FAQFREQUENTLYASKEDQUESTIONSFrequently Asked Questions

Our chess pieces are handcrafted in Amritsar, India. Our chess boards are made by specialist manufacturers in Italy and Spain.

Each chess piece is carved from one type of wood: boxwood, ebony or padauk. The woods used for the light and dark pieces vary by model and are listed on each product page.

Yes. Every set of chess pieces includes one additional queen of each colour.

Natural wood varies in grain and tone, so each product is slightly different. Lacquered colours can also vary slightly between production batches and may appear different under different lighting or on different screens. Product photographs show the design, materials and general finish, but exact grain, tone and colour may vary.

Recommended board sizes are listed on each chess-piece product page. On chess-piece and chess-board product pages, the Combine with… tab shows compatible pairings: boards suitable for the pieces and pieces suitable for the board. Our Guide to Choosing a Chess Set explains square size, proportion and pairing in more detail.

Protect wooden chess products from prolonged direct sunlight and direct heat, and avoid very dry or damp conditions or sudden changes. Clean them with a soft, lint-free cloth. If needed, use a cloth lightly dampened with water and a little mild detergent, then dry the product immediately. Do not use abrasives, solvents, polishes or waxes. Our Product Care Guide explains humidity and long-term storage in more detail.

For orders to every destination available on our website, we accept major debit and credit cards, including Visa, Mastercard and American Express, as well as PayPal. Apple Pay and Google Pay are also available on supported devices and browsers. Depending on your country and order, additional local payment methods may also be available. All payment methods available for your order are shown at checkout.

You will be charged in the currency shown at checkout. If your card, bank account or PayPal account uses a different currency, your payment provider may apply its own exchange rate or fees.

Yes. A 2.5% automatic order discount applies when your basket contains either chess pieces and a chess board added as separate products, or two or more complete chess sets. Once triggered, the discount applies to all products in your basket. Our Earl coloured chess pieces have separate discounts on additional colour half-sets, which can apply at the same time. The order discount does not apply to delivery charges.

See our Discounts page for full qualifying details and current terms. Planning a larger order? Please contact us for a quotation.

Payments are processed by Stripe or PayPal, depending on the payment method selected. For card payments, Design Chess does not receive or store your full card number or card security code. For more information about how we handle personal data, please see our Privacy Policy.

Deliveries within the European Union’s VAT area: VAT is included in the checkout total. As orders are dispatched from Finland, no import duties or customs clearance fees are payable on delivery.

Deliveries outside the European Union’s VAT area: Design Chess does not currently collect taxes for the destination country or territory at checkout. The relevant authorities may instead charge the recipient import VAT or other local taxes and customs duties, and the carrier may charge customs clearance or handling fees. These charges are not included in the checkout total.

We ship from Finland to selected countries and territories. Check our Shipping page or checkout for current destinations. If your destination is not available at checkout, we cannot currently accept an order for delivery there.

We ship most international orders with FedEx. We use Posti for deliveries within Finland and, in limited cases, for Economy Shipping elsewhere in Europe.

Available services and prices depend on your delivery address and the products in your basket. You can review them in the basket before ordering; checkout shows the delivery estimate for your exact address.

Check our Shipping page or checkout for the estimate for your destination. The estimates include one working day for handling and packing. They are estimates and are not guaranteed.

Once your order has been shipped, we will email you a tracking number. If the estimated delivery period has passed, or the parcel is marked as delivered but has not arrived, please contact us. If possible, include your order number so that we can follow up with the carrier more quickly.

Where the statutory right of withdrawal applies, you must notify us of your decision to withdraw within 14 days of receiving the order. You can use our online withdrawal form or notify us by another clear statement.

Please see our Returns page for eligibility, deadlines, return costs and full instructions. Please do not send anything back until we have provided the correct return address and any relevant return or customs instructions. This helps prevent delays, misdirected returns and avoidable customs charges.

Please contact us before returning anything and briefly describe the issue. If possible, include your order number and clear photographs of the product and packaging. If the parcel or product is damaged, keep the product and all packaging, and do not return or discard anything until we provide instructions.

Our voluntary 3-year Commercial Warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship that materially affect a product’s quality or intended use. It is additional to your statutory rights. See our Warranty page for the full scope, exclusions and claim instructions.