9" Milled Leather Travel Magnetic Chess Set with Wood Pieces - Piece - Chess-House

9" Milled Leather Travel Magnetic Chess Set with Wood Pieces

Product Code: GWMG1-BLK

$59.95 USD
~~$69.95 USD~~
Save $10.00 USD

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Product Details

This set is the perfect combination of portability and ultra-playable miniature and magnetic pieces on a soft leather chessboard. Real wood pieces with magnets hold to the chessboard making chess play while traveling more than easy - they are eye-catching and fun to play. The set is complete with a black fabric pouch for both the pieces and the entire set.

This Milled Leather travel set wins in all categories with the best balance we've seen yet..

This was Evan's first overnight camping trip to Deer Park in the Olympic mountain range of Washington. One mile above sea level, near the straight of Juan de Fuca he took in breathtaking views in all directions. That evening we played some chess with this set.

Specifications

Overall weight 13.4 oz
Case measures 9.5" x 5" x 2.5"

Pieces

King height: 1 5/8" (1.63")
King base: 3/4" (0.75")
Pawn height: 7/8" (0.87")
Piece set weight: 2.4 oz.
32 Chessmen - 1 Queen per side

Board

Board size: 9 1/4"
Square size: 1"

That whiff of elegance ...

Okay, before I get into this I need to give full disclosure: I did not buy this set from Chess House, because it's been backordered for quite a while. I also got the smaller 7" version, not the 9"

On to the summary.

The good:
* Very compact and lightweight. The board is the 'checkbook' style, and folds nice and flat for easy storage with minimum space needed
* The pieces are made of wood and have magnets strong enough to allow the board to be turned completely upside down without pieces falling
* It may be shallow, but the set looks good. The colors and the wooden pieces give that whiff of elegance.
* The finish & detail on the pieces is quite good for something so small

The bad:
* No extra queens
* The pieces are inconsistent in their color, some being stained darker than others and some just being from a darker chunk of wood (see image).
* The board isn't very rigid, so it can be bent out of shape by accident
* When opened the board is won't lie flat (see image)

The ugly:
* This is definitely *NOT* leather. It's entirely vinyl and leatherette. Maybe the version Chess House sells has leather, but the one I got does not.
* The cost is a bit steep for this given the lower-grade materials

Most of the things in the 'bad' and 'ugly' categories aren't really that bad or ugly. In fact, I kind of like the pieces being inconsistent in color, and while the board isn't flat it is eminently playable. But the lack of extra queens and the potential fragility of the board are things to consider. That aside, this set is actually quite delightful and a wonderful travel partner. The pieces are easy to distinguish even at-a-glance, the magnets are strong without being too sticky, and the size (for mine, 7") makes it large enough for comfortable play, but small and light enough for easy storage.

All in all, this isn't the best travel set out there and maybe not worth the price, but being a hybrid checkbook board with real pieces does give it a slight advantage over all the others.

But it is not perfect, and maybe not really worth the price.