Vinyl and Mousepad Chess Boards - Pros and Cons - Reflecting on Roll Up Chess Board Varieties

Recently purchased several additional roll up chess boards that I was eager to show you guys, along with some of the roll up chess boards that we have already seen. Hope everyone enjoys this video as you have my previous videos. I apologize in advance for the lighting in this video is not very good, somehow I got it into my head that sitting in direct sunlight will be ideal, I even dragged the bench from the other side of the field, only to realize the lighting is horrible. Now that we learned our lesson about the lighting, I still hope everyone enjoys this video and celebrates with me getting passed 900 subscribers. Thanks everyone, and have a wonderful weekend.
Chess
#chess

[@chriswalker810]

Best way to preserve your vinyls. Roll them with squares facing out and I roll along the files and not the ranks. I for some reason find this to help the vinyls to lay flat. The biggest thing to help vinyls from getting creases. Is to store them in mailing tubes. Staples sells them for just a few bucks. Now they come in 2 foot lengths and I recommend cutting them down to 21 inches. This prevents the edges of the board from getting squeezed which will cause a bad wave. Mouse pad boards are my favorite but they are stain prone. Even the thinner mouse pad boards are still thicker than vinyls. Silicone boards are the worst in my opinion. Pet hair magnets and grips the pieces more than I like. I want to slide my pieces over the board. I prefer the surface of vinyls but love the 100% flatness of mouse pads.

[@dmaxpr]

Hi Chris. What you said about the vinyl boards is absolutely true. I got a vinyl board 20+ years old and its in perfect condition. IMHO the main and maybe the only disadvantage of the vinyl boards are the fact that if you don't pack them correctly as you said, they will give you problems. But as far as sliding pieces and throwing pieces hard (as some times occurs), it will give a good feel. I also got a silicone one and as with the mouse pads, the pieces tend to bounce a bit when you place them hard, in my case I don't like that feeling, same as the fact that the silicone board the pieces got stuck if you slide them, something that I don't like at all. In my evaluation, besides the wooden boards, I will put vinyls as #1, mouse pads (if thin) closely at 2nd and at 3rd place the silicone boards.

[@yakkyuu12]

Very helpful post; Question; I very recently noticed on House of Staunton they have what they are marketing as "premium" vinyl tournament board-2.25 squares; This vinyl board has the U.S. Chess federation logo in the corner--- is this REALLY a BETTER( premium vinyl) or is it called that just as a marketing ploy because it has the US Chess federation logo in the corner??? Thanks for any help you could be!

[@chriswalker810]

@@yakkyuu12 they are a better quality vinyl. Still would use a mailing tube for storage. I am a fan of the premium boards over just the basic vinyl boards.

[@richardnemeth5911]

Agree 100% mousepad all the way

[@jordadams3607]

Never had an issue with silicone boards. In fact they are my go to. They are great

[@ragnorak56]

Do you play blitz on the silicone board? I see no problem on silicone in slow or classical games. The problems I've had are the drag/sliding pieces during blitz games.

[@jordadams3607]

@@ragnorak56 I have done yeah mate. I suppose its however you are used to moving your pieces. I’ve never slid pieces, not even on wood so I guess that’s why I can happily play on silicone boards.

[@maxlepocher2627]

I have a vinyl chess board and have found that making two 1 inch slits right in the middle along the 2 middle intersecting lines takes care of any ugly creasing in the middle when folding the board in 4 . When folded I also keep it loose to further avoided creases. When laid out the slits are pretty well invisible.

[@demiurg25]

Gran video, muchas gracias por tu contenido.

[@dimm0k]

nice video... a bit long. can you add links for where to purchase the wood mouse pad boards?

[@YoToddYo]

what's the difference between the rounded corner vinyl white/green board and the regular buff/green vinyl board?

[@HugoJansons]

I am playing on vinyl board and i realy like it. I have not tried others and now i do want to try mouse pad borard, it looks so smooth

[@AlSuChess]

Yes very smooth, especially the wood one

[@ericb252]

Any chance you could get some chess Bazaar boards? A comparison between your expensive HoS board would be great! Look forward to your expensive chess set reviews. Only one online that does these consistently

[@AlSuChess]

Thank you!! Yeah I'd love to do some chess bazaar chess boards, and I have seen some nice ones I'd consider! I'll take a look and see what they have!

[@yakkyuu12]

Al- have you seen the Vinyl boards VERY recently on HOS site? They are marketing one set of VINYL boards with 2.25 squares as "PREMIUM VINYL" my question is: Are these boards really a better "premium vinyl" or are they just "premium" because they have the "US CHESS FEDERATION" logo in the corner??? I'm wondering if HOS has put out a BETTER Vinyl ??

[@Joe-nh8eq]

Ha I should show you some of my boards… I’ve been on a mission to make the most unique, beautiful roll up chess boards. While still keeping them as functional as possible.

[@JAKESINLIMITES]

👌🏻

[@spencerstrickland]

in regards to your vinyl board, if you would simply start with the playing surface facing down prior to rolling it up, that would solve all your problems with the corners turning up.

[@JohnS-ch7cr]

This is exactly what I was going to say. Any reason not to just roll up your vinyl board the opposite way? This way when playing the edges wont roll up like the guy complaining about in the video

[@nicoterradas]

The MAIN issue with mouse-pad style boards is that pieces DO NOT slide on it. The surface is like a towel and actually creates a friction with the felt on the base of the pieces. Overtime, not only pieces can't slide from one square to another, but also the friction "destroys" (erodes) the felt on the pieces and slowly makes it look "hairy" and create small balls, like on a heavily used sweater. I cannot understand, for the life of me, who could ever come up with a mouse-pad chess board given that most pieces have felt. These boards are ONLY "ok" with plastic pieces with no felt.

