Gifts for chess players depend on their rating, official or imagined: Story Time Chess for a kid, Levy Rozman’s How to Win at Chess for a beginner, wizard chess for a Potter fan, an A&A walnut board for the home table and the Chessnut Air for someone who lives on Chess.com.
The list runs by kind of player: boards worth leaving out, training gear and books, first steps for kids, chess themed gifts for the coffee table and desk, and two gifts for travel and game night. Club players get Silman’s endgame course and a US Chess tournament kit, and the player who has seen every opening gets a shogi set or Onitama. Each card names the player it suits, from a preschooler to a rated club regular.
Ten of the fifteen cost under $40, so a stocking or a Secret Santa draw for a chess lover is covered too. Prices were checked on October 18, 2026, and every link goes to Amazon.
A board worth keeping out: unique chess gifts for the home table
Three boards that earn a permanent spot in the living room: a walnut and maple set with a drawer for the pieces, an electronic board that brings online games onto real squares, and a shogi set for a player ready to learn chess from Japan.
A&A Walnut Chess Set
$84
at Amazon
A 15-inch chess board inlaid in walnut and maple, with a built-in drawer that holds every piece in its own cushioned slot. The triple-weighted Staunton pieces have a 3-inch king and felt pads, and 2 extra queens come in the box.
Best for: a home-game regular
Why it fits: Weighted pieces land on the square with a satisfying knock, and the drawer keeps every pawn accounted for between games, so the set can stay on the coffee table all year. A gift for the player who has outgrown a folding cardboard board at home.
An electronic chess board that recognizes all 34 pieces, so games on Chess.com or Lichess are played with real pieces while LEDs show the opponent’s moves. The Chessnut app adds a computer opponent with adjustable difficulty and game analysis, and the board charges over USB-C.
Best for: an online player who misses real pieces
Why it fits: Made for the player who spends evenings on Chess.com and misses the feel of real pieces. Online blitz, a game against the computer and a review of last night’s loss all happen on the same 13-inch board, which also stores 20 over-the-board games.
Shogi, the Japanese cousin of chess, on a table-style board (wood veneer on MDF) with drawers for the pieces. The traditional maple pieces carry painted kanji with the promoted side in red, and an illustrated English rulebook comes in the box.
Best for: a player hungry for a new game
Why it fits: In shogi a captured piece changes sides and can be dropped back onto the board, so even a strong chess player gets to be a beginner again. A unique chess gift for the friend who has already read every opening book.
Train like a pro: chess books, a clock and a tournament kit
What a player studies with and carries to club night, from a GothamChess bestseller to a regulation tournament kit. The two books cover two levels: Levy Rozman for newer players, Jeremy Silman for rated ones.
How to Win at Chess by Levy Rozman
$16
at Amazon
A New York Times bestseller by International Master Levy Rozman, known on YouTube as GothamChess. The 272-page hardcover takes a beginner to intermediate player through openings, tactics, strategy and endgames.
Best for: a beginner who watches GothamChess
Why it fits: If they watch GothamChess recaps until midnight, this is the same teacher in print, ready for the hours away from a screen. It also makes the easiest add-on to a bigger chess gift.
Jeremy Silman’s endgame course, organized by rating level from beginner to master, so each reader starts at their own chapter and works up. It runs 530 illustrated pages in a large 7 x 10 in format.
Best for: a rated club player
Why it fits: Plenty of club games are decided after the queens come off, and this book teaches only what a player needs at their current rating. A thoughtful pick for the rated player who studies between tournaments.
A digital chess clock with 38 preset timing modes, including Fischer bonus and delay, a rocker bar for blitz and a large high-contrast display with a move counter. It runs 4,000+ hours on 2 AAA batteries, which are not included.
Best for: a player getting into blitz
Why it fits: A clock turns a friendly game into a real contest, and five-minute blitz on a rocker bar is pure fun for two competitive friends. Tape a pack of AAA batteries to the box so the first game can start right away.
The official US Chess tournament kit: triple-weighted, regulation-size plastic Staunton pieces with extra queens, a US Chess vinyl roll-up board and a quiver bag that carries both. The weighted pieces sit firmly on the vinyl, and when the last game is over everything rolls up and slides into the quiver.
