Post your Travel Chess Sets

Hi Bob,

Here is a good, large photo of the set for you to download and enlarge.  It is not the same set as yours, period.

Best,
Bob

Hello again, Bob,

Here is a set I won from a seller on eBay for $15.50, which included shipping.  It measures 5x5 inches and does not have a place for captured men, but I like the color, size and shape of the pieces, which is always important.  The closeup is relatively large so you can download it and take a closer look.  The triangle I previously described isn't perfect; the bishops are slightly taller than the queen, and the rooks a touch taller than the knights. That said, this is still far superior to most Indian peg-in sets, particularly in the pawn department.  No dominating balloon heads here.

This, more or less, is what your pieces should look like in proportion and style.  I hope this helps.

Best,
Bob

Hello Crazychessplaya:

I assume you purchased your set in Poland because I haven't seen one like it before.  Is the book stand also Polish, and does it work for paperbacks too?

Best,
Bob

Bob, both sets were purchased in Spain, and they're manufactured by a Spanish company, Cayro. The book stand was purchased on amazon.com, and the springs are strong enough for paperbacks too.

Bob, here is what I got back from House of Chess.

I had the problem years ago with a peg in set with the same supplier. Seems like things didn't change much. I had them send me another set that didn't fit either(too small) then gave up.  I almost forgot about this till you brought this up. 

Hi, I am new to the forum, but I am really enjoying this thread. This is my one available on Chess Baron http://www.chessbaron.co.uk/chess-E2005.htm (Edit: actually mine is a little bigger) The pic on the site doesn't do it justice, I will try and get one of mine. I also have a small flat type that I beleive came from John Lewis in the UK, but I can't remember.

Here are pics of mine.

Peru:  (yes, that knight in the back is a llama :)...conquistadors vs. aztecs)

Hello btickler:

Yes a two "l" llama alright.  Unique.

So who wins this time, the Conquistadors or the Aztecs?  Is Malinche the consort or mistress of Cortés in this set?  Oh, how the Aztecs preserve in dishonor her betrayal in their folksongs.  It's an interesting tale.

Best,
Bob

Hello ouija1979:

Nice folding board, wooden magnetic set.  It seems nowadays the only travel sets with consistently attractive pieces are magnetic.  After Bob's (n9531l) ordeal, you never know what you're going to get with contemporary peg-in style sets.  Unfortunately, the customer often ends up with outsized pawns that have big, frickin' ball finials.  Truly nice peg-in sets appear to be a thing of the past.

Regarding your pocket set, these are still sold on eBay.  I had two, but one broke almost immediately.  Unfortunately, the hinges are very cheap and put under stress if you close the board with a game in progress where a fourth rank disk meets a fifth rank disk.  Apparently, it was never meant to do that, but what's the use of a pocket set then?  Also, there is no place for captured pieces.  Admittedly, yours many not be exactly the same set.

Best,
Bob

The new pieces finally arrived, and look much better. For some reason each side came with two kings and ten pawns. I didn't have the problem they said I would have with the pieces being too loose. In fact some were too tight, but I fixed them by scraping excess varnish from the pegs. Some holes wouldn't take the pieces due to excess varnish inside, but some reaming with a wire drill bit fixed that. The pegs and holes are all OK now. I had to shorten the kings a little to get the lid to close.

It's not really a travel set, because when you close the lid and turn the box upside down, all the pieces but the king and queen fall out of their holes. But it's going to work just fine as my bathroom set.

Hi Bob,

Leaving the pegs a little tight would have made it a travel set, but they eventually wear and loosen.

I realize in most circumstances the pawns for peg-in travel sets have to be nearly the same height as the pieces to keep from falling out, either that or they need long pegs found in the Whittington Victorian bone sets.

Unfortunately, the original pawns that came with your set were not only slightly taller than the pieces, the large ball finial made the major pieces look like an afterthought.  Like I said before, this is all too common in Indian peg-in sets.

Your set now looks great, with the triangular shape from the king at the apex down to the rooks, and nicely proportioned pawns too.  Okay, so it doesn't travel, but if you want to take the set on a trip place a piece of easily compressible foam or bubble-wrap inside.

Anyway. I'm glad you could get House of Chess to supply you with these attractive pieces.

Best,
Bob

Here's a Soviet travel set from the sixties. It was used on a ship. The king is 80mm. The set seems to have been converted post-manufacture.

If it is a peruvian board they would be incans.....

Nice one there, cgrau!

Hey fightingbob, excellent collection!

Yesterday I took my wife to the dentist and while she was in the office I went over a few tournament games on a small folding set while waiting in the car. It dawned on me then that a traveling set would have been ideal.

Since I collect Soviet sets, I was looking online at that common one that you find on ebay or etsy. Since you're quite familiar with the whole range of traveling sets and have the Soviet set yourself, what's your opinion of that Soviet set? Are there any drawbacks? If you would not recommend it, what vintage set should I keep my eyes open for? Thanks!

You can get some good advice from fightingbob. The one I posted at #3 has held up for over 50 years. I've used it a lot and still like it. I don't know if it's still available.