Kasparov Compact Travel Chess Set

The pieces look VERY nice. [...] The foam inserts, which hold the pieces, are too snug, making it actually painful to remove the pieces before a game. I solved this by crushing the foam a bit using pliers, after which things are a bit looser.The magnetic feature is nice, but could be a bit stronger. In addition, the magnetic/metal sheet under the board doesn't extend all the way to the hinge edge of the board, and it's worse on one side. This means that the pieces are slightly shoved away from the center, on the center two ranks, during a game.The board looks very nice. The fit and finish is nice, but not spectacular. One of the two boards I received has one side of the board ever-so-slightly higher than the other, and the other has the hinge slightly offset on one side, giving the board a slight crossbite, for want of a better term.All in all, due partly to the brass and wood which give it a posh feel, and the fact that the pieces are a great size for little hands, my five-year-old loves this set to death.

I bought this as a gift for my chess-club son for use while traveling. He was very pleased with it. The set is small and is magnetic, but needs to be on a stable surface or the pieces will slide, as the magnets are a bit weaker than I expected. The pieces are small, but intricate and aesthetically pleasing. They fit snugly within foam inserts while the board is closed. Not sure if the hinges are strong enough to withstand lots of use--time will tell. Overall, this little set was a big hit, nice looking, the right price, and is already well-loved. Great for people who love chess on the go!

Kasparov was known to evaluate his games with a computer and an evaluation board. Seeing the pieces and pushing the wood is much different than just watching a screen.

My instructor (an IM) suggested I play through some of the older games that used gambits. Gambits are rare at top levels today, but 75 to 100 ago they were used by everyone. This evaluation board I keep at my desk and play through games. It does make a BIG difference to see the wood and not just the screen.

I even bought a book of work problems. You can do them from the paper in the book or set the pieces up and see if you could find the solution over the board. For the small price you get a lot. A nice evaluation set that could be also used as a travel set. But mostly its best use is as an evaluation set.