9 Best Kids Chess Sets in 2026: Wood, Magnets and Two Extra Queens
Nine folding sets, one that teaches the moves, and the measurements I check before buying a chess set for a child.
| Image | Pick | Product | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Best overall | AMEROUS 15 Inches Magnetic Wooden Chess Set | Price |
 | Best for travel | Joneytech Wooden Chess Set | Price |
 | Best for learning moves | Spin Master Games Harry Potter Chess Teacher Step | Price |
 | Best wood feel | Vahome Magnetic Chess Set for Adults & Kids | Price |
 | Best storage design | Magnetic Chess & Checkers Set | Price |
 | Best two-game starter | 2 in 1 Magnetic Chess Set & Checkers Board Game | Price |
 | Best looking board | ELONGDI 15" Wooden Chess Set with Magnetic Pieces | Price |
 | Best colorful set | FUNCREVITY 2 | Price |
 | Best three games in one | Regal Games | Price |
The best kids chess set I'd buy is the AMEROUS 15-inch magnetic wooden set. It folds in half with the pieces inside, the chessmen stick to the board, and you get 32 pieces plus two extra queens. That spare queen matters more than it sounds when a 9-year-old promotes a pawn and wants a real piece, not a flipped rook.
Eight of the nine sets below are folding wooden boards. That's not laziness on my part. Kids drop things, and a board that closes with the pieces inside survives a school bag, a car trip and a bedroom floor. If you're shopping for an adult instead, the best chess sets for beginners covers the bigger boards.
How I picked these
Four thresholds, and I dropped anything that failed two of them.
Squares of at least 1.25 inches. US Chess puts adult tournament squares at 2 to 2.5 inches, with kings between 3.375 and 4.5 inches tall. A child's board can go smaller, but below about 1.25 inches the pawns get hard to pick up and the board becomes a frustration machine. Half these listings never state a square size at all, which tells you plenty about how they're marketed.
Magnets, plus felt on the piece bottoms. Magnets keep the position when a knee hits the table. Felt keeps the board from getting scratched and kills the clatter on a kitchen table at 8pm.
Storage a child can work alone. Foam slots, a sponge card, a latch a 7-year-old can flip. A set a kid can reset without help gets played. One that needs an adult to repack it lives on the floor.
Return friction. If a listing won't state square size, piece count or folded dimensions, I assume something small is being hidden. I also read the one-star reviews first, every time. That habit is why I keep a running list of chess sets worth a second look.
The listing gives a 15-inch board, hand-carved wooden pieces with magnets, a folding board with piece storage slots, two extra queens, and an age range starting at 6. That's the right shape for a first set: big enough that the pieces aren't tweezers-only, small enough to sit on a kid's desk without swallowing it. The two extra queens are the detail I check for first. Promotions happen in most games that reach an endgame, and a set with one queen per side leaves you improvising with a captured rook.
The concession: at 15 inches overall you aren't getting adult tournament squares, and the listing never states a king height or a square size. If your kid joins a school club that plays on 20-inch boards, treat this as the practice set at home. I'd also ignore the bullet that mentions checkers, because there are no checkers in this box. That's sloppy listing copy, not a secret bonus.
What owners say: No rating or review count appears on this listing, so I'm not quoting numbers. Across folding magnetic boards of this type, the praise tends to land on magnet hold and the molded piece slots, and the complaints land on hinges and pieces arriving loose in the shipping box.
- Good for: a first set for a 6 to 10-year-old who plays on the floor, in the car and at a grandparent's kitchen table.
- Skip it if: you want one board that carries a kid from first pawn move all the way to a rated tournament.
An 11.5-inch folding board, magnetic pieces, storage inside the folded case, wooden construction. The number that matters here is the 11.5. On a small table, in a booster seat, on a tray table, that footprint works for a 5 or 6-year-old who can't reach across a full-size board without dragging a sleeve through the position.
The concession: 11.5 inches is compact, and the listing doesn't state a square size, a piece count or a king height. That's three blanks on the three numbers I care about most. So I'm recommending it on footprint and format, not on specifications I can't verify. Expect small pieces to match a small board.
What owners say: Ratings aren't shown for this listing. The recurring theme with compact magnetic folders generally is that kids love the size and adults find the pieces too small for their own hands. Buy it for the child, not for the family game night where you plan to play too.
- Good for: a 5 to 8-year-old with a small bedroom desk or a long car ride ahead.
- Skip it if: an adult will be playing on it regularly, or if the child is already 10 and used to full-size pieces.
3. Spin Master Games Harry Potter Chess Teacher Step
- Includes: Chessboard, 32 Chess Pieces, 32 Stands, 12 Apprenticeship Cards, Wizard’s Chess Manual
This is the only set on the list that actualy teaches. You get 32 chess pieces, 32 detachable stands that show how each piece moves, 12 apprenticeship cards, a Wizard's Chess manual, and a double-sided board so the training wheels can come off. The stands are the whole idea. A kid can look down at the piece and see the movement pattern without an adult reciting it for the fourth time.
