Tom Watson wrote:

On Mon, 02 Feb 2004 19:48:25 GMT, Jim Wilson
wrote:

This size relationship between the pieces and the boards results in a
crowded board, in my opinion. It is certainly not the worst I have seen
(I think those Mexican agate sets would win that prize), but it is
quite a bit more crowded than standard competition sets and boards. These
typically have a King base diameter between 69% and 74% of the square
width.

I would also note that the fixed 1/8" buffer is probably an ok variance
for regular sized boards, but that it makes better sense to use a larger
variance for larger sets. I don't imagine a 1/8" larger square size would
be noticeable at all in a lawn or park set.



I was curious to see what the USCF rules might say about this and
found the following in the Fifth Edition, published in 2003:

From Section 41C. Proportions.:

"The guidelines for determining the proper square size for a Staunton
chess set is that the King should occupy around 78 percent of the
square. An acceptable square size may be up to 1/8 inch larger than
this number, but not smaller."

Fussy l'il debils, ain't dey.

Ya spekt deers uh pup-porshun tween da size uh da base an da hite uh da
peece two? I doone tink day wan us ta make dem tings wid uh 2" base an
be 9" taul.