This is a Chess/Checkers board that I made was cut with a chainsaw from a yellow poplar tree stump we have on the property. I used a belt sander with 60 and 80 grit sandpaper to smooth down the rough edges from the chainsaw cuts, and worked up to 300 grit on a vibrator sander.

After both sides were smooth I used paint masking tape in a square of 11 x 11 inches (Happened to be the biggest board I could fit on the slab I cut) and then put masking tape in rows of 1 3/8 inches horizontally and vertically. With 3/4 of the board masked off I used a dark stain from Menards, and you can see the result of that in the 1st picture. I had to take care with the stain, because unlike paint, the stain will tend to bleed into the wood, so I had to be extremely touchy with how much stain I used at the edges.

After that I masked the other portion of the board so I could finish staining the remaining black squares, as well as painting a 1/8 inch black   edge around the border of the squares.

Once the painting was complete I finished the board with 6 coats of a semigloss polyurethane, sanding with 300 grit sandpaper between each layer to ensure a smooth finish. Additionally to finish the bottom, I used some felt furniture sliders to keep the wood from scratching the table.

I'm hoping to fit in a project to make some scrollsaw cut Chess pieces for the set, but for now It is making use of some checkers pieces we made from a 1 inch diameter dowel rod