Introduction
Online chess stores play an important role in sustaining the global chess community as they enable chess players to access essential chess equipment and learning resources so that both chess players and chess enthusiasts can improve their skills and enjoy the game wherever they reside. Online chess stores also play a key role in promoting chess and providing support for the global chess community which is essential for the future growth and development of the chess community and the chess industry. In this article i will highlight some of the best online chess stores and provide information on the history of their stores, their available products and services, their customers experience, their trustworthiness and reputation and much more. I will also explore their main strengths and weaknesses.
World Chess Shop is the official online chess store for the official global chess governing organisation, FIDE, that was founded in 2012 to promote chess to both active and non-active chess players around the world. World Chess Shop’s main headquarters is in London however they also have offices in Berlin and Tbilisi. World Chess Shop specialises in supplying World Chess Championship chess sets, chess boards, chess pieces, and chess gifts. All the chess products that are available at the World Chess Shop are eligible for use in World Chess Champion matches and other official FIDE approved chess tournaments. World Chess runs two other chess related organisations which includes chessarena.com which is an online chess gaming platform and the official online chess gaming site for FIDE, and chessandcompany.com, which is a sponsorship and talent management agency. Chess players that utilise the chessarena.com gaming site are able to earn official FIDE recognised titles by achieving a rating of 1700. Chess players, brands and events partners can find opportunities to access and thrive in the chess space by working with chessandcompany.com and taking advantage of their sponsorship deals, promotional deals, chess event and tournament support, consultancy services and more. World Chess also holds the commercial rights for the FIDE grand prix series as well as it’s products which includes the Armageddon championship series.
Store history
World Chess Shop is an online chess store that was co-founded in 2012 by IIya Merenzon, to promote chess to active and non-active chess players around the world. World Chess provides numerous chess related products and services such as the organisation of top-level chess tournaments, the operation of the official online chess gaming site, onlinechessarena.com, as well as other sport, lifestyle, and social activities, and chess merchandise. World Chess’ main goal is to develop an intellectual sport brand for modern consumers that spans the globe by becoming the go to platform for the global chess community by organising online, in person, and hybrid chess events and activities and by providing complementary product offerings to players, partners, and spectators through their ecosystem. World Chess has a long-term commercial partnership with the official governing body for chess, FIDE, and holds the exclusive rights to the official FIDE online chess gaming platform, chessarena.com, and the commercial rights to the FIDE grand prix series as well as it’s proprietary products which includes the Armageddon series. World Chess’ main headquarters is in London, but they also have offices in Germany and Georgia which are under the supervision of Matvey Shekhovtsov and Nadia Panteleeva. World Chess’ rebranding efforts led them to partner with the London design firm, Pentagram, to introduce chesscasting which is a new method to host live chess events, the introduction of virtual reality chess broadcasts, the rebranding of the World Chess Championship match logo, and technology that converts chess moves to unique pieces of music.
Product selection and quality
World Chess Shop has a wide range of high-quality chess products and services which mainly cater to the tastes and budgets of advanced and professional chess players although all chess players and chess enthusiasts will appreciate the selection of chess products and services that are available at World Chess Shop. The products and services that are available at World Chess shop include chess sets, chess boards, chess pieces, chess gifts, chess club memberships, and exclusive, limited edition chess products which can be found within the World Chess Club vault.
Chess sets available at World Chess Shop:
Official world chess premium chess sets, 2024 candidates special chess sets, world chess championship academy chess sets, official world chess black chess sets, Bauhaus world chess championship chess sets, world chess travel chess sets, official DGT world chess sets, rosewood world chess champion chess sets, wenge world chess championship chess sets, black and white world chess championship chess sets, walnut world chess championship chess sets, world chess championship cabinet chess sets, Bauhaus walnut world chess championship chess sets, plastic world chess championship chess sets, marengo chess sets, Hengroen chess sets, emperor chess sets, bridle chess sets, official world chess studio chess sets, and the queen’s gambit chess sets.
Chess boards available at World Chess Shop:
Official world chess premium chess boards, official world chess ebony chess boards, Bluetooth electronic walnut chess boards, world chess wenge chess boards, world chess rosewood chess boards, world chess walnut chess boards, world chess cabinet chess boards, leather chess boards, and official folding chess boards.
