid the gambling laws, shaturanga players dispensed with the dice. Another early modification was the merging of the allied armies into a single army making the game a two player form and duplicating the pieces, both developments which have survived until today. Other changes also occurred; and the resulting game was called shatranj. 

There are three versions of the story of arrival of shatranj in Europe - did it come from the Saracens via Spain, from the Byzantine empire as a present to Charlemagne or was it brought back from the Middle East by Knights returning from the Crusades?. Nonetheless, in Europe, the game developed into modern European chess now played worldwide while in China, Japan, Burma, Thailand and Korea, other variants became just as popular.

You can learn more about the History of Chess from The Online Guide to Traditional Games.

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