Premium Macassar Ebony Slide-Top Chess Box by The House of Staunton - Luxury Wooden Storage Case for Chess Pieces & Board - Perfect for Home, Office, or Travel Use

I have the House of Staunton Fischer-Spassky 1972 series commemorative chess pieces (3.75” King, extra queen), and decided to try The House of Staunton Macassar Ebony box to put them in. It was very annoying to discover that the King does not fit in the box upright, nor can you fit all the pieces in this way. I had no intention of laying pieces on top of each other. I didn’t expect the box to be made from solid wood (not at this price), but I'm not even sure the veneer is made from wood either! It is actually super smooth, like plastic. I see none of the grain that you might expect to see in wood. Still, it is beautiful looking, and the box is solidly made; not flimsy in any way. I don’t see how this is worth $55, but at least that is $20 cheaper than buying it directly from The House of Staunton. It is lined with felt on the bottom and on the inside. I would not call it the best felt around, but adequate. At the bottom of each section is a piece of fitted removable felt-coated foam (about 1/4”), presumably for different sized sets. The slide fits perfectly, but slides too easily, so it can just drop to the floor if tilted without holding it in place. Also, even when closed, there is a large gap (about 1/4”) between the lid and the side of the box. I am not sure why this is there. Perhaps to ventilate the chess pieces? The lid isn’t snug so I am not sure why such a large opening is needed, but I decided to make use of the opening to solve the sliding lid issue. I took two neodymium disc magnets (8mm x 3mm/.315” x .118”) that I had, which happened to fit near perfectly in that gap, and I glued them (Zap-A-Gap, Medium CA+) to the top edge of the side and the bottom end of the lid. Now the lid snaps closed and holds tight very nicely! I also made use of the two pieces of foam by placing all the pawns upright to one side together in two rows, and stood up all the rest (except the two knights and the king) next to them. Then I slid the foam between the pawns and other pieces, and folded it over on top of the pawns. This creates a little inclined bed to lay the two knights on their side, with the king in the middle. They seem to hold well and safely. Not to the point where you can flip the box around or toss it about, mind you, but securely enough for household use. So, while the description is not accurate (i.e. misleading) in my opinion, all in all, it is a decent box after some modifications/adaptations.