The Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide For Chess Lovers

Holidays are just around the corner! If you are still looking for last minute presents, stocking stuffers or just normal presents for the chess fan in your life, I got you covered!
These gifts are perfect for any budget, any chess player at any chess rating. Just make sure that they don't have one already! 😉
I divided these into 4 main categories, if you already know what you are looking for:
1. Boards
2. Books
3. Apparel
4. Miscellaneous Gifts

Boards

I know you play most of your chess games online and you have Game Review to help you see your mistakes, brilliancies and inaccuracies helping you improve your chess play or save your games in the Library. However, physical chess boards are still good ways for game play, studying chess or even as a decoration!

These Vinyl chess boards and chess pieces by the QBoutiqueSTL at World Chess Hall of Fame are great way to add some color to your chess games! They come in almost every color and they make a great surprise gift someone who likes to stand out with some color! I have all of the available colors and my favorite is the purple board and pieces which I love using when I am creating my Instagram Reels or TikToks. With 15$ per board and 5$ per piece set (you need two of these), this is by far the most colorful and one of the most affordable options out there.

My quest for the digital chess boards that lets me play some games live on Chess.com is still continuing. If you can splurge around a 1000$ (which I can't), DGT E-boards with bluetooth or USB are top of the line choices. However, I personally don't recommend DGT Pegasus, which is around 400$, if your aim is to plug that to the computer and does not currently support Chess.com on iOS.

Books

As chess lovers we are lucky and privileged to be living in an era where there is no shortage of great chess books! Here are my picks for different chess levels!

Pure Beginners
When I first started showing interest in chess two GMs on separate occasions recommended  Capablanca's Chess Fundamentals for all the right reasons. The book not just covers the fundamentals of chess principles and endings, it also shows some of the finest examples of Capablanca's most brilliant games with the third world chess champion's own analysis.

I cannot stress the importance of learning chess endgames for beginners. At the beginner level, it is highly likely to see your opponent won't resign, so it becomes essential to know how to checkmate your opponent. How To Beat Your Dad At Chess might be labelled as "for kids" I have the book in both English and in Turkish and it is one of the most comprehensive yet brief accounts on checkmate patterns out there.

More Advanced Players

Although understanding endgames or openings are still relevant and important for more advanced chess players, they tend to need improvements in other stages of the game, like the middle game or explore more strategical ideas.

John Nunn's Understanding Middle Games is one of the finest examples in the market for the chess middle games. I also picked out Paul Keres and Alexander Kotov's The Art Of The Middle Game but unfortunately mine came with the descriptive chess notation and I got lost several times, trying to understand it. If you are comfortable with descriptive chess notation, I also recommend this book.

If you are running of ideas right after placing your pieces in the optimal squares and securing your king, Complete Book of Chess Strategy by Jeremy Silman might become your best friend! I recently picked this out, and looking forward to finding some focused time to fully indulge myself into this amazing book.

If I don't mention Unconventional Approaches To Modern Chess Volume I (for Black) and Volume II (for White) written by non other my dear husby Alexander Ipatov, I would make a huge blunder! Definitely a great source for more advanced players looking for spicing up their games, and yours truly took the photo in the back cover. Also, the first volume has a huge discount right now!

General Readings For Everyone!

Needless to mention that Chess Queens by Jennifer Shahade stormed the chess scene this year! If you haven't already picked a copy of yourself, do it, and it is a great gift for anyone who is looking forward to learning about some of the most amazing women in chess. 

How Life Imitates Chess by Garry Kasparov is one of my favorite chess books ever! While the former World Chess Champion establishes parallels between life and chess, he shares some first-hand experiences, feelings from when he was a competitive chess player.

Apparel

As a chess fan, I have an unhealthy amount of chess apparel! Luckily most of them are gifted to me so I can actually justify the amount of space they are covering in my closet. Anyhow, here are my top picks for this season:

BotezLive Hoodie

I got my eyes on this BotezLive hoodie for a while now. It looks really good quality and can be enjoyed by anyone. I like this white one but there is also one available in black. 

Shirt

This chess shirt with the most subtle chess pieces pattern is definitely one of the finest apparel out there that you can gift anyone! Certainly is on the more expensive side of the spectrum but definitely worth the buck as it looks really well made.

Socks

Your chess outfit wouldn't be complete without some cozy socks! Perfect for the cold weather, these black and cream colored chess socks and these gray colored chess socks are great gifts to complete the chess fit check! Errrrrrr, I actually want some for myself! 

Misc

Needless to say, Chess.com Premium membership is always a great gift any time of the year! With the selection of Gold, Platinum and Diamond memberships you can unlock puzzles, chess bots and even more to take your chess to the next level. You can even challenge my blundersome evil twin Naycir-Bot! 

Last but not the least, these stress reliever chess pawns are great presents and such a steal just for 4.99$. I know some people already picked up a few of these as stocking stuffers!

Let me know in the comments down below which one of these gifts you would like to receive this holiday season? Also, make sure that you share this post with your loved ones, maybe they will get the hint! 😉

You can find me on Twitch, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram