Puzzles and the opening trainer ·
Three new boards, three new sets, and one of them is ours
The Castle Gambit board and set are here, free for everyone: navy and sheet white, a canary ring under every piece, and a knight folded out of paper. Two more looks, Studio and the Tumblers, are Supporter looks you can try on today.
The short version
- The Castle Gambit board and set, free: our colours, our rook, a paper-folded knight
- Studio: chalk and graphite pieces on coral rings, on a soft mat with a coral border
- The Tumblers: round-bottomed pieces that rock when you set them down, on a board with gently dished squares
- Pick the board and the pieces separately: any set plays on any board
- The new boards' colours work on the 2D board too
Until now the 3D board had one table and one set, with a roll-up mat for the tournament crowd. It was a good set. It was also the only set, and a chess club with one set is a chess club that’s about to argue over who gets it. So here are three new boards and three new sets.
The Castle Gambit board, free for everyone
This one is ours. The squares are sheet white and a pale ballpoint blue, the frame is the navy of the pen you keep score with, the coordinates are canary, and our rook is etched quietly into the frame’s near-right corner. The set matches: White in a white glaze, Black in deep navy rather than black, and every piece standing on a thin canary ring. The rook looks like the one in our logo. The knight is folded out of paper, with a canary eye so you can tell which way it’s looking. Pick it once and it’s yours on every device you sign in on.
Two Supporter looks you can try on today
Studio is the minimalist: chalk and graphite pieces, each on a coral ring, on a soft mat with rounded corners and a coral border. The Tumblers are the opposite of minimalist: stout, friendly pieces on weighted round bottoms that rock for a moment when you set them down, on a board whose squares are gently dished, like a potter made it. Pick one up and it sways a hair. Take one and it rolls a little in the row. (If you’ve asked your device for less motion, they sit perfectly still.)
Both are Supporter looks, and Supporter isn’t open yet, so for now they’re for trying on: pick one in the Board panel and your board turns into it on the spot, until you close the panel.
Mix and match
The board and the pieces are separate choices now. Each board starts with its own set, but the Tumblers will happily rock on the club table, and the club’s carved pieces look very smart on the Castle Gambit board. We looked at every pairing, and every set keeps its outline, so a piece reads on either colour of square. On the 2D board you get the new boards’ colours with the pieces you know.
To find them, open puzzles and choose Settings in the menu, or the settings button in the opening trainer, then pick 3D. The club table, the roll-up mat and high contrast are exactly where you left them.