Sweet Treats and Handmade Ceramics: “You’re Sweet” Chess Set
During February 2026, the World Chess Hall of Fame & Galleries (WCHOF) is highlighting a recent addition to the collection, the “You’re Sweet” chess set, handmade by Brenda Corbett of CorbettClay. Part of the WCHOF’s Featured Chess Set project, it is on view outside the museum’s third-floor gallery next to a display of the plaques for the World Chess Hall of Fame and United States Chess Hall of Fame 2025 inductees.
The WCHOF’s Featured Set program features beautiful, offbeat, and unique chess sets from the museum’s collection. It also offers visitors from the Saint Louis area the opportunity to display special sets from their own collections for a month, highlighting collectors and the stories of how chess has played a role in their lives.
“You’re Sweet” Chess Set
This miniature chess set is made from stoneware clay and a variety of glazes. This set was inspired by all things sweet, with each piece designed after a tasty treat. One side of the set is all bright and colorful treats, while the other side includes a chocolate-themed version.
In this set, Corbett replaces the traditional black-and-white color scheme with one better suited to candy, ice cream, and baked goods, pitting a rainbow of flavors against chocolate. In this set, the kings are gumball machines while the queens are ice cream sundaes. The bishops on the colorful side are vanilla and strawberry ice cream cones, while the chocolate side bears two chocolate cones. Ice cream bars are the knights, each with a bite taken out of them, making their shapes resemble the profile of a horse’s head. The rooks are cupcakes, with the colorful side featuring pink frosting, rainbow sprinkles, and fun wrapping, while the chocolate side is devoted to chocolate cupcakes. The pawns are the most different from each other. On the colorful treats side, blue and pink macarons play the part, while on the chocolate side, chocolate donut pawns topped with chocolate frosting and sprinkles cross the board.
About the Creator: CorbettClay
Brenda Corbett began pottery in late 2023, after seeing her sister’s love for the art. At first, it was just a pastime for her, until she created a small hobby business on Etsy, where she makes clay pieces. She decided to start her business as a way to continue her hobby and buy the necessary materials to support it.
She has found a passion for creating unique chess sets. Corbett embraces the challenge of customizing each chess piece to be easily recognizable yet fitting the theme of each set.
Corbett began doing more traditional pottery, then discovered the joy of making miniatures. She found that she really enjoyed creating the miniatures and began making game piece sets such as checkers, tic-tac-toe, and chess.
Each figure is made from mid-fire clay and a variety of glazes, which are bisque-fired in a kiln. She has made a variety of chess sets, ranging from gnomes to holiday themes to sports themes and beyond. Each piece is handmade and designed, then dried before being put in a kiln. Once fired, glaze is added, and the pieces are refired in the kiln. To make sure a full set is ready at the same time, Corbett makes extra in case pieces break while in the kiln.
Corbett lives in Grundy Center, Iowa, a small town in the eastern part of the state, with a population of around 3,000.
While Corbett makes many chess sets, she admittedly does not play chess well. She was taught the basics as a child. Her favorite part about chess now is the creation of the sets she makes.
CorbettClay Chess Sets
Brenda Corbett describes designing chess sets as a fun challenge in creativity. She loves designing pieces that mimic the basic traits of chess pieces, which can fit the theme she is creating. She makes sure the kings and queens are larger and more detailed than other pieces, such as in this month’s featured set how the gumball machines and ice cream sundaes have more detailing than the other pieces of the set. Corbett’s bishops are more pointed at the top, the way the ice cream cones are, and her rooks are shorter and more rounded, as seen in the cupcake rooks of the set.
Corbett cannot choose a favorite chess set she has designed. She used to think of our featured set as her favorite, but after each new design, she describes that it seems every new set she finishes is her new favorite. One of her favorites now is a relatively new set for sale on Etsy: her “Be My Valentine” chess set that features boxes of chocolate, bouquets of roses, and Valentine’s Day cards.
Written by Carrie Harper, Graduate Research Assistant
FAQs
How can I participate in the Featured Chess Set Project?
Saint Louis area residents can email WCHOF curator Emily Allred at [email protected] or call at 314.243.1543 if they are interested in participating in the Featured Chess Set project. Please include photos as well as a brief description of the set you would like to loan. Each set will be displayed on the third floor of the WCHOF and will be highlighted in the WCHOF’s monthly newsletter, website, and social media.
How can I see this month’s featured set?
Visit the WCHOF to see the sets in this rotating display yourself. From 3D-printed chess sets to one-of-a-kind artistic creations, the Featured Set Project shows how the ancient game has inspired artists and creators for centuries. Each set is only on view for a month at a time, so visit often to see a new set!
How can I donate chess sets to the WCHOF?
Our generous donors help us preserve chess history! From mass-produced sets with pop culture themes, to rare and historical pieces, and sets used by everyday players, the WCHOF seeks to obtain artifacts that show the impact that the game has had on history, art, and culture. For more information about donations, email [email protected].
