Grandmaster's Royal Board

Grandmaster's Royal Board is an epic ground and flying mount added in patch 11.1.7 of The War Within expansion. It is a magical chessboard hovering in the air — a tribute to the famous chess event in Karazhan raid. The mount is purchased from the Trading Post for 700 Trader's Tender.

Mount journal description: "Always move forward to rise above the pawns below."

The mount is part of the Grandmaster's chessboard series added in patch 11.1.7. The royal board is rendered in classic white-and-gold tones with royal chess pieces, making it one of the most striking versions in the series.

• Guaranteed acquisition — no random drops. As soon as you save up 700 Trader's Tender, the mount is yours
• Unique model — a flying chessboard with pieces. It is one of the few mounts shaped like a hovering platform, on which your character stands during flight
• Ground and flying — the mount works both on the ground and in the air, adapting to your riding skill
• Available to all characters — once purchased, the mount is bound to your Battle.net account and becomes available on all your characters
• Karazhan reference — the chess theme is directly tied to the legendary chess event of the Karazhan raid, one of the most memorable encounters in WoW history
• Part of a collection — the mount belongs to a series of four chessboards with different designs, which will appeal to collectors

The mount is purchased from the Trading Post vendors for 700 Trader's Tender. The Trading Post is a system of monthly cosmetic rewards available to all players with an active subscription.

1. Make sure you have an active World of Warcraft subscription
2. Visit the Trading Post in one of the capitals (Stormwind, Orgrimmar or Dornogal)
3. Open the Collector's Cache to receive your monthly Trader's Tender
4. Save up 700 Trader's Tender
5. Find the mount in the Trading Post catalog and purchase it
6. Use the item you receive to learn the mount

The Trading Post is located in three locations. You can purchase the mount from any of the vendors — the selection is identical.

Stormwind (Alliance)

The T&W Trading Post is located near the entrance to the Stockades, southwest of the Mage Quarter.

Orgrimmar (Horde)

The Zen'shiri Trading Post is located in the Valley of Strength, to the left of the entrance to Grommash Hold.

Dornogal (Neutral)

The Trading Post is located in the Foregrounds, east of the Cordustry.

Trader's Tender is the currency of the Trading Post. Each month you can earn up to 1,000 tender.

Collector's Cache (500 tender)

Each month, on your first visit to the Trading Post, you can open the Collector's Cache and receive 500 tender. The cache stands right next to the vendor.

Traveler's Log (up to 500 tender)

Another 500 tender can be earned by completing tasks from the Traveler's Log. The list of tasks is refreshed each month. Among them:

• Completing quests and world quests
• Running dungeons in Mythic+ mode
• Participating in battlegrounds
• Completing activities tied to holiday events
• Unique monthly challenges

You do not need to complete every task — it is enough to gather 500 tender from those available.

Bonus for New Players

On your first visit to the Trading Post you will receive a one-time quest Browse the Trading Post, which grants an additional 500 tender.

The Trading Post selection updates on the first day of each month. The Grandmaster's Royal Board first went on sale in August 2025 as part of the 31st Trading Post season "Either/Or," themed around chess and the rivalry between factions.

If the mount is not in the current selection, you can wait for its return in one of the future months — Trading Post items periodically return to the selection.

Freeze Feature

If you see the mount in the catalog but cannot save up enough tender before the end of the month, use the freeze feature. It lets you lock in one item, and it will remain available for purchase in future months until you buy it or unfreeze it. Only one item can be frozen at a time.

Patch 11.1.7 added four color variants of the Grandmaster's chessboards. They all use the same flying chessboard model with different designs:

The Grandmaster's Prophetic Board was granted as a reward for filling the Traveler's Log bonus bar in August 2025.

The mount's chess theme is a direct reference to one of the most unusual encounters in World of Warcraft history. The chess event is in the Karazhan raid, the tower of the wizard Medivh in Deadwind Pass.

During this encounter you take control of chess pieces on a giant board and play a match against the enemy team. The encounter was added in The Burning Crusade expansion and remains one of the most memorable moments for players to this day.

Flying on the Grandmaster's Royal Board, you literally move across a chessboard, much as it happened in Karazhan — only now the board carries you across the sky.