Fred the Red Shirt wrote...
Tom Watson wrote in message . ..
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."


Doing the algebra I see that if the base of the king occupies 78%
of the square the diameter of the base of the king is equal
to the length of one side of the square. Now, it seems to me that
just coming out and saying that the diameter of the base of the king
should be no more one eight of an inch smaller than the side of
a square is more straightforward so I wonder if the folks at the USCF
have a funky notion of what it means to 'occupy' some partion of a
square.

Funky is a good word for that spec. There's no way that the USCF
intends that the king's base should occupy 78% of a square's area, even
though that is the way the rule reads. They mean that the diameter of the
King's base should be 78% (or less) of a square's side. And they're wrong
about that, too. (G)

By the way, the spec Tom cited is a new one. It had been revised in the
4th edition, and was further "clarified" in the 5th. I don't have a 5th
edition on hand, but the 4th states, "The king and queen, for example
should be subject to easy placement on a square without touching any
edge." And as you noted, this isn't the case if the king truly occupies
78% of a square.

Cheers!

Jim