About Us

ChessCentral
The Leader in Cutting-Edge Chess

Thank you for visiting ChessCentral! We have been serving the Internet chess community since 1997, and have become one of the most popular sites for chess products and information on the world wide web. ChessCentral is owned and operated by Pickard & Son, LLC; as a North American chess book publisher, Pickard & Son has been creating first-class chess books since 1995 starting with The Games of Wilhelm Steinitz.

Pickard & Son is managed by the two founders and owners, whose expertise covers all aspects of the business. Sid Pickard has been a National Chess Master since 1985 and serves as CEO of the Company. With its staff consultants of Grandmasters, International Masters, National Masters, and Experts Pickard & Son has gained a reputation for offering only the best in chess.

Our vision is to build the most comprehensive chess product line and information resource available anywhere. Cutting-edge products and books (both paper and digital) are coupled with a drive to increase awareness about the benefits of interactive, on-line study as a fun way of improving chess performance. Emphasis is placed on directing chess players of every skill level, from casual beginners and novice players (along with their parents!) to serious tournament competitors, toward the information and products they need to succeed. We are committed to providing regular product information updates and individualized prescriptions for improvement.

We are proud to create and distribute the best in specialized chess information. In the past, knowledge about chess was poorly presented, expensive, and hard to obtain. We have been able to produce attractive products at an affordable price. Skills like manuscript writing, editing, typesetting, print preparation, proofreading, copy writing - not to mention management, marketing, web design - all these have been combined to create a top-notch catalog of chess software, DVDs, chess sets, books, CDs and e-books.

Presently, Pickard & Son has many active distributors worldwide, on every continent. We have earned a sterling reputation as the leader in cutting-edge chess. Thank for your interest in ChessCentral. We welcome your comments, suggestions, contributions - you may email us at email@chesscentral.com.

What People Say About Us

Cindy Rlnj

★★★★★

Customer Service Beyond Expectation

First of all, the chess set is beautiful. I gave it to my son two Christmases ago and he plays it constantly. He is very proud of it. So...when our dog captured the pawn and chewed it, my son was bummed. I contacted Chess Central and they said that they would work on it. I totally forgot about it and figured I'd never hear back. Today, guess what arrived in the mail? The black pawn! My son actually did a little jig. Thank you, ChessCentral.

Robert G.

★★★★★

This is by far the most impressive chess set I've ever seen!!

Now you have to know up front when buying online I generally look at the three star and lower reviews, so I ordered this set with a lot of skepticism, just sure something was going to be FUBAR,...... Boy was I wrong!! I got the set and carefully un-packed it and was just amazed. It is PERFECT!! Seems that all the every flaw that had been complained about in the three star and less reviews had been addressed by the manufacturer!! So being eager to show it off and being a good ole boy, I invite my buddies over and we all set out on the porch {now that the weather is finally getting nice out} and play from noon until sunset. I enjoy all the compliments this beautiful the set gets, and everyone loves to play on it!!

H. Loomis

★★★★★

I've shopped at ChessCentral three times now, and twice I've had questions about a particular product. I don't know much about chess software. Anyway, I was shocked to receive detailed answers later that same day! I mean, who does that? Shipping was fast and well packaged. All in all, a great chess website.