I own six 9” Milled Leather Travel Chess Sets because they are wonderful. Some are for future gifts and a few are just for me. That’s because I discovered that the really neat things I’ve bought throughout my life are not made anymore. That’s probably due to not enough demand for quirky high-end things that are expensive to make. When I’ve lost some treasures due to theft or negligence or breakage, years later they couldn’t be replaced. So I’ve learned to buy duplicates of certain items that matter to me.
I bought additional “replacement” wood chess pieces so that each set I bought will have extra Queens. Extra knights, rooks, and bishops are also desired because the Queen isn’t always the best situational choice to seek after sending a pawn down the board for pawn promotion.
The duplicate Queens are crafted well although there is some variance in the degree of gloss finish, color, and size. These differences are slight, imperceptible to most people, and really don’t matter.
The 9” Milled Leather Travel Chess Set is what Indiana Jones would carry if he played chess (and if the zippered nylon carry bag had been invented). If every piece wasn’t a perfect match, Indy wouldn’t care. I don’t care either. It’s the only true travel chess set on the planet that I know of that has terrific Staunton wood pieces with magnetic bases large enough for a man’s fingers to grasp yet compact enough to fit on a perfect 9” leather chess board. It all fits in a small zippered nylon carry bag. Absolutely perfect.
The board I like has brown and cream squares. I think it looks better with the chessmen of each color than the board available that has black squares.
I’m quite fond of this and am grateful that somebody had the sensibilities to imagine it and have it crafted so well for people like me to own.
If you enjoy chess, get it for your own adventures.