The concession: the design follows the film, not the Staunton pattern, and it's listed for ages 8 and up. A 5-year-old will lose stands, not just pawns. There are 32 of them, and they're small. Also expect to pay for the license, which buys you theme and cards rather than better wood.
What owners say: There's no rating displayed here, so no numbers from me. The pattern with teaching sets is that the instructional props get used hard for about two weeks and then the kid plays on the plain side of the board. The stands end up in a bag. Plan a spot for them.
- Good for: a kid who knows a rook from a bishop but keeps forgetting how the knight jumps, especially one who's seen the movie.
- Skip it if: the child already plays full games, or if you want the set to last past the learning stage.
A 15-inch board with 1.61-inch squares, pine and peach wood, magnets set into the board surface as well as the piece bases, felt on the piece bottoms, and a foam insert that holds the pieces when it's folded. That 1.61 is the only square size stated anywhere on this page, and I noticed. It's a sensible number for a kid: not tournament width, not toy width.
The concession: magnets embedded across the whole playing surface give the pieces a snap-and-drag feel that some players dislike, and "the thinnest felt" is the listing's own phrasing, so don't expect much cushion under the bases. The pieces are carved and pleasant but they aren't a strict Staunton profile. If the silhouette matters to you, look at the best Staunton chess sets and buy the kid a cheap travel board instead.
What owners say: No rating or count is displayed. With magnetic boards that have magnets in the board itself, the usual praise is that nothing shifts on a bumpy road, and the usual gripe is that pieces feel sticky when you slide rather than lift them. Worth knowing before you buy.
- Good for: a family that wants a wooden board with a stated square size and doesn't mind the magnetic drag.
- Skip it if: your kid slides pieces rather than lifting them, which will get irritating fast.
A 15-inch board that folds to 15 by 7.5 inches, with felt-lined storage inside, a lock buckle, two extra queens, hand-polished pieces with felt bottoms, and a set of checkers in the box. The felt lining is the part I like. Foam slots are fine untill a piece gets jammed in sideways, and then you've got a cracked pawn and a crying kid.
The concession: the listing is heavy on adjectives and light on numbers. No square size, no piece counts for the checkers, no king height. "Luxury" appears more than once and tells me nothing. The lock buckle is a plus for storage, but a buckle a 6-year-old can't work defeats the point of a set they can pack themselves.
What owners say: Ratings aren't shown on this listing. With felt-lined folding boxes, owners tend to mention quiet packing and no rattling, and they tend to complain when the lining comes unglued at the corners. Check the corners first if you ever get your hands on one.
- Good for: a household that wants one box on the shelf for chess and checkers, with pieces that don't rattle.
- Skip it if: you need verified specs before you spend, because this listing won't give them to you.
6. 2 in 1 Magnetic Chess Set & Checkers Board Game
A 15-inch folding board with 34 chess pieces (including the two extra queens), 24 checkers, and a printed manual in the box. The manual is the underrated item here. Plenty of kids' sets assume somebody in the house already knows how to castle, and plenty of houses don't. Folded size is 15 by 7.5 inches, so it goes in a backpack without a fight.
The concession: the checkers aren't magnetic, only the chess pieces are. So the version of this set you bought for car trips half-works in a car. The board surface is magnetic and the chessmen hold, but tip the board and 24 plastic discs go under the seat. That's a real design gap, not a nitpick.
What owners say: No rating or review count appears here. With 2-in-1 sets generally, owners praise the piece slots and the wood grain, then mention that the non-magnetic checkers were a surprise because the listing photo implies everything sticks. Read the fine print twice.
- Good for: a first chess set with a rulebook included, for a family that also plays checkers at the kitchen table.
- Skip it if: most of your play happens in a moving vehicle, where those checkers will scatter.
7. ELONGDI 15" Wooden Chess Set with Magnetic Pieces
Open it measures 15.4 by 15.35 by 1 inch, closed it's 15.4 by 7.68 by 2 inches, with two metal locks, a sponge card that gives every piece its own slot, magnets in both pieces and board, rounded corners, and a walnut-tone finish. The metal locks are a step up from a buckle, and the rounded corners matter with a toddler in the house.
The concession: 2 inches thick when folded is chunky for a kid's backpack, and the walnut is a coloring rather than solid walnut, which the listing is honest about if you read closely. No square size is stated. The dark board with light pieces looks sharp, though whether a 7-year-old cares about looks is another question.
What owners say: Ratings aren't displayed. The pattern with locking folding boards is that adults like them and kids find the latch fiddly for the first month. Owners also tend to mention the color clash finish as the reason they picked it over plain wood.
- Good for: the kid who wants the good-looking board, and the parent who wants pieces in slots instead of a bag.
- Skip it if: the set needs to disappear into a school backpack, because 15.4 inches by 2 inches won't.
A 2-in-1 chess and checkers set on an 11.4-inch folding board, with 32 chess pieces, 24 checkers, magnets in the chess pieces only, a metal latch, and three drawstring pouches inside instead of molded slots. The pastel pink and teal is the reason to buy it. If your kid has walked past six brown boards without a flicker of interest, color is a legitimate buying criterion.
