The board came out and time just disappeared
or 4 payments of £8.49 with Klarna
🛡️ 30-day full refund, no questions. Fewer than 30 returns from 23,000+ orders.
- Hand-carved pieces
- Folds to 11 inches
- Ages 6+
- Plays for hours
- Gift-wrapped ready
- Staunton design
- 30-day returns
- Klarna available
Delivery in 2-3 working days · 30-day returns · Est. 1795
as seen in
Real talk
The gift that actually keeps them off the iPad
This isn't a screen replacement you have to sell. A real chess set on the table does the work for you. Hand-carved wooden pieces, proper weight, a board that folds to travel size,it looks serious enough to matter and plays deep enough to hold a 6-year-old for 2 hours straight.
You get peace. They get the kind of thinking that school teachers actually notice.
Joe Jaques, Jaques of London
What's in the box
What arrives at your door
One complete set, ready to play. No batteries, no assembly, no screen guilt.
Folding Chess Board
Walnut and sycamore wood, baize-lined interior. Opens to full play size, folds flat to 30 x 29.5 x 2.5cm. Built to travel, built to last.
- ✓ Walnut and sycamore construction
- ✓ Baize-lined playing surface
- ✓ Folds to 11 inches for travel
Hand-Carved Staunton Pieces
Solid wood, hand-crafted to the 1849 Staunton standard Jaques pioneered. King stands 2.5 inches. Weighted. No plastic, no shortcuts.
- ✓ 32 pieces, hand-carved wood
- ✓ Staunton tournament design
- ✓ Proper weight and balance
Jaques Signature Packaging
Arrives wrapped and ready to give. Parents say the packaging alone feels like the gift has landed,that detail matters when you're gifting to someone else's child.
- ✓ Ready-to-gift presentation
- ✓ Jaques 1795 branding
- ✓ No rewrapping needed
Order by 2pm, arrives Tuesday
Was £50.99
Wooden Chess Set - Travel Chess Set: £33.99
While they play
What they're quietly learning
Looks like play. Works like a lesson.
Forward thinking
Chess teaches a 6-year-old to plan 2 moves ahead instead of react. School notice the shift.
Problem solving
Every position is a new puzzle. No two games play the same. Boredom doesn't get a foothold.
Real focus
Screen-free play builds attention in the way screens actually erode it. You'll see the difference in 2 weeks.
Strategy
They learn consequences matter. Actions have ripples. That's adult thinking, taught through play.
What families say about Jaques of London
Parents who needed this
"Excellent quality wood toys, so well made, no sharp edges, all lovely & smooth, very colourful & plenty of choice. Very reasonably priced & so beautifully wrapped you don't want to open them. Highly recommend this company."
"Fast delivery, excellent products, extremely good quality and long lasting. My granddaughter loves the toys from here. Good age ranges covered."
"These toys tick all the boxes, educational, colourful, fun, well made and great service. I just keep buying more and more."
"We love our toys from Jaques of London. The quality is excellent and they're the perfect size for little hands to hold and play with easily. Beautifully made, sturdy wooden toys that will last for years. Highly recommend!"
"Harrods grade gifting for a very reasonable price. Not the usual tat from China. Had several hand picked orders fron Jaques, nice to know its a UK business with old school quality."
"I am a real fan of this company. If only I had come across them years ago when my boys were little. It's my go to for beautiful, good quality toys for my granddaughter now and any gift I need to buy. They arrived quickly, prices are reasonable and the special touch is they are beautifully packaged too. I love the heritage of this business!"
Get ready for life
Why real play matters
Real brain growth comes from real play.
Arrives ready to play
Unbox, unfold, play. Hand-carved pieces and a proper board. No assembly, no apps, no waiting.
They sit down without asking
A real chess set on the table has gravity. Kids know when something is made to last.
2 hours becomes a pattern
First game is novelty. Second week is habit. You get quiet afternoons back.
Why this matters right now
We really are different
Why this chess set, not a tablet
| Jaques Wooden Chess Set - Travel Chess Set | Cheap Alternatives | |
|---|---|---|
| Holds attention without a screen | ✅ | ❌ Designed to interrupt |
| Hand-carved, built to survive childhood | ✅ | ⚠️ Plastic wears out in 6 months |
| Teaches forward thinking | ✅ | ❌ Reaction-based games train reaction |
| Folds to travel, no battery needed | ✅ | ⚠️ Charged nightly, fragile |
| Proper Staunton pieces, tournament standard | ✅ | ❌ Flimsy plastic knockoffs |
| Gift-wrapped, arrives ready | ✅ | ⚠️ Generic boxes, no theatre |
| Gets better with age, not slower | ✅ | ❌ Becomes obsolete |
- ✅ Screen-free focus
- ✅ Hand-carved durability
- ✅ Teaches strategy
- ✅ No battery, folds flat
- ✅ Tournament pieces
- ✅ Gift-wrapped ready
- ✅ Lasts for life
- ❌ Designed to interrupt
- ❌ Plastic breaks quick
- ❌ Builds reaction only
- ⚠️ Charged nightly
- ❌ Plastic copies
- ⚠️ Generic packaging
- ❌ Becomes obsolete
Order by 2pm, arrives Tuesday
Was £50.99
Wooden Chess Set - Travel Chess Set: £33.99
30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Not right? Return it within 30 days. Full refund, no questions.
Questions & answers
Before you buy, the stuff that matters
What age is this actually for?
Starts at 6. A 5-year-old can learn the moves and play short games. By 7 or 8, they play for hours. Works for adults too,gift it to yourself if the iPad's got your free time hostage. Arrived next day, saved Christmas, Leigh Hemmings.
How long do they actually play?
First game, 15-20 minutes while learning. Once the moves click, 45 minutes to an hour per game. You get that rare stretch of quiet that used to only happen when screens were on. Some families play daily for years.
Will it travel, or is it too fragile?
Folds to 30 x 29.5 x 2.5cm and fits in a bag. The baize-lined interior keeps pieces from rattling. Designed to move. Hand-carved wood is tougher than plastic,it survives car journeys, holiday cottages, grandparent visits.
Perfect gift for any babies' 1st birthday,is it really?
Not for babies. But for a 6th birthday, a milestone Christmas, or a grandchild you want to actually connect with over something real? Yes. Proper gift, proper craftsmanship, arrives ready to give. Catherine McCulloch says it best.
How much does it cost?
The Wooden Chess Set - Travel Chess Set is £33.99 today (down from £50.99). Klarna is available at checkout if you prefer to spread the cost.
What's your returns policy?
30 days, full refund, no conditions. Return it for any reason and we refund in full. We've been standing behind what we make since 1795.
Order by 2pm, arrives Tuesday
Was £50.99
Wooden Chess Set - Travel Chess Set: £33.99
Our story
Making toys worth keeping since 1795.
Jaques of London was founded in 1795. We invented croquet, table tennis, and the Staunton chess set. For 230 years, we've been making things that pull children away from passive entertainment and into active, curious, hands-on play.
In 1849, Jaques of London designed Staunton chess to settle a question: what does a proper chess set look like? That design still wins tournaments today. This travel set carries that same hand-carved precision, but folds flat so you can play anywhere. It's not a toy that gets forgotten in 3 weeks. It's the kind of board that families come back to, year after year. Same reason we're still here 231 years later.
Toys and games that leave something behind: a skill, a memory, a piece of play that gets passed on.
Joe, Jaques of London
Ready when you are
Get them off the iPad
and onto real play
Was £50.99
£33.99 Save 33%
🛡️ 30-day money-back guarantee · 🚚 Delivery in 2-3 working days · 🏛️ Est. 1795
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