The chess pieces are flimsy and hard to move around the (woefully small) chess board. A stiff wind, rowdy pet or grumpy child could make a mess of things in short order.

According to the World Chess Federation, the dimensions of a chessboard square should be between 5 and 6.5 centimeters (2 to 2.5 inches). For my own board, I went with 2 inches.