The concession: drawstring pouches mean loose pieces in a bag, not each pawn in its own slot. Sorting 32 pieces out of a pouch before every game gets old around week three, and it's the first thing I'd change. No square size is listed either. And the checkers don't stick, same as the other 2-in-1 sets here.
What owners say: There's no rating on this listing. With pouch-storage sets, the compliments are about looks and the complaints are about setup time and pieces ending up under the couch. It's a tradeoff, and this set takes the pretty side of it.
- Good for: a kid who needs the set to look like theirs before they'll sit down with it.
- Skip it if: fast setup matters, or if losing a pawn every month would bother you.
A 10.5 by 10.5 inch reversible wooden board with 32 chess pieces, 24 interlocking wooden checkers, and tic-tac-toe on the flip side. It's the smallest board on this list and the only one that plays three games. For a household with a 5-year-old and an 8-year-old, that tic-tac-toe side earns its place. The younger one gets a win, the older one gets a chess lesson.
The concession: no magnets. No storage box is mentioned either, so the pieces live in whatever bag you supply, and the whole thing is listed for ages 8 to adult. A 6-year-old will knock this board and lose the position, and then you'll be setting up again. This is a table set, not a travel set.
What owners say: No rating or count is shown here. Reversible boards like this get praised for the price of entry and the three-game flexibility, and they get criticized for pieces that slide and a board that shifts on a smooth table. A $2 shelf liner fixes the second problem.
- Good for: siblings of different ages, and a first board that stays on the kitchen table.
- Skip it if: you need magnets, storage, or anything that travels.
What actually matters when you buy a kids chess set
Square size between 1.25 and 1.75 inches. Small hands, short reach. US Chess guidance for adults is 2 to 2.5 inches, and I'd only go that big for a kid once they're past 10 and playing seriously. If you're sizing up for an older child, the best tournament chess sets are where that road ends.
Which pieces are magnetic. On three of the sets above, the checkers are not magnetic even though the chessmen are. That's the difference between a car game that works and a car game that ends with 24 discs on the floor mat.
Storage that survives a school bag. Molded slots beat drawstring pouches every time, and pouches beat a cardboard insert that tears in a month. Folded dimensions around 15 by 7.5 inches are the sweet spot for a backpack.
Piece count, including the extras. You want 32 chessmen plus two extra queens, and 24 checkers if the set claims checkers. Count them when the box arrives, because listings get this wrong.
Edge sanding and felt. Run a finger around the board edge. Rounded corners and felted bases are the two cheapest signs a maker thought about kids, and both show up in the first minute of handling.
Side by side
| Set | Key spec | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| AMEROUS 15-inch | 15-inch folding board, 32 pieces plus 2 extra queens, magnetic | Best overall |
| Joneytech 11.5-inch | 11.5-inch folding board, built-in storage, magnetic | Best for travel |
| Harry Potter Chess Teacher | 32 pieces, 32 detachable stands, 12 cards, ages 8+ | Best for learning moves |
| Vahome 15-inch | 15 by 15 inches, 1.61-inch squares, pine and peach wood | Best wood feel |
| Beyond Innoventions 15-inch | 15 by 7.5 inches closed, felt-lined storage, lock buckle | Best storage design |
| Jumlys 2-in-1 | 34 chess pieces, 24 checkers, 15 by 7.5 inches folded | Best two-game starter |
| ELONGDI 15-inch | 15.4 by 15.35 inches open, 2 inches closed, metal locks | Best looking board |
| FUNCREVITY 11.4-inch | 32 chess pieces, 24 checkers, pastel finish, 3 pouches | Best colorful set |
| Regal Games 10.5-inch | 10.5 by 10.5 inches, chess, checkers and tic-tac-toe | Best three games in one |
Which one I'd buy
For a kid between 6 and 10 who's just starting out, buy the AMEROUS 15-inch. It has the two extra queens, it folds, and the pieces hold when the table gets bumped.
For a child who keeps forgetting how the knight moves, buy the Harry Potter Chess Teacher. The detachable stands do the job a tired parent can't do at 7pm on a Tuesday.
For a 5-year-old, buy the 11.5-inch Joneytech, because the board has to fit the arms. And if you're shopping for yourself rather than a kid, close this tab and read the House of Staunton review before you spend real money on a grown-up set.
Questions people ask me
What size chess board is right for a child?
Look for squares between about 1.25 and 1.75 inches on a kid's set, which is smaller than the 2 to 2.5 inches US Chess lists for adult tournament play. Small squares keep short arms from knocking pieces over. Anything under roughly 1.25 inches gets fiddly for a 6-year-old.
Are magnetic chess sets good for kids?
Yes, for travel and for kids who knock the table. The tradeoff is feel: magnets add drag and make pieces snap into place instead of sliding. Check whether the checkers are magnetic too, because on several 2-in-1 sets they are not.
At what age can a kid start playing chess?
Most kids can handle the piece movements around 5 or 6 with a small board and a patient adult. Full rules, including castling and en passant, usually land closer to 8. The Harry Potter Chess Teacher set is listed for ages 8 and up.