I'd like to buy a 20" (2.25" squares) chess mat (roll-up) to use at a chess club I joined. Easy for transport and getting knocked around. I'll buy a good wood one for home use someday (actually trying to find a local wood craftsman to make one for me).

I've found that there are 3 types, each with pros/cons.

What's the prevailing recommendation here - vinyl, silicone or mousepad?

I would recommend vinyl for simplicity. Nice chess sets are good to have for at home or taking somewhere special. The attached website will have everything you need including plastic sets, a nylon type case that will hold your set, your rolled up vinyl board, and a clock. Check out all their products!

https://www.chesshouse.com/col...b-style-chess-boards

https://www.chesshouse.com/col...x-3-deluxe-chess-bag

https://www.chesshouse.com/col...ournament-chess-sets

https://www.chesshouse.com/collections/chess-clocks

Thanks! They offer some good choices. So, you recommend the vinyl over silicone or flexpad (mousepad)?

I'm still learning - at what point are clocks really needed? Can I defer that for now? No idea what to look for in a clock.

Are these club boards (vinyl, silicone, flexpad) assumed to be durable (will last many years of reasonable use) or disposable (ie - replace it ever year or so; using it a 2-3 times per week)?

Im going to advocate for flexpad as that's what I'd buy.

Like most things, it depends on what your priorities are.

Silicone will lay flat but is sticky, which makes it hard to slide the pieces if you're playing a game of blitz or need to move quickly.

Vinyl is smooth for sliding the pieces on, but tends to curl at the edges if left folded. You can roll it opposite directions to help prevent the curl.

Flexpad (mousepad) lays flat and has a little bit of slide, more than silicone but not as much as vinyl. Some people don't like the fabric look of the board, but I don't mind.

If you find yourself playing a lot of blitz or rapid chess (which most players do), a vinyl board is probably best. They are also the cheapest, and it's really not much to "upgrade" to a flexpad in the future if you don't like the vinyl.

I personally prefer the look and playability of vinyl as long as it's not curled at the edge.

As far as clocks, your chess club probably has some. If not, you can use a smartphone chess clock app until you decide if you want one. I definitely recommend playing with a clock. It sharpens your thinking and keeps games from being interminable slogs. Time management is an integral part of chess for all forms except correspondence chess.

Thanks guys. I'm gonna go w/ the made in usa flexpad. If/when I'm good enough for blitz or rapid chess (not sure what they are but sounds advanced), I'll pick up a vinyl board if needed.

Hey! I didn't know there were fellow wood pushers on this site! I don't play in a club or anything, but I do play at chess.com but I usually only play bots and do puzzles. When I do play "humans" on chess.com, I am rated about 950, so I'm no Magnus or Hikaru.

I played chess in high school and went to tournaments with hundreds of vinyl matts. A few years ago wife got me a nice glass set of pieces and use it on a vinyl roll up Mat. Should make a really nice wood board but lazy.

Anyway vinyl is my vote.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Thanks! They offer some good choices. So, you recommend the vinyl over silicone or flexpad (mousepad)?

I'm still learning - at what point are clocks really needed? Can I defer that for now? No idea what to look for in a clock.

Are these club boards (vinyl, silicone, flexpad) assumed to be durable (will last many years of reasonable use) or disposable (ie - replace it ever year or so; using it a 2-3 times per week)?

I see you have made your choice, and it's a good one, you couldn't go wrong on any of the boards you listed. As far as a clock, you should have one if you are playing at a club or in a live tournament. Obviously, if you are playing online you won't need one. I usually play online at lichess, or FICS. I have an old fashioned classical wind up Jerger clock, and a few others including a Seiko quartz clock that is analog and a Chronos digital game clock. The Chronos offers the most flexibility and is what I used to use at tournaments, at least since they were made available. Less expensive clocks are fine though!

I like the puzzles on lichess. Haven't tried to play a game yet - the chess club recommended I spend time with the puzzles.

They are very tiring though. And after awhile, I think I stop learning and just go through the motions of moving. I think doing puzzles for about 30 minutes at a time is good learning for me.

