CHESS PIECES AND THEIR WEIGHTS
ARE MY PIECES TRIPLE-WEIGHTED? DO THEY NEED TO BE?
Chess pieces come in all different sizes, colors, and weights. Weighted pieces are usually preferable to unweighted pieces for use in a game because they don’t tip over as easily and they’re more comfortable to move and place.
Sometimes you might hear the phrase "triple-weighted" or "double-weighted" when referring to a chess set. But what does it mean? In days past chess pieces actually had steel slugs inserted for weights. A triple-weighted piece would have three weights in the piece. Nowadays the manufacturers are using one single molded weight in the piece. As a result, it can be very confusing and subjective to use the term "triple-weighted." There is no standard weight or measurement. Here at Wholesale Chess, you will see our chess sets advertised with the weight of the entire set (i.e. 2 pounds) rather than just the double- or triple-weighted claim.
Our analysis pieces are the smallest – and also the lightest – pieces we have here at Wholesale Chess. The basic pieces are hollow plastic with felt on the bottom. Quality pieces are solid plastic, meaning they’re slightly heavier than the hollow basic pieces. The Heavy Tournament pieces are the same as the basic pieces only with metal weights in them. They have a substantial feel to them, are great for standard tournaments or general play, and are the triple-weighted equivalent of most companies. Our Big Knight, Traditional Staunton, and Premier pieces are all heavier than the heavy tournament pieces. For more information on the weights of the pieces, see the table below
