A Primer of Chessmen

After the rules and practices of chess became standardized across the chess-playing world, the playing pieces followed along too.

When the game morphed into chess, the chessmen morphed into vaguely familiar shapes. See "Pre-Staunton Chessmen."

Then the Staunton design set the standard in Western countries. See "Staunton Chessmen in Western Europe and America."

This design was quickly adapted to local tastes in Central Europe. See "Staunton Chessmen in Central Europe."

And chess-loving Eastern Europe learned to love the Staunton design too. See "Staunton Chessmen in Eastern Europe."

But full-sized boards and sculpted pieces aren't always practical, so a more diagrammatic approach is sometimes taken. See "Chessmen and Soldiers in WWII."

On the other hand, sometimes a more literal and sculptural approach is appreciated. See "Figurine Chessmen."

And, long before actual virtual chess sets, correspondence players used virtually virtual chess sets. See "Correspondence Chess Sets."