Disclaimer: The following article contains several affiliate links to Amazon.com, meaning that if you go to Amazon and buy the recommended product (or some other product in an allotted period of time), the author of these lines will get a commission % from the purchase

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Introduction

In the era of modern capitalism, Christmas time is one of the most commercialized times of the year.

Due to the good old tradition of gift-giving that seems to constantly be taken to new standards, it is especially lucrative for all kinds of commerces, vendors, marketers, store chains, and other smaller and bigger ventures.

Alas, despite the abundance of choices and possibilities, ¹ it seems to become more and more difficult to find proper gifts for your loved ones. Many people ² experience a lot of pressure and stress to find the best possible gift.

This is where many bloggers, writers, and e-commerces saw this as an opportunity, which is why in the last decade or so, articles titled “XYZ gift ideas for ABC” ³ have flooded the Internet. Irrespective of the field, irrespective of how obscure of a niche we are talking about, somewhere on some website, there is an article – full of affiliate links – quoting a list of things you might want to consider purchasing as a gift.

Alas, the main problem of these articles is that the recommendations are often completely random at best – and totally useless at worst. More often than not they consist of a semi-random list someone assembled by searching “[INSERT NICHE] gifts” on amazon and then copy-pasting them into an article.

I know that better than anyone given that I have previously posted two articles on this blog titled 10 Gift Ideas for A Chess Player and Another 14 Chess Gift Ideas For Chess Players, where I basically assembled a list of random Amazon links and attached appropriate affiliate links. Some thought and selection were put into them, but in retrospect, I don’t think they did a revolutionary advance in the field of gift-giving to chess players.

That is why today, I would like to repent for my sins to a certain extent and create a list of actually useful gift ideas for chess players, ⁴ in which I will present you with a list of items I, as the most chessplayery ⁵ chess player you can possibly imagine, personally like receiving as gifts.

You will notice it will be in sharp contradiction with the previous post where I stated:

“There’s a limit to how many times you can get them a brand new chess clock or a brand new chess set. And don’t they already own every chess book that has ever been written? What is there to do?”

Even more importantly – you will notice more than one instance where I actually DIDN’T include affiliate links, which will hopefully serve as the best testament to my honest intentions :P.

Now, without further ado, I present you with a list of 10 actually useful gift ideas for chess players.

10 Actually Useful Gift Ideas For Chess Players

A good chess book

Since the beginning of the 20th century, chess books have had a massive role in educating generations of chess players and close connection to the chess culture. Quite a few chess books, such as My System by Aaron Nimzowitsch or 1953 Zürich International Chess Tournament ⁶ by David Bronstein are regarded as iconic.⁷

And even though we live in the 21st century where paper books – and reading – are to a large extent becoming a forgotten art, chess still remains some sort of anomaly.  Many chess enthusiasts and players still seem to enjoy buying (and sometimes even reading) chess books. ⁸ Quite a few chess players have massive chess libraries and those who don’t dream of having one in the future. At virtually every chess tournament there is at least one stand where someone is selling all sorts of chess books, from very recently published titles to obscure Soviet manuscripts. The best testament to the fact that chess books are not yet dying is the well-known book Chess book collectors currently has more than 47 thousand members. (!!) ⁹

You can, therefore, hardly go wrong with the purchase of a chess book as a gift. The difficult part is deciding which book to buy, as the choice is vast and can quickly become overwhelming – especially if you are not a chess player yourself. Fortunately, there are quite a few resources on the Internet that can help with book recommendations – and that even divide them into separate strength categories. For example, the “King Of Chess Podcasting” Ben Johnson has a list of recommendations assembled on the basis of his conversations with hundreds of renowned guests on his website and the renowned trio of chess educators behind the Chess Dojo hub – IM Kostya Kavutskiy, IM David Pruess and GM Jesse Kraai also recommend books on their own website.

Finally, I also used to assemble a list of my favourite books I read in the previous year in the past, so you might want to check that resource as well. ¹⁰

Best Chess Books 2020

A chess course

Even though chess books have been the main source of chess knowledge for many decades, in the 21st century it is expected that there is a serious alternative in the form of digital chess courses. In many ways, chess books are seemingly losing this battle, as nowadays there are numerous chess websites/enterprises that offer high-quality chess courses by very renowned coaches, content creators, and even top players. ¹¹

Purchasing a high-quality chess course is, therefore, a valid gift idea for every serious chess player. Alas, just as with chess books – it can be a little bit confusing where to start and which course to buy. I myself can recommend the platform Chessable, not only because I worked there in the past and because I published two courses there -but mainly because I use it myself every day. ¹² But of course, it is far from the only platform with chess courses out there. You might definitely want to check ChessMood which I also reviewed in the past, as well as some other options such as ModernChess.

