19 Years of LEGO Chess Sets - All 11 Sets Listed Here

Chess was first established in the Gupta Empire of India around 600 CE. The pieces are derived from military elements of the time. Around 1200 CE, the game initiated colossal changes that made it into the game we know today. It was during the 18th century that Western Europe became the centre of the chess world, and coffee houses became the locations for matches. Chess became more widely known during the 19th century, and the first chess tournament was held in London in 1851, which was won by Adolf Anderssen.

There are many variations on the style of chess pieces; however, the “Stanton” style is the official design of chess pieces worldwide. It was designed by Nathaniel Cooke, a chess journalist.

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We didn’t realise quite how many LEGO chess sets there are, the first one was released in 2005 and the most recent in 2024. Eleven LEGO chess sets have been released in the last 19 years. Here is the complete list of them:

• LEGO 851499 Knights’ Kingdom Chess Set – 2005
• LEGO 851861 Vikings Chess Set – 2006
• LEGO 852001 Castle Chess Set – 2007
• LEGO 852293 Castle Giant Chess Set – 2008
• LEGO 852676 Travel Game - 2009
• LEGO 852751 Pirates Chess Set – 2009
• LEGO 853373 Kingdoms Chess Set – 2012
• LEGO 40158 Pirates Chess Set – 2015
• LEGO 40174 Iconic Chess Set – 2017
• LEGO 76392 Hogwarts Wizard’s Chess Set – 2021
• LEGO 40719 Traditional Chess Set – 2024 - available now on the official LEGO website £64.99

After carefully examining the above LEGO chess sets, we have concluded that there are three that we enjoy the most. Here they are in no particular order.

LEGO 852293 Castle Giant Chess Set – 2008

The Castle Giant chess set measures 17” squared and includes a giant storage case that is over 24” tall, 20” wide, and 7” deep. This is a giant chess set! Each corner of the board is a dedicated realm for one of the four parties involved in the ensuing battle. There is a troll realm, skeleton realm, dwarf realm, and castle realm. This chessboard is unlike any you have ever seen; it includes a dungeon, armoury, and decorative dragon heads.

Once this fantastic board has been constructed, it’s time to place the 33 LEGO Minifigures in their rightful places. The LEGO Minifigures include a king, queen, knights, wizards (good and bad), trolls, skeleton warriors and more. The LEGO Minifigures have quite a personal arsenal to assist their venture in overthrowing the opposition. Their accessories include swords, shields, armour, and other items.

There are rolling siege towers and castle turrets to aid in battle, but our favourite part of the LEGO 852293 Castle Giant Chess Set is the two giant trolls. These guys are awesome. It’s a shame they are not still available, as we feel an army of these would look fantastic on display.

LEGO 40158 Pirates Chess Set – 2015

The chessboard has a jolly beach vibe, including a lovely, light green palm tree. The battle in this arena is between the Pirates and Bluecoats; this set has twenty LEGO Minifigures. Eighteen of these minifigures are unique to the LEGO 40158 Pirates Chess Set.

The minifigures have a variety of accessories available to them, including mini flint guns, swords and a banana! There are three printed 2x2 treasure map tiles included with LEGO 40158 too.

Our third favourite LEGO Chess Set is slightly more recent than our previous selections, as it was released in 2021.

LEGO 76392 Hogwarts Wizard’s Chess Set – 2021

Released in 2021, LEGO 76392 celebrates 20 years of Harry Potter and pays homage to the iconic scene in Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone, where they must play the life-sized chess game. LEGO 76392 Hogwarts Wizard’s Chess Set includes 4 LEGO Minifigures:

• Hermione Granger
• Harry Potter
• Ron Weasley
• Golden Severus Snape

32 buildable chess pieces replicate Professor McGonagall’s transfigured chessman brilliantly. You can recreate the moment Harry is the dark-squared bishop and Ron a knight who sacrifices himself so that Harry can achieve checkmate.

LEGO 76392 looks impressive as a display piece but offers a whole world of fun in its functionality as a board game. iDisplayit produces a couple of cases for LEGO 76392 Hogwarts Wizard’s Chess Set, and the chess board is still easy to access and use as the case can just be lifted off, leaving the board on the acrylic base.

• LEGO 76392 Hogwarts Wizard's Chess Special Edition Display Case
• LEGO 76392 Hogwarts Wizard's Chess Display Case

Do you own any of these sets? Which ones do you think are the best? Let us know your thoughts on these in the comments below.

Happy Building!