The Best Glass Chess Sets in 2024 (Top 4 Reviewed)

Chess sets come in many different shapes, sizes, colors, themes, and materials and each of them have their own merits and demerits. However, when choosing for style, elegance, and a sense of luxury, almost nothing comes too close to glass chess sets.

The growing popularity of glass chess sets in recent years is proof that more and more people are looking to buy a chess set that not only serves the purpose of playing the game but also impresses their guests, as the chess set sits on a coffee table or a centerpiece in their drawing-room.

With this in mind, we have decided to cover everything there is to cover about glass chess sets, including the benefits, the variety available in the market, tips on how to choose a set that suits your needs, and our recommendations on the best glass chess set you can buy in 2022.

Ready? Let’s get started.

The Best and Most Recommended Glass Chess Sets of 2022

With so many glass chess set options to choose from, it can certainly get overwhelming to know which one suits your or your loved ones’ needs the best.

To remove the confusion and save a lot of time spent searching and reading online reviews, read ahead to find out the most recommended glass chess sets of 2021 from our experts.

Elegant Glass Chess and Checker Board Set

It’s a wonderfully elegant chess set that comes with a glass chess board that features alternating frosted and clear squares.

However, the feature isn’t only for decoration purposes. It’s playable and fully functional. However, not only the glass board is frosted and clear but glass chess pieces are frosted and clear as well.

That’s what makes this glass chess set unique, but also the ability to be able to play checkers as well.

At first, it looks like that there are no squares at all, but on the other hand, when you have a better look you realize the special feature of this glass chess set. In my opinion, it’s very unique and I would definitely love to play a chess game on this set.

Size of this glass chess set is 9.75 x 9.75 inches and it is 13.625 inches when measured diagonally. The glass chess board has rubber feet at the bottom to prevent the board from slipping but also to prevent the surface underneath from scratches.

This decoration is absolutely amazing and I am sure that every winter lover will love it. It’s a great chess set to use when it’s snowing outside to match the theme.

Pros of Elegant Glass Chess Set: Unique design, ability to play checkers as well.

Cons of Elegant Glass Chess Set: There are complaints that the board is simply clear glass with dark squares having a slightly higher opacity than the clear.

Black and Clear Glass Chess Set

This chess set looks just like every other normal set with no special decorations, however, I must mention that it’s made out of glass.

It’s a clear glass board and only has black prints on it which makes clear squares adapt to the surface underneath. Also, the glass chess pieces are clear and black which makes them look very nice on the glass board.

The chess set looks very stylish and the white & black contrast looks incredibly good on the glass surface. It makes it a modern but still a unique chess set.

King measures 3 inches and the set includes 32 chessmen.

Pros of Black and Clear Glass Chess Set: Modern design with unique style, glass chess pieces which suit the glass chess board.

Cons of Black and Clear Glass Chess Set: Complaints that the edges aren’t cut properly and aren’t finished to the quality that is expected.

LumiSource Lightened Glow Chess Set

Since in this post’s list, we have only unique glass chess sets – this is one of the unique glass chess sets out there.

The best feature of this chess set is that the figures glow when they are on a board or near the board. This means, once you take the opponent’s figure and lift it up off the board, it’ll stop lightning.

The Glass board is made out of high-end glossy black glass material which fits the figures perfectly. The best thing about this glow chess set is that you will be able to play it even in the dark.

You can take it anywhere and it will glow thanks to the 4 AA batteries which are needed or simply use the power adapter which is provided.

Chess pieces are white & blue, and there is a red & blue version which in my opinion looks even better.

Pros of LumiSource Lightened Glow Chess Set: Unique chess set which is glowing, high-end glass chess board.

Cons of LumiSource Lightened Glow Chess Set: Works as advertised, however, quality control is lacking.

Mirror Chess Board

Have you ever imagined how fun would it be to play chess on a mirror chessboard?

Well, this mirror chess board isn’t a simple mirror. It’s a mirror that has squares with black and frosted opacity.

Chess pieces are black and frosted which really suits the mirror chessboard. I can imagine how fun it would be to take it out and play it in the park for example, as you will be able to see all kinds of reflections on the mirror chess board.

And the best thing is that it wouldn’t distract you from the game as squares have black and frosted opacity, so you will be able to still enjoy your game.

The king is almost 3 inches tall which is always a nice feature when compared to the queen which is a little bit smaller.

