Post your Travel Chess Sets

My favourite travel chess set: A size zero boxwood set, Made in Jura? Chavet? Pichon Vincent? 1920? 1925?

Easy to carry, the box can fit into a large pocket. Love this set, one of my favourites!

A recent pickup I’m pretty happy about — a set of legendary Czechoslovak magnetic travel chess from the 1960s.

These are the same type used by both Garry Kasparov (there’s a well-known photo of him analyzing with his coach Alexander Nikitin) and Anatoly Karpov.

This particular set is in great condition. The metal board is clean and unscratched. The wooden frame was coming apart a bit, but a quick wood glue fix sorted it out. A few of the paper felts are missing, but it doesn’t affect play. Even the original cardboard sleeve survived — worn, dirty, a bit torn, but still there.

Only downside: it clearly spent years in a smoker’s environment. But in a way, that fits — chess and smoke used to go hand in hand.

Karpov once said about these:
“Excellent Czech magnetic chess set. I don’t know why they stopped making them — they were the best in the world. Good size, great board, perfect for travel. This set was with me everywhere from 1966 to 1985. Eventually it wore out from heavy use. You could say it was my talisman for almost twenty years.”

Nice set!

Hi

Lovely set

Another find of mine. A small coffeehouse-style set, likely Central European, probably Czech from around the 1950s (though I’m not completely sure on the exact age).

King height is 6.7 cm, with a 28×28 cm board. The pieces are turned probably from maple, unweighted but nicely balanced thanks to their wider bases.

The knights have that typical shape you see on these sets, with simple but distinctive carving — including the little star-like eyes.

Condition is honestly great. No major damage, just light wear and a natural patina that fits the age. Original paper felts are still there.

This style is often linked to makers like Fidet, and you could probably use it as a nice little travel or analysis set for everyday play.

Wow, very nice!

It's interesting that the board hinge is vertical.