Chess Coaching Lessons

Apart from the books and courses, another branch of chess-knowledge-sharing that has proliferated in the digital era is chess coaching, mainly because nowadays it is possible to hold lessons online. ¹³While chess courses provide you with a more-general chess knowledge, chess coaching often involves a highly-individual, custom-tailored approach adjusted to the needs of a specific student. Purchasing a set of lessons for a chess player, therefore, can hardly be a bad idea – especially if they are very serious about their chess improvement.

Nowadays, there are two types of chess coaching available. There are many coaches out there who offer individual chess lessons. For example, both major chess websites lichess and chesscom have their respective lists of chess coaches. Of course, the tricky part is selecting a coach that is right for you. I do intend to write about this topic in greater detail in the future, but for now I can also recommend the following article by ChessMood for more insights on that matter.

The other type of coaching that is available out there is group coaching. Apart from individual coaches offering this as an option, there are some academias/hubs that provide the users with this service. I have recently joined the platform Killer Chess Training which provides you with weekly homeworks and a number of group classes at a very reasonable price (although they also sell separate chess courses). The platform ProChessTraining, which I also used in the past, is very similar to the Killer Chess Training, while the afore-mentioned ChessDojo hub has also developed a very popular chess training program at a very reasonable price.

A chess set

Even though nowadays it is not only possible to learn, but also to play chess over the Internet, most chess players still like to own a proper chess set. There is a special, underappreciated aesthetical pleasure in owning a proper, high-quality, wooden chess set. Not only that – owning a chess set is still very much a necessity, given that many chess tournaments still do require the players to bring in their own equipment (a requirement many chess players often struggle to fulfill).

Not to mention it is still hard to substitute playing against your friends over the board with playing against strangers on the Internet. Thus, whether we are talking about a nice and practical chess set such as the very standard U.S. Chess Quiver Chess Set Combination

or something more high-end and expensive, buying a chess set for a chess player – especially if they don’t own one – can hardly be a miss. For more information and guidance, I can definitely self-recommend my previous article titled Best Chess Sets: An Ultimate Guide to Buying A Chess Set, among other resources on the Internet.

A good chess clock

Similarly, as with chess sets, chess clocks are nowadays not as vital as they used to be in the past, but they are still very much a necessity for every self-respectable chess player. Many chess players don’t really own a proper chess clock, yet often find themselves in the need of one, so buying it as a gift can hardly be a mistake.

Since I have previously written a detailed and extensive guide about chess clocks, I will ¹⁴ refrain from linking all the possibilities. But I will mention that three of the most standard chess clocks are DGT chess clocks DGT North American, DGT 2010 and DGT 3000., and you can hardly go wrong with any of these, even though these are on the more expensive side.

But hey, what else says “I love you” more than spending a hefty sum on someone’s gift?

Right?

Right?

Right?

A good and reliable pen

While we are at things necessary to play a chess game – the official rules envision that every player should write their moves down during a tournament game. ¹⁵ And everyone who has ever been at a chess tournament or a league game, has undoubtedly witnessed a fellow chess player desperately picking their pockets before the game and then finally asking the fatal question:

Does anyone maybe have an extra pen?

Thus, purchasing a nice pen (or a set of pens) can hardly be a bad gift for a chess player. Obviously, there are numerous options for different tastes and pocket sizes out there, but if you are thinking of buying, say, a chess-themed pen, one by the US Chess Federation is available on Amazon.

Among others.

Chess-themed clothing

Even though buying someone who likes a certain niche clothing related to that niche can be considered somewhat cheesy, ¹⁶ high-quality apparel never fails to be a good gift. I bought myself a few chess-themed hoodies with “funny” captchas such as “I don’t need therapy, I just wanna play chess” ¹⁷ or “Warning! I might start talking about chess at any moment!” a couple of years ago and I still know where they are and wear them on a regular basic.