[@richardnemeth5911]

Felt is easy to reapply. Some glue, scissors and a trip to Micheal's buy a piece of felt fabric...done

[@Kubooxooki]

Man, I showed this video to my wife and she agreed that you're my brother from another mother 😂 I have every board you showed here today-and pretty much in the same condition, starting with the "ruined" board (I don't have kids to blame; I did all that myself trying to clean it, but I love it so!). Early on I learned to fold boards with the squares facing out to avoid the curly edges. I would also suggest to keep the bags they come in to prevent them from getting dirty while you're transporting them. You didn't mention silicone boards, and I'd be interested in what you have to say about them. One thing that nobody mentioned to me before I bought my first silicone board was the smell. It really made me dizzy and got me coughing after a few minutes of play, and I can honestly see myself complaining in a tournament if my opponent brings a smelly board like that. Fortunately, I took care of that, but it took several days of washing the board with a mixture of soap and vinager, and leaving it out to air, before I could bring it back inside and not leave a waft of toxicity in the room. I love the woodgrain boards. They're my favorite now. As you said, they give you the feeling of playing with a wooden board but on something that's much easier to carry. And they're very elegant! I have my Hastings Congress pieces on the wenge, lightwood and rosewood mousepad board and it looks stunning! And yes, the contrast they provide between the colors of the pieces and the squares allows the eyes to rest. A feature I'm very thankful for. Thanks for another great review!

[@aden4043]

o Ooo Oooooooooooooo

[@AlSuChess]

I am so glad you enjoyed the video, I too think that folding mousebads in fourth allows it to be more easily transported and prevent damage. You know I actually meant to include silicone boards in this video but by the time I got around to making the video I realized I left the silicone ones at home. I recently did my initially brief glance at the plastic best chess set ever and the board it came with was silicone and the scent was very strong, like you said, very strong, hard to be around. The box set said to let them know if the board smell is too strong. Interestingly, I didn't drink the set out for a couple of weeks after doing the review and just let the board stay out, and seems that the smell has disappeared pretty much completely. So that was nice. I like mousepad boards more than silicone, the silicone boards I had seemed a little to flimsy to me, but maybe because I am not as used to them as mousepad boards. Either way, thanks for watching the video, I am happy you enjoy the content, always good to hear from fellow chess enthusiasts. Take care!

[@dmaxpr]

I got a silicone board and I dont recommend it to anyone. The pieces got stuck when you slide them, they are like magnets for dust and hair, and if you gotta throw a piece it can bounce a bit. The only advantage that I see for them is that you can pack them almost recklessly and they arent prone to get marks or crests.

[@AlSuChess]

@@dmaxpr I agree with you! Silicone boards aren't my favorite either, although I guess some people prefer them.

[@dmaxpr]

@@AlSuChess thanks for you reply! Im a new sub and I want to congratulate you for the great content!

[@user-zg4rc9fp1m]

The blue one with sharpie 😂😂

[@thegreatestbriton9689]

good video 👍

[@AlSuChess]

Thank you!

[@hukes]

I roll up my vinyl boards with the squares side out.

[@AlSuChess]

Thank you for the suggestion, I will try that.

[@mrca2004]

Yes, that way it flattens when you roll it out.

[@outdoorswithunclesergey6293]

👍 :-)

[@modestoquinto1911]

When using mousepad-boards, remove the felt bottoms of pieces for smoother surface contact..

[@scubagib6438]

acetone melts many types of plastic. The problem wasn't your vinyl board. it was your using acetone. Ethanol or rubbing alcohol will remove most markers.

[@AlSuChess]

Good to know, thank you for sharing this tip!

[@davidblue819]

It's true you can buy vinyl boards online. That's not an advantage. Mine arrived folded and I could never get the creases out. By the time you get these things in the mail they are already spoiled.

[@datamanager1456]

Bro Can tell a website from which I can buy mousepad mat(wooden colour if possible )in india ,I tried to but didn't find any..

[@refinedtalker6932]

me too please reply if you found something in india

[@UnderTheSkin13]

I know the colours are less harsh and more visually interesting, but to me nothing really beats a classic black and white board.

[@AlSuChess]

I hear you! Thanks for watching!

[@richardnemeth5911]

It's preference. For me the black and white can be a bit too stark. Some people however prefer that over green white boards simply because other variations physically bother their eyes

[@nicolacoelho]

Where do you buy the wood mousepad boards?

[@AlSuChess]

www.chessset.com/product.asp?itemid=1050&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-OPB2MKd9AIVlKXICh2tjQfPEAQYAyABEgJYKfD_BwE

[@AlSuChess]

I know other places sell them too, I believe I found mine here

[@nicolacoelho]

@@AlSuChess Thanks for the answer! I checked the site but they only sell for US. I needed one that could send the board to Europe. I did find one french website that sells the one you are showing but I saw other colours in the american chess equipment site which i wanted but they don't sell them for all Europe (France is missing).

[@AlSuChess]

@@nicolacoelho Oh I see, well yeah sometimes I feel it's tricky ordering from these places if you live outside US.

[@thealexxx1749]

@@AlSuChess if im gonna buy this board from this site i am gonna get a set of pieces as well? If not what dimensions i shoud take the pieces?

[@renannascimento2423]

👍🏽