Leather Travel Chess Set

Love this thing and get compliments all the time. I'm a tournament player (1810 FIDE rating) and I've always admired the look of the board and carrying case. Pulled the trigger on this after several months of looking at it. I've owned it for several years now, and I can provide a longer view of the pros and cons of this board and accessories.

Here are the pros:
1. Topline, straight-up classiest board and carrying case at the chess club (5/5)
2. Board maintains shape and rolls out flat every time (5/5)
3. When packed up, it holds a mid-size tournament clock inside the rolled compartment as well as the pieces (larger clocks, no way) (4.5/5)
4. Easy to clean and maintain (5/5)

Cons:
1. Pieces it comes with--sounds snobbish, but I hated them. May not be a big deal for casual players. Club and tournament players, just replace with your own set, not a big deal. Recommend a 3.75" king and go cream instead of white for the White pieces. (2/5)
2. Light squares don't create enough contrast. It's a trade-off on the aesthetics, but I find it easier to visualize and calculate when the light squares are lighter. Patina will not help, but I found they didn't darken too much. (3/5)
3. Takes slightly longer to pack/unpack; also not a huge deal (it gets easier) (3/5)

All told, super glad I got this. Have enjoyed it for the last 3 years and will likely for many years to come.

I’ve been wanting this chess set for a while. I finally ordered it and now regret the months I didn’t have it. This, and my flight bag, are my new travel luggage.

Couldn't be happier with the board it self beautiful look to and looking forward to the patina it gain with time. The actual pieces dint feel weighted but they will do nicely for traveling with the board when needed. I did buy a set of hand craved wood triple weighted set to elevate the look of the board and play itself for when at home .. all in all couldn't be happier

Beautiful leather chess set, Im amazed at the quality thank you

Seriously? I’m reading through this trying to find a reason why I shouldn’t purchase this…..Maybe you should make the pieces of onyx or metal…..add an about 5 lbs…..make it really solid….Iit’s a TRAVEL set folks…..jeez.

Absolutely love this set. It travels with us everywhere from our local coffee shop to oversees. The look is unique and the memories made around it are priceless. This set is so loved by my wife's family, that her uncle purchased his own. When it is available do not hesitate. Well worth the price tag. Enjoy!!

I've had this amazing chess set for about 2 years now and it's still so perfect. The amount of compliments that I constantly receive about it is truly insane. There's no other look that compares to it and I always make sure to bring it with me when I travel. Definitely my favorite travel set!!!

Love everything saddleback... I have something of every color.. Even the retired colors.. these were numbers 19 and 20 purchased by me.... Unless I'm forgetting something. Lol

Great conversation piece on trips. The size and quality is exception compared to other travel chess sets out there. Truly an unique set

Excellent, everything fits together perfectly. The leather is top notch as I expected, the chess pieces were nicer than I expected. The checkers are a nice touch. All of it looks like it’ll weather many years of travel like everything else they make.

What a great product that exceeds expectations and is just another great example of the high quality products that we have come to see from Saddleback Leather. The pieces themselves are very well finished and are as good or better than the high dollar chess pieces we have seen sold with high end chess sets. My entire family loves this chess set and it will be coming with us when we travel!

I will try to be brief. I was an avid player in my youth, our team was 1st in state, 5th in the US.
After being diagnosed with epilepsy I was unable to play as the concentration would lead to a grand mal seizure every time.
Fas forward 25 chess free years (+/-) and I was in a serious car accident that left me with severe brain damage.
As my brain rewired itself it never reconnected the area that caused my seizures. After 6 seizure free years, I began to play again.
Now that chess is once again a part of my life, my father/coach purchased
this set for me as a celebration of my recovery. I can not thank you enough
for the time, and skill you put into your products they are truly fit for even the
most significant of events. I will treasure this set all of my days. It is certainly an
a bit of an upgrade from my old vinyl travel set from my school days :rofl::rofl:

I purchased the leather travel chess set for my son’s birthday. I taught him to play chess at an early age. (Used to let him win to boost his confidence). Now, he destroys my confidence because he beats me quite often. He deserves to have a great travel leather set like this to bring along on his travels. He loves it. I was so excited about the set I bought one for myself. Very pleased and impressed about the quality of the leather board and the chess pieces. Highly recommend the set for all chess aficionados. (fancy word, huh).

Beautiful chess set. Took a couple of months to arrive but ultimately was worth the wait.

I received the chess set from saddleback leather and it's really an amazing chess set, but with differents pieces and checkers !
I myself switched them out for a French Chavet chess pieces and wooden checkers from Chavet chess too !
4" Kings with much better knights and the wooden checkers goes better with leather!
They would be better fit to include in this set.
However, I'm verry happy with it !:grinning:

We really like the chess set. Overall, I think the price is a bit on the high side but not if the pieces were improved.
PROS: durable as hell, looks great, smells great, size is awesome in that it is large (but too large for airline use), very cool strapped carry system that could be used to carry other small items in the rolled up chess board.:face_with_monocle:
CONS: difficult to get the bags that hold the pieces into the tube so we stopped using the bags; pieces could be a higher quality for the price; difficult to use on uneven surfaces outdoors.

Oh yeah— it isn’t a lightweight item.

Got it for my dad for his birthday & just in time for his trip to Jamaica. Was worried it may not come before he left due to the holiday shipping delays but it did & he loves it! Despite being on back order the customer service was amazing it was received before Christmas Day means I received it 2 days after it was shipped! Amazing quality & amazing service! It’s a beautiful chess board. The leather is impeccable & the craftsmanship of the pieces are exceptional. One of my proudest gifts to anyone. Highly recommend getting this as a gift for any chess lover you know or even yourself as a show piece because it’s just that beautiful!