Of course, nowadays in the era of Twitch streamers, Youtubers and influencers, literally everyone has their own brand and merch, not to mention various other options available on the Internet, so the choice of chess-themed clothing is abundant. For the purpose of entertainment and including an affiliate Amazon link, let me just mention that I have noticed that even chess-clothing for kids exists these days:

 

Fresh chess dads – what are you waiting for?

A good non-chess book

Everyone who has ever had the pleasure of spending a lot of time around chess players knows that they can be either some of the most intelligent and curious individuals that absolutely love reading. On the other hand, everyone who has ever had the pleasure of spending a lot of time around chess players also knows that certain stereotypes related to them are also very much true.

In either case,  I think non-chess books are great gifts for chess players. ¹⁸ Whether you are trying to foster their curiosity, cater to their imagination and creativity, prevent them from being “fach idiots” ¹⁹ help them develop some self-awareness and social skills, or educate them in terms of feminism and sexism – there is a book out there for every personality and every purpose.

The question is again – where to start? Well, among other resources, an article titled Top 5 Non-Chess Books Every Cess Player Should Read was published on this blog,

 

Best Books For Chess Players: Top 5 Non-Chess Books Every Chess Players Should Read

while in the past I also wrote about some of my favourite books on my other – currently dormant – blog called Popsychle.

5 Best Books I Read in 2019 (And Another 37 Book Reviews)

Netflix subscription

When they are not obsessively spending time looking at the opening lines and recent games in their chess program Chessbase, ²⁰ chess players are notoriously known to be a bit lazy and procrastination-oriented. And is there a better procrastination tool in the 21st century than watching Netflix? ²¹ So make sure to get them that subscription and to write “Now you can finally watch the Queen’s Gambit” in the greetings card.

Computer Game/Steam Gift Card

As mentioned earlier, chess players quite often have an affinity toward things that can be considered intellectual or nerdy. It is not surprising, therefore, that quite a few of them have a great affinity toward playing computer games – as you can very easily deduce when you check the chess streamers on Twitch and notice they quite often branch into the “Variety” category by playing their favourite game.

Thus, helping them fuel their gaming addiction and providing them with yet another procrastination tool can’t be a bad idea. And if you are not sure which game to buy, major gaming platforms such as Steam do have the option of gifting a gift card. ²²

 

Conclusion

Thus, we have finally arrived at the end of this article. I hope you at the very least found it as entertaining to read as I found it entertaining to write. If, by some miracle, you also found it even remotely useful, even better!

I wish you all the best for the Holidays in 2022 – as well as all subsequent holidays as I solemnly swear this will be the last-ever “XYZ gift ideas for chess players” article I ever write (although I don’t exclude the possibility of seriously updating it/revising this one in the future!).

1. or maybe – precisely because of it
2. the author of these lines included
3. As well as Black Friday, Pre Black-Friday, Pre-Christmas, Christmas and Post-Christmas Sales
4. No, of course, I am not deleting these earlier posts :D
5. Hi Geert
6. Note how smartly I included Amazon affiliate links
7. Although maybe a bit overrated
8. In this vein, chess books are like Pokemon – you gotta catch them all even if you deposit most of them at the first opportunity and only end up using Nidoking in the end.
9. At the moment of writing
10. I also intend to do a fresh one this year, so stay tuned
11. As a matter of fact, the very fact that chess platforms have managed to attract top players by providing them with ample compensation might be one of the reasons why they are winning the battle, apart from the fact that many people naturally prefer digital products. This is a bit of a pity as there is a certain depth and creativity involved in writing a good chess book that is not always reflected in digital products. But that is a debate for another day.
12. Note that I managed to self-promote here even though Chessable doesn’t have an affiliate program!
13. In contrast to the past where the coach and the student had to be in the same physical location
14. with a heavy heart
15. Even though some people – hi Geert – had a very strange idea that it should be abolished.
16. Or in the case of our game, chessy :HOOOOO
17. Pretty ironic one, when you think of it, given that playing chess online until late night hours is precisely what I extensively discuss on my therapy.
18. And not only chess players
19. Not to say SCHACH idiots heh heh…Heh…
20. Which would also be a reasonable gift if it wasn’t so pricey
21. OKOK AND SOCIAL MEDIA I KNOW
22. Although in the case of Steam it is quite unintuitive and complicated to execute online.