A new book features detailed photos and short essays about an eclectic range of elaborate chess sets from across multiple centuries and continents.

XYZ Workshop's 3D Printed Micro Planter Chess Set blends a Bauhaus style chess with nature.

Its Bauhaus-designed chess set ($575) gives the centuries-old game a sleek look and even serves as a cheat sheet for beginners.

It’s an important question that deserves serious consideration before playing the green-themed Micro-Planter Chess Set, which ingeniously doubles as a mini indoor-outdoor checkerboard garden.