Gotta be Fischer-Larsen, Denver 1971 Candidates Match.

 Plastic pieces (Drueke Player's Choice to be exact) on some minimal board--probably wood though I don't recognize it--and the old BHB clock.

All more than good enough for me but sub-standard for a match of that prestige. What was up with the organizers? Just naive and inexperienced?

 The Candidates match previous (Taimanov in Vancouver BC) and after (Petrosian Buenos Aires) had very nice chess tables and pieces. 

 

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/Feb/04/fischers-big-move-in-denver/

 

Click on the pic for a larger scale image.

 Incidentally, a minty box of Drueke player's Choice goes for well over $100 on ebay these days.  Even if the weights got loose in those sets, they looked good and had a nice feel.

Fischer probably played 10,000 games on that unweighted USCF special.  You know the one.  I'm sure the Drueke Player's Choice was more than adequate.  Looks like FIDE got some sponsorship money for that, however!

 

stormcrown wrote:

Fischer probably played 10,000 games on that unweighted USCF special.  You know the one.  I'm sure the Drueke Player's Choice was more than adequate.  Looks like FIDE got some sponsorship money for that, however!

 I still got my USCF Special set (and rollup vinyl board) from ye olde days, Served me well for >20 years. Weighted pieces are nicer for blitz of course.

 Fischer and Larsen never complained so far as I know . Perfectly playable.

Now I recall a picture of Fischer and Byrne  playing a US championship game on a cheap setup (most of the way down the page):

http://www.edcollins.com/chess/ " target="_blank">http://www.edcollins.com/chess/ 

Vinyl rollup and maybe one of those plastic Windsor Castle set of pieces. Very nostalgic for some of us (though I don't go back that far).

There was a turn of the century tournament in the US where the players 

complained bitterly about the low quality of the pieces and boards.

 The organizer then sold the pieces and boards to the public after it 

finished and one player said that the public was being cheated.

 

Unweighted and crude wood pieces I imagine. 

 Fischer's favorite knock-around at home set was his Yugo set. The one with those distinctive knights and with the king/queen/bishop finials being the opposite color. He just about raved how great it was...no glare, great feel etc..

 http://www.chessbase.com/images2/2004/fischer04.jpg " target="_blank">http://www.chessbase.com/images2/2004/fischer04.jpg 

 House of Staunton sells the Windsor design in wood as well as Yugo set. There even used to be an ebony/boxwood knockoff of the old Drueke player's Choice on the web (chessotopia?) but I haven't seen it around lately.

 It's funny. When I started playing competetive chess (1971), there was very little to choose from in standard equipment. Now there is enough to get confused several times over. 

 

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Those Drueke sets are a desirable item indeed. One mint set with folding linen board went on ebay for $250 just a few days ago.

I should have held on to the Drueke I bought in the late 60s. It came in a sturdy wooden box and I set it up on a folding lined green and buff board. If anything, it was too heavily weighted, which explains why its ballast came unglued over time.

I saw some of the greats playing on those distinctive Yugoslav sets during the Dubrovnik Olympics in the 50s, and was taken with their distinctive design. Last year I saw them pictured in the on-line catalog of The Chess Store.com and purchased a set. Fischer was correct , the feel really nice in the hand, are not too heavily weighted, and have a really fetching look. The King is 3 and 3/4 " high.

The same outfit offers a deluxe plastic set similar in construction to the old Drueke but with a 4" king. If anything this set has an even nicer design than the Drueke, its seams are almost invisible and it has lots of heft. If you're looking for a superb plastic set to pack around, you'll like these pieces.  

I loved that Rocky Mountain News article.  I especially liked this little anecdote:

"Victor Traibush of Boulder, the Colorado Chess State Champion in 1955, 1967, and 1970, spent time with Fischer during his match against Larsen. Traibush remembers Fischer as "a man who took his responsibilities as a professional very seriously."

As the official scorekeeper for the first two games of the Fischer-Larsen match, Traibush observed that whenever Fischer moved, he very carefully and politely slid the piece to the center of the square he was moving it to. (It is considered poor sportsmanship when a player slams a piece or screws it into the board.)

In the diagrammed position with today's column, when Fischer played the aggressive and decisive 19.f5!, Traibush observed that Fischer actually picked up the pawn and tilted it slightly toward Larsen as he moved it forward.

On the drive from Denver to Traibush's house in Boulder for dinner, Traibush asked Fischer if he was aware of how he moved the pawn. Traibush says Fischer didn't realize that he had done it and was mortified.

Noticeably disturbed by his action, Fischer said, 'That was very unprofessional.'"