Turned chessmen is the fifth book in Mike Darlow's colour woodturning series, and the first of the series' project books. It describes the history, design and making of turned, particularly wood, chessmen. The book also includes practical chapters on how to design, turn and carve chessmen, and a gallery of recent chess sets, with ten accurate drawings which can be copied to make chess sets. Like the other books in the series, Turned Chessmen is exceptionally well illustrated, using 40 drawings and diagrams, and 280 photographs and copies of historic engravings.