Post your Travel Chess Sets

With regards to the ChessHouse set: The pawns definitely feel oversized compared to the pieces. But maybe that's a good thing as they are ultimately as important as the others.  

Mike, magnets are very strong. I can tip the set upside down and not lose a piece. I can post a pic if you want.

TY Rsava, I remember seeing the old set with the smaller pawns.  But looking at the wider and fatter pawns I can see where it would grow on me. 

Here you go Mike.

And one after a few moves. Scotch Gambit anyone?

You're right Mike the size of the pieces grows on you after a while. I think it makes a nice analysis set, have not tried playing a real game on it yet.

The flat sets definitely seems more practical for armchair bookwork... and I like that you can "store" the current position more easily. I think I would go that route if it wasn't for the fact that I need to get much better at OTB play and so using actual pieces is more important for me at this stage.

Strangely when placing and moving the pieces the magnets don't seem strong at all so my initial reaction was negative. However they really do stay put. Part of that, I think, has to do with the strong friction between the felt bases and the board's leather surface. The magnets are strong enough to hold the pieces on while inverted too. Surprisingly effective actually.

Here is a crapy video I made that gives you a good idea:

Wow @havelock3 - your desk is MUCH neater than mine.!

Finally, a set I can take on my fighter jet...

Nice find. Post your own pics when it comes in. 

Looks like it will work well for study on the go.

Thanks for posting, 2Q1C.  I've never run across a set like this in the United States.  I download the first image and looked at the label on the side of the tin.  Though made in China, it was imported by Home Retail Group in Central Milton Keynes, county of Buckinghamshire, so that may explain its absence from the U.S.A.

It's nice to have two sets, and if it were me I'd haul around the beat up case since the board is just fine and leave the near perfect tin and extra pieces at home for analysis.

The pieces may -- I emphasize may -- be imported from India, the board/case made in China and then the set exported to the U.K.

No doubt most of the pieces were turned on a lathe, probably a CNC lathe.  The knight above the base is probably hand-carved, though the knight is rather simple so perhaps it's machined too.  There is no way of telling until holding the knights in your hand and examining each closely for variations. 

I think these sets show nice quality and detail, beyond other travel sets I was finding on amazon:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Magnetic-Travel-Chess-Set-12-2-Extra-Queens-4-Extra-Knights-Inlaid-Notations-/350778976343?hash=item51ac0e6857:g:u-YAAMXQXZZReSyP

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Rare-Wooden-Chess-Set-Magnetic-Golden-Rosewood-Flip-Up-Board-Notations-/351029958481?hash=item51bb041751:g:SSEAAMXQuTNTLUAN

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Travel-Magnetic-Chess-Set-Rosewood-9-Algebraic-Notation-Checkers-Draughts-/121795813904?hash=item1c5b98a210:g:b6QAAOSw14xWKoXz

They have the same pieces with magnetic boards without algebraic notation, but I like to use these things moving around the house and on the road for analysis, and the coordinates always speed things up for me so I prefer them.

My budget pick would be this one, only about 30 shipped :

I agree, fewlio.  For magnetic sets these are quite attractive and useful.  The budget set is another matter, at least for me.

I've never liked the look of any chess board with heavy black lines separating the squares.  These are made in Poland, and why they like this look I can't say.  It would be interesting to learn how this practice came about.

Thanks for the post.

Bob

I like your pictures!

I've put 2 "normal" sized pieces on the board for size comparison.  It's pretty small so it travels well; pieces are easily discernible.  Thanks to the magnets, captured pieces can be balled up to keep them together. 

I've never seen a set like this before, 2Q1C, so congratulations adding a unique set to your collection.  Because I'm a curious fellow, I performed a Google image search on "chess magnetica" and found nothing.  Do you know where the set was manufactured?

There is something humorous about the image you posted, mgx9600.  It reminds me of the 1950's rather campy sci-fi film, The Amazing Colossal Man.  Are you sure the "giant" pieces weren't exposed to nuclear radiation (ha ha).  That was a common theme in 1950s horror and sci-fi films.

After I reviewed that picture, I found it pretty funny too so made it into my avatar.  If my son sees it, he'll probably want to play giants vs tiny and smash the tiny pieces with the gints on each capture.

Hi Bob and all

Wow, the thread is still going strong.

I just splurged $2 for a Lowe plastic set -used - the same as in Bob's post #84. Brown plastic case, the pieces are red and white - not the prettiest set in the world. Nor is it the easiest to use. I had to sand about half the pieces so the little pegs fit easily into the holes of the board. I had wondered if I would have to enlarge the holes in the board --- the fit was awful and erratic. I think trying to enlarge the holes would have cracked the board, rendering the set useless, at least to me.

I assume the Lowe sets were just poorly made......... uh, VERY poorly made. Mine had holes of varying sizes, along with pieces with variously sized and shaped pegs. Inserting pieces into the board was sometimes impossible, or would cause a bunch of loose fitting pieces to leap out....... 

Surprisingly, after a LOT of TLC, it seems ok. It is very light and pocketable - and I won't be that upset if it got lost - except that now it seems like sort of a convenient set.......... Was the Lowe set about the worst made one out there?????????  Oh, opening the case is sort of a PITA - it's cranky, and if you are too abrupt, all the pieces will leap out of their places. But, the good thing is - at least it should not open in my bag or pocket......

Hi Gregor,

I find it strange you're having trouble with a Lowe chess set, which was manufactured in the U.S.  They were certainly more well made than most Hong Kong sets, which are also shown in Post #84.  Hong Kong sets were the cheapest, but the Lowe was also inexpensive for its day, which was the 1960s and early 1970s.

I find it doubly strange that you had to sand the pegs to fit the holes, which are uniformly consistent on my set.  The pegs were always smaller than the holes brand new, perhaps too much smaller because they would tend to fall out if the board was titled vertically.  This is due to the thin board relative to the peg's length.

Frankly, I wonder if we are talking about the same set.  There was a similar set made in the United Kingdom about the same time.  It was the same color and had the same shaped case, but the pieces were made of a softer plastic that fit snugly into a soft plastic board.  It was made by Merit, and you can view a couple of photos below.

                             Merit with Retail Box (UK, 1960s-70s)

                                Closeup of Merit (UK, 1960s-70s)

The trouble is, the Merit is a better set than the Lowe.  Perhaps you should post some photos so we can all have a look.

Best,

Bob