Classic Wooden Chess Set

Good Value but Quirky

The board appears to have been laid out by someone who has seen a chess board but never played chess. If you look closely at the picture that accompanies the product description you will notice that the right corner is a black square: the board is rotated 90 degrees. It folds, not horizontally through the middle of the field of play, as you would expect, but rather vertically, with half of each player's pieces on opposite sides of the fold. The arrangement seems odd when you first set up the pieces, but does not affect useablity. All in all, as a portable set, it is a good value for the price, but quirky.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Terrible Design

There are two flaws with this board that make it almost unusable for me.
1) The latch that locks the board has two metal nubs that stick out of the bottom of the board. This means that the board will never sit flat on any surface and will most likely scratch the table if the board moves (the nubs are very pin like).
2) The board is split the wrong way. Most folding boards are split such that the folding line makes a dividing line between the players. It is natural for people to open a board and place it that way. Many people may never notice this and just use the board in the wrong orientation but this will be confusing. In chess, the leftmost square for each player should be black. If you play with the fold in between the players then it will be white. Beginner players will most likely then put the king and queen in flipped positions since we are taught that the queen goes on her own color.

I highly discourage the purchase of this board. Other than these two issues there is nothing particularly good about the board or pieces. The pieces are light and flimsy not particularly well weighted or comfortable to use.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Chess set

Great set-no complaints.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great quality for the price

A fine addition to the gameroom or library.

Good value but poor construction

This is a good value and looks impressive, but the decorative metal clasps ding the tabletop when the board is open. We had to place the board on magazines to protect the table.

Poor Design

The chess board is poorly designed and will not close in the center of the board. This creates a millimeter gap and causes the two sides to be up at slight angles. Otherwise the pieces are satisfactory and it serves its purpose. Not worth the price paid

Classic wooden chess set

This was a Christmas gift. The recipient loved it. The carrying case is a perfect way to store and transport the game. Very pleased with the item and it was delivered without delay.

Nice looking board, poorly designed

I'm wondering where in the process this board went wrong. The metal latches have metal nubs that extend past the bottom of the board, making it impossible to set it flat on a table, and very likely to mar the table if you move the board around.

On the upside it is a beautiful looking board

I would think a buyer could lose their job over this. Question: did B&N know about design flaw and get a sweetheart deal from the chinese manufacturer, or did the buyer purchase this without opening the board and playing with it?

I love this

This is such a classy chess set. i bought one for my boyfriend, and loved it so much that i bought one for myself as well. He takes it everywhere, it's kinda cute. The chess set is such a nice quality, and the minute you open the box you can smell all the wood, it's great.

Classic Wooden Chess Set is a wonderful set.

I looked at it in the store and was wondering was this what I was alwas looking for in a chess set. Now I am just an amature player but I love the game. The pieces come in in a soft bag and the inside where you put the bags is all velvety...very nice..The set locks with hinges so the bags do empty out. Overall this is the best I have ever seen.

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