Overall design is great, although with the pieces in the bag it is a little snug to get them in; better to not use the bags. But easy to carry and love the smell of the leather; really happy i bought one and expect many years of good use.

I spent a while scouring the internet and even checking in with leather workers I know to see about creating or purchasing a good quality leather roll-up board and set. The quality and workmanship out there runs the gamut and honestly there aren't that many people out there making these size sets in leather that is also flexible to be rolled up. I received mine and absolutely love it. The immediate smell of the thick leather and you can see the craftsmanship all throughout it. This is made out of Old Mexico, by master craftsmen who have been working on Saddleback products since the beginning. The entire board is a massive 20x20 with reference marks making the playable area 18x18. The squares are 2.25 inches and the king sits at 3.50 inches tall and fits nicely in the squares. The leather bags for the Staunton style pieces are large and sturdy, they could easily hold heavier pieces if you wanted but these pieces have a good weight and fit the board well. They seem slightly weighted, but I'm not sure if this is just the wood or they have additional weighting and they have green felt pieces on the bottom to help travel on the board. The wood used is Hornbeam which is a strong and denser wood so that makes sense for the slight weight they have, they feel a little better then a set you'd pick up in a game store. The checker pieces are leather rounds and they can be a little rough around the edges so filing the edges a little to remove the roughness will ensure they don't scratch the board if you are concerned about that. The reference numbers and letters are laser etched and the dark squares appear to be lasered in as well or stained/etched over the leather. It all rolls up into the harness which has a little bit of a learning curve since it's not a fully enclosed case, I was annoyed at first but actually like that as it means it's a little less weight and you can actually see what it is, because this is meant for travel. The harness has one side that is more rigid to offer some stability when the board is rolled up and comes with an adjustable carrying strap attached. I recommend having the board facing out when you roll it as the pictures show so you get the right roll when you go to lay the board flat and the bags/pieces wrapped inside don't scratch the board. You will have a tough time finding something of similar quality and design for less money. The one or two I found were the same price range or higher even so this is a great set and worth the money in my book. It smells amazing, feels tough, and plays smoothly, I can't wait to take it on my next trip!

This item should not be discontinued. Instead, everyone who understands what is cool and what is not should own one and gift one to another cool person. I love mine and introduce it as "do you want to see the coolest thing?" . If you own one of these you are indeed cool. Love this item.

I couldn’t be any happier with my purchase! The leather is amazing and the chess pieces are very comparable to the great leather that you come to expect from this great company! Highly recommended!!!

My brother was dying to have this set so I got him one as an early birthday gift. He couldn't stop smiling the whole time he was opening the gift. He loves the pieces and the fact that they come in three leather bags that fits perfectly inside when rolled up. He also absolutely loves the whole design all together. He kept saying he's going to be the coolest one in his chess club now because of this product. Thank you Dave for this design. It warmed my heart to see how much the set made him light up. I haven't seen him THIS happy in a while. Thank you again for allowing my brother and I to share such a moment together. It's his newest prized possession!

It's an amazing chess set. The quality is excellent and it smells really good!
I'm really glad I bought one and expect many years of good use.
I am French and I had to pay taxes (81 €!), But considering the quality it is not very important!
In short, a classic that will pass from generation to generation!
Thank you very much for this great job !

Great quality, beautiful to look at and feel. My husband loved this gift!

As a former club and tournament player, this leather travel chess set is definitely above the usual plastic club and tournament sets. Though a little pricey, this is a well designed and put together (and nice smelling) travel set that I like to show to other chess players. This set is going to be a keeper for me.

Just when I think it cant get any better Dave you go and do something like this! What a fantastic idea. I love to play chess and have been waiting for my kids to get a little older so that I can play with them. This will follow us around for years to come. thank you!

I been waiting on this product since Nov. when I first saw this. Finally got my chance to finally own this, even after multiple enquiries on when it will be available.

I am serious Chess player with a good ELO chess rating, I participate in tournaments and am a frequent visitor in my city’s chess club. Hopefully to be chess candidate master in the future.

Seeing this chess board online is what actually got me into the saddleback website, I wasn’t interested in bags at first. Well that changed since I bought my duffle bag here last month and made other purchases.

Anyways. This is a standard tournament board. 2.25x2.25in per square and 18x18in for the board. If you want to include the entire canvas with the algebraic notations (A-H/1-8) it is 20x20in. Very minimal drag on speed chess

As for the pieces. Its possible they are mesquite wood, I am not totally certain. The kings height is 3.5in. A good height for the board and a decent diameter for the square. The pieces I must say are above quality than the ones I can find in a local store with a cheap board. But I am used to my own pieces which has more weight and more smooth feeling and more expensive than this board.
But this is a leather company so no complaints about the pieces.

The checker pieces however are leather, and I must warn that the bottom edges of the checker pieces are rough. And dragging them with extra downward force may in fact scratch the board. So I suggest you might want to check the bottom of them and possibly sand them.

As I was saying this chessboard is probably the most unique board I laid my eyes on. I will no longer carry cheap vinyl boards on the go and opt for this one on my commutes to my chess club. I cannot wait to patina this well and get it darker, I most likely will get this engraved because I believe without a doubt someone would steal it.

This could be a family heirloom for generations to play and its quality reflects on my love for the game of chess. I may not use the chess pieces this came with, but I do like the leather pouches that I can put my chess clock inside of. But I carry no item inside the tube except a once its rolled up into a scroll form. Although I am planning to find a large microfiber towel or something to protect the bottom of the board in case of playing on a dirty or sticky table.

So to all the chess addicts out there, I highly recommend this board. Its a great product. Kudos to Dave for making such a wonderful product and to the saddleback staff for making this available and answering my questions for this.
This will no doubt be the coolest board that most people in my club has ever seen. DV1138