The board size is 13.75 inches when measured diagonally and it weighs only 5.5 lbs.

Pros of Mirror Chess Board: Unique mirror glass chess set, black and frosted chess pieces, looks stylish with the reflections on the side of the board.

Cons of Mirror Chess Board: Chess set might be better if the frosted squares were replaced with the white squares instead.

The Many Benefits of a Glass Chess Set

Glass chess sets offer tons of benefits that their metal or marble counterparts don’t or simply can’t. Here are just a few of them.

A unique sense of style

Most people – especially those with little to no prior experience of buying or owning chess sets – when they think of buying a chess set, have a mindset that a chess set is some ‘vintage’ item that is only available in traditional dark shades of colors and heavy materials such as wood and metal.
This is not the case with all chess sets, especially glass chess sets.

With glass chess sets, you get a level of exquisiteness that is simply unmatched in any other type of chess set. The beauty of these sets is unique, with elegantly etched glass pieces and boards that display the characteristic sparkle of glass.

This means that you can enjoy the classic chess game with a unique sense of style and impress others.

Decoration as a display case

Even if you are not an avid chess player, the sheer beauty of these glass chess sets is simply too much to not make them a part of your home decoration. An elegantly made glass chess set can increase the beauty of your room simply by sitting there on the mantle or a coffee table.

You are sure to get compliments and comments from guests whenever they visit your home or office since the shiny pieces and stunning boards are almost impossible to ignore.

Perfect for gifts

Glass chess sets make for perfect gift options for your loved ones.
When looking for gift ideas, you are naturally looking for unique, beautiful and attractive things, and glass chess sets provide precisely that.

No matter what the occasion is, an aesthetically pleasing glass chess set can fit in as a gift – be it a wedding, birthday, anniversary or graduation.
Whether you are looking to buy a gift for a kid or adult, player or non-player, the beauty of these glass sets is sure to impress everyone.

If you are a chess lover yourself and want to introduce the game to your kid who is not attracted by those old, sometimes-bland-looking chess sets, a glass chess set might well be the answer. Similarly, beautiful glass chess set for chess lovers and collectors will be a great addition to their collection.

A great alternative to the vintage designs

The beauty of glass chess sets can add a flare to every game and gives you a different experience than your classic wooden or stone chess set.

For professional chess players who like to go on for hours and hours of continuous sessions on a traditional chess set, a couple of casual games in between formal sessions on a glass chess set can provide a refreshing experience and get their brain muscle charged up for the next serious session.

On the other hand, a glass chess set can provide a great platform for a casual player to start learning the game and playing regularly.

There is a misconception in specific chess forums that a glass chess set makes it impossible to play properly.

While this may be true for some sets, most glass chess sets are made with practicality in mind. Things like felted bottoms on the glass chess pieces provide effortless maneuverability, while anti-scratch pads on boards provide much-needed stability during a chess game.

A wide variety to choose from

There are so many options in the glass chess set market that you will be spoilt for choice every time you look for a new set.

According to your space and storage availability, there are different size options for the chess boards to choose from. You could go a small 7.5″ set with a king height of 1.8″, or if you’re looking for a larger one, a 14″ set with a kind height of 3″ might suit you better.
Similarly, there is the option to choose from a variety of colors and textures for pieces and the board.

You can find chess pieces painted black/white for a distinct contrast designating each side of the play or choose a glass set with a combination of frosted/clear pieces paired with a checkered board. Then, chess sets come with a combination of black/clear pieces and a matching clear glass board with black print.

Price and affordability

There are chess sets available in the market that start in the price range of above $1000. When it comes to glass chess sets, this is certainly not the case, and you can get a decent-looking one for as low as $10.

Quality and price indeed go hand in hand, but when your sole purpose is to get something nice as a decorative item or looking for a low to medium priced gift item for someone, glass sets are certainly the way to go.

As mentioned earlier, the level of beauty, attractiveness and perceived worth a glass set can provide. You are not going to get that with a wooden or stone chess set. A glass chess set will simply provide you with the best bang for your buck.

Conclusion

You could spice up your chess games with one of these beautiful unique chess sets which are really amazing for their price.

Also, if you are maybe building a collection of the most unique and stylish chess sets, in my opinion, all four of these could be a part of that collection.

I really like glass chess sets because they are unique and each set is different no matter that all of them are made out of glass.

Also, as they are really inexpensive, they could be the perfect gift for someone who loves to play chess.