Post your Travel Chess Sets

I've got a similar set - "Little Jewel", mine is called. The problem with buying these in Europe is that they always come from the US and the postage is as much as the sets are worth. My only issue with it is that the pieces are a bit too big for the board (IMO). Apart from that I really like these sets.

@BrownishGerbil I am a big fan of that set since it was first made in a walnut case, then the plastic case, and at the end the cardboard case. But they were not made till recently. Drueke sold out to Carrom from India many years ago. That was the last chess set they made. My guess is they stopped manufacturing them about 20 years ago but you could find them around various places maybe about 10 years ago. Some people bought up as much stock as possible when they discovered they were discontinued and raised the price of the set 2-3x of its worth.

So Drueke who made its' name on chess products now is a thing of the past as Carrom makes zero chess products. What a shame in my view.

Thanks for the feedback both! It came with an old little book (Winning Chess Tactics - Horowitz) with a prior owners' name and address in it (California) so I guess they were originally acquired or brought back together by a local here. So luckily no excessive postage for me.

Thanks for that info! I think mine might be walnut - it's some sort of wood. It folds in two and you store the pieces inside when not in use.

Maybe it's not such a bad thing that Drueke no longer makes chess sets - it might spoil their legacy - have you seen the garbage that Jaques puts their name on now?!

Yes, I know my set is not the same as the 787 one, but I was intrigued by the similarities: the use of brass clasps and hinges, the spots for storing captured pieces around the board, and the style of the pieces themselves. Otherwise, my set's pieces are made of wood, not bone. And of course, the way the board closes is very different. I don't know if there is a relation between them - that is why I would like to get more information on either set.

An old Vienna travel set. Pieces fall over very easy as they are super light and relatively tall. Width of the board is 205mm.

And a set made by Uhlig

Nice ones @broomstuck!

They look like plastic - do they feel like plastic? Maybe some sort of resin or early plastic.

Early peg sets are usually bovine bone, with the white pieces left as natural bone and the red pieces stained "cochineal red". Your set is mimicking the colours of those earlier sets.

Here are a few photos of one of my favourite travel chess sets, an all-wooden set measuring 21.5cm (8.5") square and weighing 600g. It's a game-enclosure set with pegged pieces, my preferred format for travelling that allows you to close the set while on the move and not lose the position of your pieces mid-game. The pieces are wooden and show their age but there's
no significant loss or damage to the set apart from a large splinter missing from the central panel of the sliding lid. I like the squatness and distinct shapes of the pieces. If anyone has any idea as to the age or origin of this set I'd be grateful for any information.

I've had this travel set for as long as I can remember. Great for a train journey. I don't think there are many about, very few if any on eBay.

This 18cm square (board 17cm square) K&C travelling chess set is another favourite of mine: it has well-defined plastic pegged pieces on an inlaid walnut and beech (I think) board with a felt base which may be removed with the help of a ribbon from the case enclosure. It's not as compact as the more commonly seen standard 'pocket' sized K&C wooden set with smaller pieces (e.g. https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/post-your-travel-chess-sets#comment-27858372 from the first page of this forum), but it's a great size if you can afford a little extra packing space. It's useful to be able to remove the board entirely from the case so that you're not encumbered with the open lid if your table space is limited.

K&C Ltd. produced their sets with both black & white and red & white chessmen combinations. I personally prefer the contrast of black & white but most K&C sets on the secondary market seem to have red & white, perhaps influenced by bone pieces in earlier Victorian sets having traditionally used cochineal staining for the dark pieces, as mentioned by IpswichMatt above.

My Chessmate pocket set

great set, I mostly use it for playing against bots on my phone.

Your lawn needs work @Tarkinz.

That's a great looking set @rubicana. I haven't seen one like it on Ebay and and I've been watching chess sets on there for a few years now. Most magnetic travel sets look overcrowded but yours looks right - like a full size set scaled down.

My $20.00 dollar TRAVEL set all wood purchased in 1960 

In Tijuana, Mexico . . .

My 2 1/2 year old grandson Kai loves the knight's . . .

Because it looks alive?

This set and I are currently residing in a tiny fishing cabin by the Hardanger fiord in Norway. Yes, it´s raining...

I love Norway, I'm so envious. Wouldn't mind the rain at all. It's just liquid sunshine. ☂️

Of course it´s raining. They get more than 2.000 mm per year here. But I have Grundéns raingear so I´ll be fine (and reasonably dry).