Chess pieces available at World Chess Shop:
Official world chess pieces, official world chess studio chess pieces, official world chess electronic chess pieces, single replacement official world chess pieces, and single replacement official world chess studio pieces.
Chess gifts available at World Chess Shop:
Chess players from Charlie Chaplin to Wu tang clan picture books, world chess club Berlin t shirts, world chess travel chess sets, the chess map of the world, masterworks rare and beautiful chess sets of the world books, chess on earth on books, world chess and Akila legacy glasses, berlin grand prix sweatshirts, time to say Berlin t shirts, Berlin grand prix t shirts, anti-war t shirts, DGT3000 FIDE approved chess clocks, Swiss queen’s unisex t shirts, 2018 world chess championship t shirts, 2018 Kamasutra sweatshirts, London championship t shirts, hands 2018 championship t shirts, master chess of FIDE online arena, and world chess grand prix Berlin 2022 posters.
World Chess Shop customer service and customer experience
The World Chess Shop customer service team can be contacted 24 hours a day by email and by filling out a contact form on the World Chess Shop contact us page and the customer service team are happy to help customers with any queries or issues they may have whether they have product related questions, need assistance with returns and exchanges, need assistance navigating the website or any other issue or queries customers may have. Businesses can email the World Chess Shop customer service team for wholesale inquiries as well as for business proposals. The World Chess Shop does not have many reviews on official review sites such as trustpilot.com, yelp.com, or Google reviews however customers that have shopped with World Chess Shop in the past have shared their shopping experience on sites such as reddit.com. World Chess Shop does not have many positive reviews, most of the reviews that customers have left online have either been neutral or negative. The main issues that customers have had whilst shopping with World Chess Shop are regarding the inconsistencies with the products that are advertised on their site and the products that customers have actually received. Customers have expressed their dissatisfaction with the quality of the chess sets from World Chess Shop stating that the chess sets do not match the measurements, weight, or quality that is described on their site especially as they are the official store for World Chess Championship chess sets. On a positive note, the standard of customer service that World Chess Shop provides is excellent especially when resolving the problems of their customers that have had less than satisfactory experiences shopping with them.
Trustworthiness and reputation
Determining the trustworthiness of World Chess Shop is somewhat challenging as although they are the official store for World Chess Championship chess sets and are partnered with some of the most reputable chess organisations and institutions such as FIDE and Pentagram, they have very few customer reviews and the reviews that they do have are neutral and negative. Although it’s very likely that there are many customers that have had positive experiences shopping with World Chess Shop but have not shared their experiences online it’s difficult to assess the actual trustworthiness of World Chess Shop without having access to such positive reviews. Much of the trustworthiness of World Chess Shop comes from their association with FIDE and their connection to the World Chess Championships as well as the positive experiences customers have had whilst interacting with their customer service team. World Chess Shop have gained a reputation for supplying official World Chess Championship chess sets which are known for their exceptional quality and for delivering an excellent standard of customer service which is one of World Chess Shop’s main strengths. Overall, World Chess Shop is one of the most reputable online chess stores and although there are not many positive reviews online that can corroborate their trustworthiness, they are still one of the most trustworthy online chess stores which is mainly due to their professionalism when handling customer disputes.
Pricing and affordability
World Chess Shop has a wide range of chess products that mainly cater to the tastes and budgets of professional chess players as well as serious chess enthusiasts and chess set collectors. The chess sets that are available at World Chess Shop are priced as low as 39 dollars on the lower end of the spectrum and as high as 1,549 dollars on the higher end of the spectrum. The chess boards are priced as low as 109 dollars on the lower end of the spectrum and as high as 739 dollars on the higher end of the spectrum. The chess pieces are priced as low as 12 dollars on the lower end of the spectrum and as high as 749 dollars on the higher end of the spectrum. Lastly, the chess gifts are priced as low as 6.59 dollars on the lower end of the spectrum and as high as 299 dollars on the higher end of the spectrum.
Available Payment methods
World Chess Shop accepts numerous payment methods which includes American Express, Apple Pay, Diners Club, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa.
