the STACK Chessboard - Tournament Edition

Synopsis for the tl;dr folks: I’m very happy with this board.

I have some beautiful wood veneer boards but this is my first solid wood board. I love that it doesn’t have a border so you can see the craftsmanship from above and the sides, it’s striking.

Note: if you are concerned about playing on a board without coordinates, while my FlexPad boards have them I specifically choose wood boards that don’t because I think they look better without the letters & numbers. After notating a few games where you have to count the squares because there are no coordinates you will quickly commit them to memory, although this was much easier back in the P-K4 days (dating myself).

In addition to the looks, the functionality is superb, its 2.25” squares are perfect for tournament or casual play, and the snap as the magnets pull the board together is quite satisfying. After the game it quickly disassembles and stores in a backpack which makes it easy to carry.

I bought the STACK to carry to the weekly tournament games our local club runs and to take with me on roadtrips to play against friends and at other clubs. I use a backpack to carry the board, piece box, clock, pen and clipboard/scoresheets. This is much more comfortable and manageable than a large heavy bag with a full size wooden board that I have to carry with my arm slightly bent so it doesn’t drag on the ground.

As far as care for a wood board/pieces, I don’t know what Chess House suggests but on all my wood sets I use Howard Feed-N-Wax wood polish & conditioner on the boards. It’s a Beeswax/Carnauba/Orange oil product that shines beautifully and the pieces just glide across the board. I also use this on the Sapele wood box I store the pieces in to protect its wood.
I use Renaissance Micro-Crystalline wax polish on the chess pieces, this is the wax used by the British Museum restoration specialists to protect items and it works well on chess pieces. Just apply it with a shoe polish application brush, buff in with a horsehair shoe brush, and polish with a microfiber cloth.
Overkill, maybe, but the wood sets are beautiful and expensive and I’m letting strangers touch them ;).

Pictured is my STACK paired with the 4” Grandmaster Series Chess Pieces & the Sapele storage box I carry the pieces in.

I would make one suggestion for the product: while the included leather wrap is artsy and beautiful for displaying & storing the board at home, I’m not confident in it holding everything together and not allowing the board to get scratched or rubbed during transport. This board cries “take me with you” so I’m looking for a secure way to carry it.
I’m currently using 4 cloth bags to hold the board pieces before putting them in the backpack, but maybe you can develop a box or wrap to hold them together securely while protecting from scratches on the edges and rubbing on the surface?

Expert craftsmanship. Built to last a lifetime. Unique, elegant design. Very portable. Pictured are the grand master pieces (4in king) offered by CH. Very happy with purchase.

I really love this chess board. It fits perfectly with my chess pieces. I am often playing chess with friend of mine at nearby coffee shop and usually not many people stop to watch. Got board few days ago and tried it. Dozen of people at coffee shop stopped to watch :)
If love to play chess just treat yourself with this board. It is worth every penny.

Here are two pics of the board with the Fischer-Spassky commemorative set i mentioned in my other review. Sorry about the orientation.

I’m not easily impressed, but I was with this board. I got it mainly for the uniqueness factor and because I wanted to be able to store it in a book case, which the disassembled “stacked” size of 9x9 allows. Aside from the uniqueness of the break apart design, this thing is pretty much perfect. At first I thought it had an alignment issue, but it turned out the problem was with my table! Highly recommended in the 2.25” square tournament edition, and it makes a perfect pairing with the Fischer-Spassky commemorative set in golden rosewood and natural boxwood with a 3.75” king that I purchased elsewhere. Those piece colors complement the colors of the board squares nicely.

This board magnificently combines beauty and convenience. It is well made and fits together smoothly so that with just a little fiddling is appears to be a single piece in play. It is easy to assemble and disassemble, and the suede carrying case is both attractive and practical. The layered storage form brings some risk of surface scratches, but the wood is hardy and well finished.

May be the best Chess board in the market!
ChessHouse should make a Chess-set-beauty contest! (LOL)

I ordered the STACK Tournament Edition in September 2024 and was apprehensive that it might warp or split over time due to Colorado's very dry climate. My fears were unfounded. Here it is over two years later without any noticeable change; it's as flat as when it arrived with the magnets still perfectly registered. It helps that the dark squares are walnut and not ebony or rosewood.

When I ordered the STACK board, I didn't realize each square is chamfered on the playing side, which makes it all the more attractive. Obviously, I didn't look at the photographs closely enough. Perhaps Chess House should mention this feature in their description.

To sum up, I'm very pleased with this unique board; it is well worth the price.

Well worth it bought it for my son and I . We both love it .

the STACK Chessboard - Tournament Edition

This board exceed my expectations even after reading all the other reviews. Top-notch quality and quick delivery!

I could not be happier with my experience with Chess House. Ordering from overseas is always a bit stressful, but Raphael and team were beyond exceptional in their customer service and I ended up with a beautiful handmade chessboard as a result. Would not hesitate to recommend or to shop again.

This chess board oozes quality being a natural product (wood) which is difficult to appreciate just from pictures you see online. The finish and matching the individual square pieces is as good considering the wood grain and tonality of two types of wood. So many pieces come together to make the chess board beautiful, durable and a joy to play on. Raphael personally topped it off with good communication and guaranteeing customer satisfaction ensuring the product is a perfect as it should be when issues were encountered. Shopping from thousands of miles away in UK was reassuring indeed.

When I first learned about the design of this chessboard I had to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming. This solution was the perfect answer to the common problem of the worry when transporting chessboards to tournaments. Because of the size of chessboards, these can get damaged when lugging them around in your car, etc. The Stack chessboard design was the perfect solution to this problem and I couldn't be happier to see this finally being made. Needless to say I had to get this no matter what and I'm glad I did. I love it...the weight, feel of the 4 pieces and look of the walnut and maple really popped out and made the chess pieces look more substantial. I hope the manufacturer considers making this in cherry and maple, golden rosewood and maple because if they do...I'm going to be forced to get another unit if and when that happens. Now if only they could offer this board and pair it with the US Chess championship set that was used in St Louis. Yeah, I know that would be an insanely expensive unit to have...but it would be just about the ultimate combination of functionally perfect chessboard design and pieces.

Outstanding craftsmanship! Wood joints aligned perfectly on all squares. Magnetic sides align without gaps.
And best of all --- I have won chess game played on this board to date!

... and you've got yourself a chessboard. With large squares for that nice big set you've bought.
With a beautiful finish, this board is to be admired. I am very satisfied and am glad I got my hands on this board.
Thank you for this innovative product.

The craftsmanship is brilliant. It’s great to have a board that I can fold into a smaller form. Creating a travel case for the whole set, ready for staycations. A quality feel and weight to the board. A simple design that shows off the engineering of the wood. Very happy with my purchase.

Beautiful craftsmanship.

I can't really say enough - this is a beautiful board.

The one thing I would recommend would be stronger magnets, the bond is sufficient for most situations when assembled, but I'd like it to be a little stronger.

The Stack is very well made and a pleasure to see and use.
Came well packaged and pieces fit together and aligned perfectly
To create a perfect chess board!

I bought this board because I wanted a portable, higher quality wood board than what I use now. It's finish is excellent and it's easy to use assemble. I wish it had a border with coordinates and the suede holder covered all sides. Even so, A+

And this is one of those cases. The pictures do not show the true elegance of this board. The satin finish combined with the set I bought are not really captured in the photos. I cannot tell you how happy I am with this purchase. Fit and finish are perfect! Bravo!!!