I'd love to order one of those sets as well.
A Botvinnik-Flohr II 1940's-50's Soviet Tournament Set
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I stopped counting at 37 pics. Overkill?
Dec 12, 2024
0
#45
goodknightmike wrote:
lofina_eidel_ismail wrote:
I hardly see such wide-bases on chess pieces whilst surfing 🏄 online stores..... ..... and I do wonder if there is some history as to why the Soviets (in that era) made them that way, Mike
Yeah, that's strange Lofina since so may collectors like wide base pieces. Good question as to why many Soviet sets during that period had wide base pieces... I don't know if there is any historical significance to wide base pieces. Maybe we can get some input from members.
I guess you got an answer to that question by now, but just in case you haven’t…
I’ve read that the Valdai set had wide bases because of a lead shortage in Russia, so instead of using lead to weight the bases, the bases were designed to be wider—presumably primarily for stability, but it would also have added a bit more weight.
Dec 12, 2024
0
#46
goodknightmike wrote:
With the never ending quest to feed the addiction, I acquired another vintage 1940's-50's Soviet weighted tournament set. Kings measure 4 1/4" in height with a 1.75" diameter base. Pawns are 2 3/8" in height with a 1 3/8" base. The pieces are finely turned with gorgeous chunky wide bases. The Knights have a pleasing "goose neck" appearance and are nicely carved. According to Chuck Grau, this set design was first used in the 1935 Moscow Tournament and not to be confused with the set used in the 1933 Botvinnik-Flohr Match. Here is a link to Chuck's wonderful post on his Botvinnik-Flohr set: https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/flohr-botvinnik-a-masterpiece-of-a-set
My set differs slightly from Chuck's, but for the most part, they're the same design. To avoid confusion with the 1933 Botvinnik-Flohr set, I call our type design sets the Botvinnik-Flohr II set.
I have included many pics of the gorgeous set for your persusal.
Beautiful set! It looks like BFII type 5 with the panther knights, except your knights are unusually slender! I’ve never seen that before. Nice color as well.
Ar Kadun Reproductions available in the US? I checked out there site but i don't read russian or whatever that language may be, but their versions are impressive.