BTW - the chess club has a number of kids (middle school? look too young for high school). They are probably better than me (for now). They were rattling off names of this type of opening, that type of end game, this type of defense or strategy, etc. But when I play them, am I supposed to cut them some slack? Or should I just always do my best to win? I feel like age shouldn't matter. I don't feel right just cutting them slack - it's not good learning for either of us.

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Or should I just always do my best to win?

Crush them if you can!
You will both learn better that way. I don't know what your current strength is but you should start with knowing how to checkmate with two rooks vs King, one rook vs King, Queen vs King, etc. Learn how to develop you pieces trying to control the center and so on. I apologize if you are already familiar with those concepts, but trying to solve puzzles that are too difficult won't advance your playing strength very much. Playing someone that is 10 to 15 percent better than you is a great way to improve. When you can beat them most of the time is when you can tell that you have improved.

In the movie "Life of a King," Cuba has a slick setup with a leather bag and place for roll up mat.

It is also a good movie based on real life.

Both for etiquette and for learning: as a beginner (almost from scratch), what is better when playing in the chess club? 1) trying to move as fast as possible (w/in 15 seconds?); 2) ponder my moves - strategic forward thinking as well as think about the move I made especially when it was a mistake (how did I miss that when he take my piece or puts me into check) - say 30s to 1 min?

I think it's natural and better for a beginner to take some time. Not familiar w/ the various patterns, takes longer to process moves and implications, etc. But the opponent (invariably better) needs to wait patiently. On the other hand, moving faster, come what may, based on intuition and without ponding moves in advance may more quickly develop subconscious pattern analysis. Make a lot of mistakes but you'll quickly learn what not to do (versus perhaps what to do).

Still waiting for my chess order to ship.... been a week......

It is better for a beginner to play slow games without a clock. I don't mean super slow though. There is nothing more annoying than an opponent that takes forever to make a move. That's why chess clocks exist.

After the game, if played in person, it is a good idea for you and your opponent to analyze the game you just played so you can identify what you and your opponent did right and what you did wrong. This goes a long way in improving your game.

Can't speak to the portable one. But re: the wooden one, I've played this daily for well over a decade. It's pretty darn nice for the money. I think it was $19 when I got mine way back when.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001...t_b_fed_asin_title_4

Thanks.

I learned a few things today, not really about chess.

1. I know I'm a private person with a soupcon of paranoia layered on top. I'm really averse to giving out my name and phone number, especially my phone number, if we don't really know each other and there really is no need to provide it. So when my opponent asked for my info, I gave it because I didn't want to seem rude (assuming we'll be seeing each other weekly to play). But it made me very uncomfortable and awkward. And he didn't return the info which seems the polite thing to do. I need a polite way to reject those inquiries henceforth. Name is okay but no numbers until we've been playing and meeting for awhile. Yes, I know my info is out there already. Doesn't make me less of a private or paranoid person. I see no reason to provide info needlessly.

2. I think it's great that kids want to learn and play chess. But when parents just dump them at the club and all they do is play army with the chess pieces, including throwing them around, grabbing pieces from people playing, etc, being noisy and shouting (and nothing to do w/ chess), then seems like a line should be drawn somewhere. The 'moderators' (not sure what they should be called) just let them be except for one time where they indicated that they were starting to get annoyed. Now, 90% of the kids were good, well behaved and seem like better than beginner level. Just some of the kids just really didn't seem to belong; they didn't want to be there and others didn't want them there. Idiot parents.

Between all this, I think I got pretty distracted and unfocused. I lost 2 of 3 games because I made some stupid moves that cost me pieces - moves I normally wouldn't have made.

Next week will be a new week. Start again.

quote:

But it made me very uncomfortable and awkward. And he didn't return the info which seems the polite thing to do.

Did you ask for it?
What was his response?

If you didn't ask, it's possible that he's wondering why you didn't ask for it.

After giving the info, I would have just casually said, "And what's your number?"

One idea: If someone asks for your number, say, "Here, I'll text it to you. What's yours?"

That’s a good suggestion. When asked for my number, I’ll offer a junk email address instead. Email will be received but an address that isn’t used with any real personal data.

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Originally posted by konata88:
That’s a good suggestion. When asked for my number, I’ll offer a junk email address instead. Email will be received but an address that isn’t used with any real personal data.

Why give out your number at all?