Boxwood and Ebonized Boxwood

The chess set (the official name — World Chess Championship Set) was designed in 2012 by Daniel Weil of Pentagram for World Chess, the company that organized the Championship cycle and went on a self-assigned mission to reassemble the way chess looks both online and offline. Pentagram, a renowned design powerhouse responsible for some of the most iconic modern designs, developed the way chess tournaments look today, but their most impactful contribution was the chess set. Daniel Weil enlisted Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik, and other chess stars’ expertise and tested the numerous versions of the set on whether it would be comfortable to lift the pieces with two fingers or with a grip. Following numerous painstaking revisions that involved flying the pieces back and forth between India and the UK, the set premiered at the Candidates Tournament in London in 2013. Carlsen has won the tournament and has not used a different chess set in any of his Championship matches. The set immediately caught the attention of the media and was featured in the influential design magazines. Limited edition of the set went on sale in selected Paul Smith stores and was sold out in days. FIDE Approval Before the World Chess Championship set was used in the Matches, it required the sport’s governing body, FIDE’s approval. The set was studied in detail by the panel of experts from FIDE and unanimously approved for Championship use.