Chess boards
For the World or Continental Championships wooden boards should be used. For other FIDE registered tournaments boards made of wood, plastic or card are recommended. In all cases boards should be rigid. The board may also be of stone or marble with appropriate light and dark colours, provided the Chief Arbiter finds it acceptable. Natural wood with sufficient contrast, such as birch, maple or European ash against walnut, teak, beech, etc., may also be used for boards, which must have a dull or neutral finish, never shiny. Combination of colours such as brown, green, or very light tan and white, cream, off-white ivory, buff, etc., may be used for the chess squares in addition to natural colours. Referring to 2.2 the size of a square should be twice the diameter of a pawn’s base. It is recommended that a side of the square should measure 5 to 6.5 cm. A comfortable table of suitable height may be fitted in with a chessboard. If the table and the board are separate from one another, the latter must be fastened and thus prevented from moving during play.
4.
Chess tables
The size of a table should have a minimum length of twice the length of the chessboard and a width of 15 – 20 cm more than the chessboard. It is recommended to use tables with a minimum size of 120 x 80 cm for top level FIDE tournaments. The height of a table and the chairs should be comfortable for the players. Any noise when moving the chairs should be avoided.
