A&A 18.875" Professional Wooden Tournament Chess Board/Walnut & Maple Inlaid / 2.0" Squares w/Notation

This one is a winner! A&A offers an impressive chessboard at an attractive price. I needed a fine quality wood board with positional notation. This terrific board has all the right stuff. I couldn't be more pleased with both the quality and the price of this attractive chessboard. For several years, I have owned an elegant handmade chessboard (without notation) made in Spain by world-renowned Rechapados Ferrer. At the time, it too was affordably priced... but sadly, not today. In researching online chess specialty shops, equivalent boards are priced at least $100-$200 higher. Most of these boards are made in China -- as is this one from A&A. When this board arrived, I carefully inspected all surfaces for imperfections and happily found none. The quality of the materials is very good and the workmanship is excellent. My board measures virtually 19" with 2" squares. It is perfect for my 3.75" matching wood chess pieces. The appearance and fit & finish of this board are superb. The only difference I noticed between this A&A board and my now insanely expensive board from Spain is the side edges are wood veneer rather than a solid wood 2" boarder. Unless you inspected this very closely, I doubt most people would even notice this minor detail. The quality padded zipper case provides excellent protection. I also saved the 4 plastic shipping corners -- they work great and add an additional corner shield. They easily fit on the board within the padded case. For the serious player or for casual games, this lovely chessboard from A&A should put a smile on your face. Highly recommended.

Absolutely love this board. It came in It looks amazing. The fabric case that comes with it as great as well holds all the pieces as well as a clock.

I'm not easily impressed, but this might be the most impressive item that I've purchased in quite some time, from the board itself to the case to the packaging it was sent in. The board is weighty and smooth, very "rich" looking. The case is well made and padded to protect in transit. The packaging box was lined with thick corrugated cardboard on all the sides and corner protectors. The board itself was wrapped in foam padding with another set of corner protectors that slide off and on easily so that they can be used when it's in the case. I'm just overwhelmed with how nice this is. My grandson recently had received a really nice set of pieces but wanted an equally nice board. I was really happy to find this one that did not include the pieces, had the choice of the markings on it or not, and was tournament grade. This looked like it was going to fit the bill, and it more than does. I read a lot of the reviews before purchasing, and anything negative that I've seen also looks to have been order error and not that of the people sending this out. For example, many said there were no markings, but it showed that they ordered without. Many said that they didn't realize that the pieces did not come with it, but simply reading the description would tell you that it did not come with them. In any case, I feel like the grandson will have this for many years to come, if not a lifetime. We are considering putting a thin coat of polyurethane over it, but that is up to him once he receives this.

Beautiful wood board - a delight to play on! Solid, substantial, nice attention to detail. Comes with a handled bag that has a pocket large enough to hold a full set of FIDE-sized wooden pieces. Every chess players needs a board like this.

I confess I've never purchased an expensive wooden board, and I suspect prices are higher now than they've ever been, both for chess pieces and boards. At the same time, I picked this board up for $63 + tax, and it's a great value at this price point. I got the 21.25 inch (2.25" squares) mahogany and maple board with notation. I included some pictures, partly because they may be helpful to folks that have questions like I had before purchasing. I believe the size of the squares is appropriate for both sets in the pictures. 1) Fischer "Ultimate" pieces, 3rd generation, purchased in 2023, king having a 1.65 inch base. 2) 1950s unweighted Fischer Dubrovnik pieces from Royal Chess Mall, boxwood and mahogany stained, king and queen both with 1.7 inch bases. To me, these sets would both be a little too crowded on a 2 inch square, though the Fischer ultimate pieces could be okay. The color matches my wooden pieces particularly well, and I think the mahogany color option for the board works well for many darker colors of wood pieces. The board itself is nothing special but also good quality. I have just one other wooden board for a smaller size square, and that one is afflicted significantly by poorly matching corners. This board is impressive in that the corners match very well. The bag that is included is also very practical. If I ever spring for a more expensive board, I may invest in a higher quality bag or transport method; however, this is a great match and adds to the value of this product. Overall, I would recommend and find this a good board for both my nicer wooden pieces and good quality plastic pieces.

This board is well put together and solid. The corners of the squares match up precisely, something you don't always get at this price point. The board bag is really nice and padded and that alone would be worth $20-30 if bought separate. In fact, I would definitely buy one separately for another board I have. The only downgrade I have on the board is the maple squares have some gray ticking (natural variations in the wood) on some of the squares. It is just a slight aesthetic issue and does not effect the usefulness of the board. Nevertheless, it was a great value to get both the bag and the board for under $70. I purchased a second board, this one was maple and walnut. I am again very pleased with the board with one small exception. One corner had a slight gapped joint. Give the price of the board, this is not a problem. But it would have been better had the small gap been left unfilled rather than using a poorly color-match wood putty to fill it. I will touch it up a s put a brasss corner guard on each corner (which really classes up any board with right-angle corners) and it will be fine, but I just wanted to convey this to the manufacturer. I am very happy with both purchases.

Easy on the eyes. A collectors item. Just the right size.

I'm very satisfied with this board. It's high quality and quite attractive. Be aware, this is a large board.