I've been thinking about this question also, because my chess program only runs in 1024 X 768 (the board fills the screen) or 1280 X 1024 (my favourite).
Be advised that one of those resolutions is a 4:3 aspect ratio, and the other is a 5:4 aspect, and thus the graphics might not look identical. You could ofcourse shrink the tiles on an 800/600 res setup but you would lose gfx detail.
So? Would be better than not being able to play it at all.