Armenian Walnut Chess Set with Mount Ararat and Carved Frame

Armenian Walnut Chess Set with Mount Ararat and Carved Frame

This is the full-size one. A 19.6" / 50 cm playing field of maple and walnut inlay, framed in warm carved walnut, with twin-peaked Mount Ararat inlaid above the handle. At this size the pieces have proper room, the squares read clearly from a standing position, and the board stops looking like an accessory and starts looking like part of the furniture. It is the wooden chess set you leave out, not the one you put away.

And it still folds. That is the trick of it — a board this wide closing in half, holding all 32 turned pieces inside, and lifting by a built-in handle cut into the edge. So the handmade chess set that owns your side table on a Tuesday can be at your father's house on a Sunday without a second thought.

What's Included

• Folding chess board with a built-in carry handle
• 32 turned chess pieces in beech and walnut wood
• Carrying bag

Specifications

• Open board: 19.6 x 19.6" / 50 x 50 cm
• Folded: 19.6 x 9.8" / 50 x 25 cm
• Weight: 4 kg / 8.8 lb
• Material: solid beech and walnut wood with maple inlay
• Built-in carry handle
• Handmade in Armenia

Why You'll Love It

• Full 19.6" / 50 cm playing field — nothing cramped, even in a long endgame
• Mount Ararat inlaid in wood above the handle
• Hand-carved walnut frame with carved corners
• Folds flat and carries by its own handle despite the size

Mount Ararat

You can see Ararat from almost anywhere in Yerevan and you cannot walk to it — the border has been in the way since 1921. Armenians put it on everything they make for exactly that reason. It is the country's own idea of itself, and on a board where two people sit down for an hour it quietly presides over the whole game.

A Gift Worth Giving

A full-size board with the mountain on it is a serious gift, and it reads that way. For a father, a grandfather, a house that has just been moved into — this is the one you give when you want it to stay in the family.