Best for: a club and tournament regular
Why it fits: This is the setup players meet at clubs and tournaments, so practice at home feels like the real event. The quiver goes over the shoulder on the way to club night.
Three ways into chess by age: stories from age 3, solo puzzles from 8 and wizard chess for young Harry Potter fans from 7.
Story Time Chess Set
$40
at Amazon
A chess set that teaches the rules through illustrated stories, with a storybook, character chess pieces and mini-games for children from age 3. Made by PlayMonster and named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2021.
Best for: a preschooler with a chess-playing parent
Why it fits: Every piece gets a character and a story, so a preschooler learns how the bishop moves long before they could explain a diagonal. A sweet gift for a chess-playing parent who cannot wait to have a partner at home.
A single-player logic puzzle built on chess moves: every move must capture a piece until only one is left. 120 challenges from beginner to expert with solutions, a magnetic board and 10 pieces in a travel case, ages 8+.
Best for: a kid who just learned the moves
Why it fits: It drills how each piece moves with no opponent needed, which is exactly the practice a new player wants between games with a parent. The magnetic case makes it a good road-trip puzzle too.
An officially licensed Harry Potter chess set with pieces modeled on the life-size wizard chess set from the film, on an 18.5-inch board with a marble and stone texture and metallic logos. The 32 plastic pieces stand 2 to 4 inches tall, and two dust bags keep them safe between games; ages 7+.
Best for: a Harry Potter fan of any age
Why it fits: Potter fans know the giant wizard chess game from the film, and this set brings those pieces to the coffee table. It works for a young fan learning chess and just as well for the grown-up who still rereads the books.
Chess themed gifts for the coffee table and the desk
Small gifts that keep chess in sight all day: a novella in a cloth cover, a classic book of 33 master games to replay move by move at the desk and a mug with a king waiting at the bottom.
Chess by Stefan Zweig
$18
at Amazon
Stefan Zweig’s 1942 novella about a chess duel on an ocean liner, told in just 128 pages. This edition is a small cloth hardcover in the Penguin Little Clothbound Classics series, published in November 2024.
Best for: a chess player who reads
Why it fits: A short story a chess player can finish in an evening or two, and the cloth cover turns it into a keepsake for the shelf next to the board. For the player who reads as much as they play.
Irving Chernev’s classic walks through 33 complete master games and comments on every single move, so the reader always knows why a piece went where it did. This refreshed Batsford edition from August 2026 uses algebraic notation; a 256-page paperback.
Best for: an improving player
Why it fits: Replaying one annotated game an evening with a board on the desk is how generations of players learned to think in plans. A thoughtful gift for the improving player who knows the rules and tactics and wants to understand the middle of the game.
A black ceramic mug with a sculpted 3D chess king hidden at the bottom, which appears as you drink. 11 oz, white inside, dishwasher and microwave safe and boxed for gifting.
Best for: a stocking stuffer
Why it fits: The king rises into view with the last sips, a small surprise that makes the coffee before a game a little more fun. An easy stocking stuffer for any player at any level.
Most of this page fits under $40, and these two are made for leaving the house: a magnetic board for trains and planes and a quick duel for two.
AMEROUS Magnetic Wooden Chess Set
$30
at Amazon
A folding 15-inch wooden chess board with hand-carved magnetic pieces that stay put on a train or a plane, plus storage slots for the pieces inside. Two extra queens come in the box.
Best for: a player who travels
Why it fits: A game in progress survives a bumpy train ride or a stray elbow, and the folded board slips into a carry-on. For the player who packs chess for every trip.
A two-player strategy game on a 5×5 board, with a master and student pawns on each side. Five open movement cards rotate between the players each turn, and you win by capturing the rival master or reaching their temple; a game takes 10–20 minutes, ages 8+.
Best for: a quick duel for two
Why it fits: It plays like a pocket-size chess duel with a twist: the move card you just used goes over to your opponent. A good gift for chess players who have everything, and a quick game to share with a partner who does not play chess.
Find out where they play. Someone who lives on Chess.com or Lichess will get the most from the Chessnut Air, which connects to both and shows the opponent’s moves with LEDs on a real board. A player who meets friends across the table needs a good physical set, like the A&A walnut board.
