Free Printable Chess Boards

Need a chess board in a hurry? Print your own! Whether it’s for a quick fix, a school project, or playing outdoors without risking damage to your fine set, a printable chess board is the ideal solution.

Table des matières

Printing your own chess board is easy. You can also find printable chess pieces to cut out: what are they used for?

Quick fix

Got pieces but no board? Print a board in 2 minutes and start playing straight away. Handy on holiday or at a friend’s house.

School and clubs

Teachers use printed chess boards for classroom workshops. Cost-effective, so every pupil can have their own to follow demonstrations.

Game analysis

Print several blank chess boards to note down critical positions, mark up your analysis, or prepare your openings on paper.

Decoration and DIY

A chess board printed on thick paper or card can serve as the base for a creative project: collage, painting, or personalisation for a handmade gift.

How to print your chess board

To get a playable chess board, follow these recommendations:

Setting	Recommendation
Paper size	A3 ideally (29 cm board), A4 as a quick fix (20 cm board)
Paper type	Thick paper (160-200 g/m²) or card for rigidity
Printing	Colour recommended. Black & white possible (light grey / white)
Laminating	Strongly recommended for durability and water resistance
Cutting	Trim the margins for a neat board with clean edges

🖨 Pro tip: print your chess board on adhesive paper and stick it onto a piece of thick card or thin plywood. You’ll get a rigid, durable board for a few pence, perfect for the park or the beach.

The pieces: what to do?

A printed chess board is no use without pieces! You have several options:

Solutions for pieces: 1) Use pieces from an old set whose board has been lost. 2) Cut out bottle cap discs and mark them with a felt-tip pen. 3) Use coins of two different colours. 4) Also print flat paper pieces (pawns, rooks, knights…) to cut out and fold.

Setting it up correctly

Even on a printed chess board, the set-up rules are the same! Check our guide how to set up a chess board correctly to make sure your board is the right way round (a white square in the bottom right corner) and that the pieces are correctly placed.

When to move on to a real chess board

A printed chess board is an excellent starting point, but nothing replaces the pleasure of playing with real wooden pieces on a genuine board. Explore our collection of wooden chess boards to discover the difference.

If you’re just starting out and looking for an affordable complete set, our starter sets offer the best value for money to begin playing seriously.

What matters is not the beauty of the board, but the beauty of the game. Start with what you have — and one day, treat yourself to the set of your dreams.

— Le Palais des Échecs