Chavet N° 8

@walterbiensur Yes, it's clearly a 2, good spot. At least we can conclude that the Chavet link is undeniable with these sets now.

Haven't seen a single one with a Chavet logo on the box, which could mean 2 things in my view: These sets were sold in parallel with sets provided to Chavet by a cooperative. They simply designed a different knight and could get away with it. Or these sets preceded a cooperation with Chavet. This would match your hypothesis if I'm correct. Chavet came in in the 70s, and they designed and patented a new teethed knight.

edit: I just learned Chavet never used its logo on any box prior to the early 80s.

Then there are these sets with the same type of blocky teethed knight:

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/lardy-appreciation-thread?page=8#comment-93784149

It does sound like that But it is a good practical test for any chess set isn't it!

The green one is really nice with the patina, same as yours. A real treasure indeed.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that the Chavet logo only appeared at the beginning of the 1980s.

I also saw this type of stamp on sets from the 1970s, so before the logo was created. But I think this stamp was intended for exports.

During a recent discussion with a French member of chess.com, he recommended this film to me, which I also recommend to you.

While watching one of the scenes at the beginning of the film, I had a very nice surprise.

The film is called "La diagonale du fou" or "Dangerous Moves".
The main actor is obviously Chavet, although he is never mentioned. Its release date is 1984. An Oscar, a César…

Look instead.

Chavet size 6 - 1970. 253/6

Chavet size 5, 153/5

These are therefore the first boxes with Chavet logo and labels.

At the end of the film, a Parisian bookstore is thanked. It still exists and bears the name "le damier de l'Opera". It was in this bookstore that I received the “Chavet Chess” small stairs.

Enjoy :

https://youtu.be/Lfuwr7JfS2U?feature=shared

incredible

That was a great movie about Soviet GM's. Not sure how chavet comes into play in this series.

I think that was meant figuratively. Chavet played a silent role through the pieces.

@walterbiensur - so your take is that Chavet started to put the logo on the boxes because of the massive exposure it would get from this movie?

Yes, it’s second degree.

The marketing of the 70s and 80s is not that of today and it always surprises me that nothing has been done to highlight these games outside of the scenes where they appear. There are plenty of thanks in the credits, whether for clothes worn, even perfume, but nothing about Chavet, although so present.

I don't think Chavet was informed. The thanks were for the Parisian store which provided them for the film. But this represents the first boxes with a black logo in the center and rounded labels on the corners. Just a nice coincidence.

https://www.lefigaro.fr/cinema/2015/01/05/03002-20150105ARTFIG00326--la-diagonale-du-fou-le-film-culte-de-richard-dembo-ressort-en-dvd.php"To bring to life this merciless joust, which will remind the general public of the Spassky-Fischer and Karpov-Kortchnoï matches, Richard Dembo, by his own admission, is inspired by Kawabata's Master of Go. He skillfully adds some ingredients taken from The Soviet champion, Liebskind, borrows certain personality traits from Botvinnik and Petrosian. The latter, a master of positional play, had the habit of suffocating his prey like a boa constrictor.

The flamboyant Fromm (Alexandre Arbatt) bears a striking resemblance to the American Bobby Fischer. Megalomaniac, whimsical, he believes, in the scenario at least, more in intuition than in theoretical preparation. He is, however, less introverted and solitary than the Brooklyn genius."

Others will undoubtedly also see Kasparov, but the characters are distributed between the two main actors, and not exactly as everyone thinks...

@walterbiensur Found this - do you know the occasion?

Yes, I see very well.
I had found a box of the same type, a little larger (here in the presence of a box n°5). It contained reproductions of French money such as the illustrated 50 francs, but also others of 5, 10, 100,500.
And instead of “jeux d'échecs” we can read “jeux de société”.

To play poker ;-)

That clears it up. This one also comes with the fake money inside.

Chavet Regence 1985. King = 95 mm

Size 2 (1985) - Size 6 (1985) - Size 6 (1970) - Size 8 (1970) - Size 5 (1985)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Catalogue Orsat frères 1926 (Source gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France)

That version is amazing ...and... that's an understatement!

I am always looking for documents concerning the origin of the sets that I like, which have a story to tell.

Regarding wood turners, on boxwood, from Dortan, thanks to old catalogs and directories I was able to find this. (Source gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France)

1929

1933 : Ernest Vincent, Dortan - an illustration of which also appears in the catalog of a Parisian competitor Watlliaux in 1903…

Watilliaux 1903 Paris

Arthaud - Paris - 1884

Jean Aicard - 1906

Henri Chavet : 1972 - King 93 - 456/6

Chavet chess : 253/5 serie

Henri Chavet : 153/5 before

After