Match the book to the level. Levy Rozman’s How to Win at Chess suits a beginner to intermediate player, Irving Chernev’s Logical Chess explains every move of 33 master games for a player ready to think in plans, Silman’s Complete Endgame Course is organized by rating level so a club player starts at their own chapter, and Stefan Zweig’s Chess is a story that asks for no study at all.
For a club or tournament player, think kit. The US Chess Quiver set carries regulation-size weighted pieces and a roll-up board, and the A&A DC25S clock adds Fischer bonus and delay modes. Together they come to about $70, and a pack of AAA batteries makes the clock ready to go.
For kids, go by age. Story Time Chess teaches the rules through stories from age 3, ThinkFun Solitaire Chess drills the moves solo from age 8, and the Harry Potter wizard chess set (ages 7+) wins over young Potter fans.
For the chess player who has everything, look one square to the side: the Yellow Mountain shogi set, where captured pieces come back into play, or Onitama, a 10-to-20-minute duel on a 5×5 board. Both give a strong player something new to learn.
Frequently asked questions
Start from their level. A beginner gets the most from How to Win at Chess by Levy Rozman, a club player from Silman’s Complete Endgame Course and the A&A DC25S clock, and someone who mostly plays online from the Chessnut Air electronic board. For the home table, the A&A walnut set with a storage drawer is a gift that stays out between games.
Something that changes the game itself. The Yellow Mountain shogi set brings Japanese chess, where captured pieces come back onto the board, and Onitama is a 5×5 duel with movement cards that pass between the players. Stefan Zweig’s novella Chess in Penguin’s cloth hardcover is a story about a chess duel for the shelf, and the Chessnut Air lets them play Chess.com and Lichess games with real pieces.
Go by age. Story Time Chess teaches the rules through illustrated stories from age 3. ThinkFun Solitaire Chess, for ages 8+, trains how each piece moves with 120 solo challenges, and the Noble Collection Harry Potter Wizard Chess Set, ages 7+, wins over young Potter fans. The AMEROUS magnetic set keeps a game in place on family trips.
Something for the long holiday break. Under the tree, the A&A walnut set or the Chessnut Air gets plenty of play while everyone is home, and Logical Chess: Move by Move gives a winter of evenings with 33 master games explained move by move. In a stocking, the Creature Cups chess king mug or Levy Rozman’s How to Win at Chess.
Six gifts on this list cost under $25: How to Win at Chess by Levy Rozman, Stefan Zweig’s Chess in the Penguin clothbound edition, the Creature Cups chess king mug, Silman’s Complete Endgame Course, Irving Chernev’s Logical Chess: Move by Move and ThinkFun Solitaire Chess. Up to $40 you can add the A&A clock, the AMEROUS magnetic set, Onitama, the US Chess tournament kit, Story Time Chess and Harry Potter wizard chess.
Pick by how they read. How to Win at Chess by Levy Rozman, YouTube’s GothamChess, takes a beginner through openings, tactics, strategy and endgames. Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev explains every move of 33 master games, a classic for the improving player. Silman’s Complete Endgame Course runs 530 pages organized by rating level, from beginner to master, for a player who studies. For pure pleasure, Stefan Zweig’s 1942 novella Chess tells the story of a duel on an ocean liner.
The kit they would carry to an event. The US Chess Quiver Tournament Chess Set has triple-weighted, regulation-size pieces with extra queens, a vinyl roll-up board and a quiver bag. Add the A&A DC25S digital clock with 38 timing modes, including Fischer bonus and delay; it runs on 2 AAA batteries, which are not included.
For a player who loves online chess, yes. The Chessnut Air recognizes all 34 pieces, connects to Chess.com and Lichess and lights up the opponent’s moves with LEDs, and the Chessnut app adds a computer opponent with adjustable difficulty and game analysis. It charges over USB-C and stores 20 over-the-board games as well.
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How we pick these gifts
Every guide is put together by the GIFTbase editorial team by hand. We check that each item is in stock, that the link leads to a real store and that the price is current on the update date. Nothing here is a paid placement: a product gets in only if we would give it ourselves. Some links are affiliate links, which means the store pays us a small commission at no extra cost to you.
GIFTbase editorial team · Updated October 18, 2026 · About GIFTbase
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