Shipping, cancellations, returns, exchanges, and delivery performance
World Chess Shop ships both nationally and internationally to over 200 countries around the world and ships all orders using trackable methods, tracking information will usually be sent to customers via email within 72 hours after the order has been shipped. Most orders are processed by World Chess Shop within 24 to 72 hours and World Chess Shop process and sends orders during their main service hours, Monday to Friday. Items will be ready for dispatch one business day after the receipt of payment but will often be dispatched sooner. International orders will be subject to additional shipping costs that are the responsibility of the customer due to fees such as customs duties and other customs fees that are required to facilitate international deliveries. World Chess Shop will take responsibility for orders that are lost during transit and will send a replacement in such cases however in instances where customers provide incorrect shipping information World Chess Shop will not be able to send a replacement but will help in attempting to locate the lost package. It’s common for orders to be held by the local post office and customers are advised to check with their local post office in cases where orders are presumed to be lost before making a lost item claim with World Chess Shop. If customers are unhappy with their orders, they can initiate a return for an exchange or refund however return claims must be made within 14 days from the date their orders were delivered. In order to initiate a return, items must be in the same condition it was received in and items must be unused, unaltered, and with all the original tags and packaging intact. Once returned items are received and approved, customers will be refunded to their original payment method within 1 to 2 business days however banks may take an additional 1 to 3 days to deposit funds back into the account.
Website navigation and mobile friendliness
The World Chess Shop website is intuitively designed with the customers convenience in mind, mobile friendly and easy to navigate with easily identifiable product categories, a search button that expands into a search bar when it is clicked which is located at the top right corner of the website which enables customers to search for specific products, and a footer menu that’s located at the bottom of the website which customers can use to find additional information such as the about us page, contact information, shipping information, the terms of service page, the refund policy page, product care instructions, and the collaborations page. On mobile devices, clicking on the hamburger menu that’s located on the top right corner of the screen will display all the product categories. The World Chess Shop website is easy to navigate on all devices whether you’re using a desktop, mobile or tablet device. World Chess Shop has clear and vivid product photos and comprehensive product descriptions which enables customers to access all the information that’s necessary to make well informed purchase decisions. The World Chess Shop is also secured with TSL/SSL encryption which protects users’ sensitive information such as passwords and credit card numbers from malicious entities whilst interacting with the site. Overall, World Chess Shop is easy to navigate, mobile friendly, intuitively designed with the customers convenience in mind and well stocked with a wide range of high-quality chess products.
World Chess Shop strengths and weaknesses
World Chess Shops main strengths are their customer service, their fast-dispatching times, their vast catalogue of high-quality chess products, their national and international shipping capabilities, their professionalism whilst resolving customer disputes, and their association with reputable chess organisations like FIDE. World Chess Shop also provides opportunities for businesses and individuals to partner with them in a commercial capacity to promote their products through their affiliate program. Whilst World Chess Shop has many strengths, it also has some weaknesses, which if addressed would greatly improve the store as well as the shopping experience of both existing and future customers. World Chess Shops main weaknesses are their misleading product descriptions which customers online have expressed their dissatisfaction with online on sites such as trustpilot.com and reddit.com as their product descriptions are often inconsistent with the products that customers actually receive, as well as the quality of their chess products which includes the weighting and measurements of their chess sets. Although World Chess Shop have received more negative and neutral reviews online compared to positive reviews there are very few reviews in total which would make it impractical to place too much credence on the neutral and negative reviews as they do not necessarily reflect the strength of the store. Overall, World Chess Shop is a reputable online chess store with a compelling reputation for supplying high quality chess products and delivering an excellent standard of customer service.
Conclusion
Online chess stores are an essential part of the chess industry, and they play a crucial role in sustaining the global chess community as they enable chess players to access essential equipment and resources that will enable them to improve their skills in chess however not all online chess stores are made the same as some are clearly better than others. In this article i have highlighted 25 of the most prominent online chess stores, each having defining characteristics. Some online chess stores specialise in supplying high end chess products, some specialise in supplying chess products for professional chess players, and some specialise in supplying chess products for chess players for all ages, tastes, budgets, and experience levels. Whether you’re a professional chess player in search of a chess set that’s suitable for practice sessions, a chess set collector in search of unique chess products, or a chess enthusiast in search of a high-quality chess set, this catalogue of online chess stores will enable you to find the perfect online chess store.
