Are solid black pieces preferable to rosewood?
Black pieces are NOT preferable to rosewood. It is a matter of personal choice. Both are used in tournament play. Black wood sets are more common that rosewood wood sets, but they are generally less expensive (except, of course, for ebony pieces). Ebonizing is the process of turning wood (in our case, the boxwood) black to resemble ebony. It is much less expensive and is difficult to distinguish from real ebony without close examination. Ebony is a strong, expensive but brittle wood. Rosewood is an excellent wood for chessmen; it is very resilient and does not chip very easily.
