This set exceeded my expectations and my expectations were high! The colors of the light and dark pieces along with the board colors, the squares and the leather back of the board, are perfectly coordinated and very pleasing to the eye. The pieces had even greater detail than I expected. This set looks classy and cute at the same time. I love 2-bag storage system. You can snatch the pieces up quickly and toss them in the smaller bag without putting them in pre-cut slots (time-consuming) and it looks like there is absolutely no risk of pieces getting damaged in doing so. Then the zipped smaller pieces bag goes into the larger bag with the board, and all together, they’re still a handy, small size. The board lies very nearly flat brand new with the pieces on it, and I suspect it will lie even flatter with use. I can see why this is Raphael’s favorite travel set. For size, utility, and looks, it’s hard to see how it could be beaten. The magnets are plenty strong to hold the pieces for normal use. Thank you very much, ChessHouse! Now it’s my favorite travel set, too.

Simply put, this is the coolest travel/magnetic set out there. If your order is not right, Chess House will make sure that it is.

An attractive small chess set that fits in a bag about the size of a notebook pencil bag. The only negative is the really bad, headache-inducing chemical smell (acetone?) upon first opening the plastic bag that the set ships in. I had to air everything out for a couple of days in my laundry room, with dryer sheets in the two zippered bags that store the set in order to remove the smell. Other than that, the set is well worth the price. I would deduct 1/2 of a star for the smell.

This is a beautiful and practical set for travel and portable play and analysis. It should be noted the board's soft backing (and the set's magnetic pieces) mean it can be placed on many surfaces, including some uneven ones, but also that it does not lie exactly evenly on a regular hard, flat surface, although it is certainly perfectly playable. I'm delighted with it, and ordered extra Queens from The Chess House, too, though I'd love it even more if those were included as standard with all sets!

This sweet little set gets five stars for being exactly as represented: 1) portable, 2) very well made with high quality materials -- magnets hold tight but not too tight, and 3) attractive -- the board and wood pieces are really nice in appearance and feel. However, the set arrived with pieces missing. Chess House really stepped up when I notified them that there was a problem. Folks (esp. Josh B.) at Chess House were VERY helpful, responding immediately and sending out the missing pieces. The best test of a company is when something goes wrong and I give Chess House five stars for fixing the error immediately and for being so pleasant to deal with while doing so.