32 Best Chess Sets for 2020, Plus Other Strategy Games to Play | Vogue

Products are independently selected by our editors. We may earn an affiliate commission from links.

You can’t play chess with lipstick, but you can play on one of the below best chess sets that will serve as a design piece on your coffee table. It’s a game that’s been entertaining for centuries: Early origins of it can be traced back to India, where it was called Chaturanga (like the yoga pose) before it spread over to Persia and the Middle East. By the 12th century, it was a highly popular game in much of Europe. Pieces were initially crafted in ebony and ivory or stone, but these days, the king and his court can be fashioned out of marble, wood, acrylic, and even porcelain. And these are sets you’ll want to leave out long after you’ve checked your mate’s mate. Plus, we’ve included a selection of other games—backgammon, dominoes, and tumbling blocks—to play or gift this holiday season.

NYC Skyline chess set

MOMA DESIGN STORE

Marbles chess set

CB2

Acrylic chess set

CB2

Man Ray chess set

DESIGN WITHIN REACH

Modernist chess set by Carl Auböck

1STDIBS

Carved Italian Stone Marble Chess Set

CHAIRISH

Herend Hungary porcelain chess set

1STDIBS

Michael Graves Art Deco chess set

CHAIRISH

Printworks chess set

ANTHROPOLOGIE

Printworks chess set

URBAN OUTFITTERS

Acrylic chess set

URBAN OUTFITTERS

Sunnylife lucite chess set

ANTHROPOLOGIE

2-in-1 chess & checkers set

MOMA DESIGN STORE

Ralph Lauren Fowler chess set

SAKS FIFTH AVENUE

AERIN Shagreen Chess Set

NEIMAN MARCUS

L'Objet chess set

L'OBJET

Baccarat chess set

HARRODS

Linley tumbling blocks set

THE RAKE

Sunnylife lucite jumbling tower

URBAN OUTFITTERS

SunnyLife mega jumbling tower

SHOPBOP

Tumbling tower game

CRATE AND BARREL

Adira domino set

CB2

Modern edge domino set

FOOD52

Vigor dominoes set

ONE KINGS LANE

Aerin Enzo dominoes set

MAISONETTE

Sunbeam dominoes set

ANTHROPOLOGIE

Pink marble domino set

NOVICA

Rain tree wood domino set

NOVICA

Jonathan Adler optical illusion backgammon set

NEIMAN MARCUS

Travel backgammon set

ASPINAL

Barona backgammon set

ONE KINGS LANE

Aurosi shagreen backgammon set

OLIVELA