Chavet N° 8

I would also like to find the set that perfectly matches the illustrations, but surely there are several other versions of the Régence Chavet sets, between 1912 and 1980, and yours could be one of his versions. The search continues...

@Walterbiensur I love the knights in that last set! Do they predate the other sets? The red and white set is made of Galalith?

I can't date them, I focused on the staunton versions.
The red and white is in Galalith.
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/1932-first-illustrated-chavet-catalogue-first-staunton-chavet

There you will find the Galalith sizes that existed at that time.

@Walterbiensur Another set I would like your opinion on. It was distributed here in the Netherlands by Revanche/Jumbo. I always wondered if it was a copycat set from India. The dark pieces are made of Sheesham wood. The kings finial looks a little off. The heads of the pawns are quite large. The base of the knight resembles some of the Chavet bases you have showcased. The knights look similar to the special type 1 chavet knight - but for instance the manes are pretty sloppily done and from the back of the head down they start at quite a low point.

Lardy used rosewood for his games but coupled with olive.

The only ones I know are the "Parisian knights".

The quality of the mane that I observe makes me doubt whether it is a Lardy.

The other detail is the CE logo on the label. It was not until 1990 that they made their appearance for the conformity of games and toys in Europe.

I therefore think like you, a potential copy from India.

Thanks. Much neater indeed. Also note the base on mine - not at the Lardy height. Must be one of the earlier copies from India, the ones that got the French producers out of business..

How to recognize the knight used in 1990 during the WCC between Lyon and New York ?

This one seems perfect to me ;-)

This is my favourite thread on the whole forum. And my favourite pieces in my collection. Thank you Walter.

Here is a set that I have been looking for for several months, and here it is finally.

Easy to recognize a Chavet at first glance. But when comparing it to its cousin (on the left in the photos above) a 153/6 from 1985 ("B210"), we immediately notice a nice difference. The base of the knight's chest is more raised. It is closer (or further away) from that of the first one-piece knights of the 1970s.

For kings, the difference is clear.

Placed next to another set that you may recognize (WCC 2000 in London), a 153/5, the similarity between the queens is evident even if the proportions are not the same.

This allows us to say, as I assumed, that a transitional model appeared in the early 1980s which would serve as the basis for future sizes 5 and 6 of the middle 1990s and after. This model coexisted with the "B210" . We will also observe differences with the bishops and the rooks.

I'm delighted to have been able to add it to my collection. I also find it has some bases similar to its ancestors from the 70s, especially on the large size sets (7 to 10).

Walter, you're like the Darwin for Chavet chess sets: scrutinizing through all the data and sets, finding the ancestry and filling the gaps with transitional models 🤔

Darwin is way too big for me ;-)
A budding genealogist, at most

@walterbiensur, have you seen this one before?

I bought it from a UK seller on Etsy, together with the magnetic board on the pics. The pieces have small magnets glued on the bottoms.

I must have seen it, but in different sets... it looks like a collection of pieces of different sizes.

This king size is not listed in my archives.
The smallest is size 0 = 57 mm

There was a size 00 in 1932, but not in 1980.

The knight seems disproportionate to me compared to the other pieces, but it is a Chavet 101/size.

On the other hand, I love the knight just behind (1970), a size 10? 120mm king?

@walterbiensur The knights are indeed a lot larger relative to the other pieces. I do think they belong with the set though - everything checks out (patina, feet, matching stain on the dark side).

You guessed right - a size 10, 12cm king. Early 70s seems right. I'll post more pics tomorrow, when daylight permits!

Here's more pics of the mini set

And the maxi sets (12cm king). The knights are different on the two sets. @walterbiensur can you date them?

And last but not least, some pics from the times when they carved real horses

I just love it !
These are the first one-piece knights from Chavet, created at the beginning of 1970, to stand out from Lardy.
Here is an advertisement from 1972, which celebrates Chavet's 60th anniversary.

There are variations for the mane, but are all from this era. Manufacturing was discontinued in the mid/late 1980s.

@walterbiensur Thanks, learning all the time This characteristic knight that many associate with Chavet - did it exist before the single piece knights?