You will recall my passion for different types of chess sets, and today I bring you another one. House of Martin of England are the manufacturers. This one was sent to me by my friend Aslam of the UK.
House of Martin chess set.
The plastic set is designed as Staunton and is nice to use for analysis. The King is 2.5 inches (6.2 cm) tall, and the base is 1 inch (2.5 cm). The set has a nice feel to it and is not like the usual Chinese made chess sets which we usually use for tournaments.
Close up view of House of Martin chess set.
Close up view of House of Martin chess set. All pieces have felt underneath
The container is, and all the pieces fit in. There is no soft covering on the inside of the container, and there is no lock, so one needs to use a rubber band to keep it closed.
Container of the House of Martin chess set.
Container of the House of Martin chess set.
I am pretty sure that House of Martin also made chess boards for their chess sets. Unfortunately, this set did not come with one, and hence I have used a board made by another UK company K&C Ltd. This board with a small wooden set came from www.ebay.com.
The beauty of these sets is that it is nice to use when you are going through a game of chess. It is not suitable to play against an opponent.
Folding board
An interesting observation is that in the past most of these sets were designed for the kids came with a folding board rather than a roll-up board. It allows you as a kid to place the chess on your wobbly class desk and play. You cannot use a roll-up board on a class desk. To make matters even worse is that most chess sets come with the standard 3.75 inch King and 20×20 inch roll-up chess board. It is way too big for a class desk.
Folding board made by K&C Ltd.
I was lucky in high school as we used to play in the Physics Laboratory and hence there was enough space for the sets. In those days it was either the small Spears or K&C sets that we used to use.
House of Martin
The other set from House of Martin is a travel set, and I have enclosed some photos. The dimensions are 6 inches x 4 inches x 1 inch high. I keep one in my car and find it very useful when I have to wait for kids while they attend their swimming classes, piano classes etc.
House of Martin travel set. Dimensions are 6 x 4 x 1 inches
House of Martin travel set. There is space on both sides for captured pieces
The pieces have pegs and they fit nicely into the holes
The set is compact, and all you need is a pillow to put on the steering wheel, have a bulldog clip to hold the book open, and you can study while you wait.
The only way you can get these type of sets is to buy them from ebay as I am not even sure if House of Martin is still operational in the UK.House of Martin sets can be purchased on ebay.
I would recommend both these sets to any chess player.I am not being paid by House of Martin to say nice things about their sets so you can trust me!
