Smaller Wooden Sets

I'm finding boards of tournament dimensions to be too unwieldy for playing chess with my 4 and 6 year olds.  But a teeny travel set would be too much in the opposite direction.  I'm wondering if there's a board out there with appropriately sized pieces that's on the order of 12" x 12" or thereabouts?  Maybe that's something considered "portable" yet bigger than one's shirt pocket :-)  I'd prefer a non-folding board... a board with pieces and box storage would be ideal.  Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks in advance, Al

http://www.wholesalechess.com/shop/chess_sets/wood_chess_sets

what about this?

Or the wooden ones here

http://www.houseofstaunton.com/category_s/63.htm

Lots of extremely beautiful sets in many shapes, woods and sizes: http://www.thechessstore.com/c=Byaz5W9J7b1hLjnIJJD0YQbya/category/00012-wood-chess-sets-with-chess-boards/

This set should be around the right size. It's slightly bigger than the set I learned with as a kid, and I thought they were plenty big enough until I ended up getting a tournament sized set many years later.

It's great you're so involved with your children.  Hope you all have a lot of fun!

I have bought two 12" folding magnetic sets now from Houseofchess.com and they are the perfect size for travel, analyzing and kids.  Not too small, not too large.  I know you said you don't want folding but 12" size is perfect and I'm sure you can find one out there that size that is not folding.  I am selling one of my 12" sets if you are interested.  It even has extra queens, pawns and knights (kids lose things!).  Nice storage inside for the pieces.  The magnets are strong - great for kids to take and play in the car on long road trips.  Comes with a nice faux leather case too for protection.  Here are a couple photos:

METHOS 1979

That is such a nice set. How much are you asking for it?

How tall is your King in inches.

These sets are $59.95 plus shipping without the custom AN engraving.  The set is brand new.  I'll sell it for $50 plus actual shipping.

What engraving?

I like the price. But I need to know how tall the King is. Then I can actually determine how large the set is. I would buy it as a present for one of my sons.

Well duh - you did ask me for the king height, didn't you?  My appologies!

The king is 2.5" tall.  The engraving is the algebraic notation around the edges of teh board.  Their standard boards do not come with that but they will do it for you custom for an added price.

Here is the link directly to the web page that sells them.  You can get more views of this set (without the AN engraving of course) and there is also all the dimensions as well.

http://www.houseofchess.com/product/travel_magnetic_chess_set_folding_golden_rosewood_12_2qhp.html

This is an awesome deal on some nice, smaller HOS pieces.  I bought the boxwood/rosewood combo and the quality is top-notch!  I think there is a 10% off coupon code or free shipping code for uscfsales.com right now.

http://www.uscfsales.com/product_p/menwrey325.htm?1=1&CartID=0

Thanks for all the great feedback folks!

Just by way of followup, I'm giving this one a pretty close look:

http://www.ymimports.com/p-1500-traditional-birch-wood-chess-set-large.aspx

Thanks again,

Al

That set looks pretty nice, but from my experience the places that sell 'imports' are actually much lower quality then they appear, with cheap wood and far too much varnish. For that price I'd go for one of the lower-end wooden House of Staunton sets.

Thanks, I'll take a look, but last time I checked I had a hard time finding something that size in that price range.  Probably just need to look a little harder - thanks!

Try this set, which is currently on sale for $29.50 for a 3" sized set.

@tiggyboo

I am in a similar circumstance, for I am teaching my 5 year old chess.  Word of warning be careful when buying a small wooden sets because many of them are poorly made and very light.

What I decided to do was by an analysis board & wooden analysis set from wholesale chess. 

http://www.wholesalechess.com/chess/chess_pieces/wood_chess_pieces/classic_wood_chess_pieces_with_2_1_2_king_to_ebonized

http://www.wholesalechess.com/chess/chess_boards/vinyl_and_rollup_chess_boards/analysissize_chess_board

I would recommend avoiding the plastic analysis set and pay the extra money for the wooden version, it is worth it.  The pieces have detail and weight.  What I did was bought one of those "indestructible" sports bottles with a wide enough mouth to store the pieces in. 

I have gotten a lot out of my travel set.  I use it to teach my kid, it is perfect for cafe tables, and I can toss the set in my backpack without the bulk of a 20in rollup board.

I like it, thanks for the post! Maybe we should arrange for our kids to play online sometime? Shoot me a note if you are interested.