Mikhail Tal's favorite Latvian Chess Set circa 1950s

I have many Soviet chess sets in my collection.  Picking my favorite would be difficult, but if I had to pick one, it would be Tal's favorite Latvian set. Here's some pics of a circa 1950s Latvian  set. Kings measure 3 5/8" in height with a 1.5" diameter base. Pawns measure 1 5/8" in height. 

wow ... one of the most beautiful sets I have seen.

Thanks Ganz, I'm glad you liked it

the unity of design is nice it looks so modern and influenced by space travel..

Thanks Schachmonkey, Interesting observations

Wow! Those Knights mean business. It does add balance to the grace of the other pieces though. To mean the Knight is the land mine in warfare. You never know where they'll be  ... .

Thanks Ron, yeah those Knights can be tricky

Thanks for the pics, goodknightmike. I have the same set in red and black on the way. In fact, it should be here any day now and I've been getting more and more antsy each day waiting for its arrival. The pics are nice (as usual). Thanks for the teaser. I think I'm going to pull my hair out if I get home this afternoon and find no box waiting for me.

Love that the Knights have manes on one side but not the other. That's the "olde style" from Staunton and even before. (Everything I know about chess sets, I learned at Wikipedia. In fact, everything I know about CHESS ... I learned ... at ...)

My pleasure UpcountryRain, Please post pics of your set when you get it. How long have you been waiting for your set?

Clifton, Thanks for your comments

Hey, goodknightmike, I came home this afternoon and there was no goodie box waiting. Oh well. Anyway, the parcel was shipped on May 30th. I'm not worried, though. It'll be here soon enough. And when it gets here I'll probably forget that I was even waiting. 

The best piece set I've ever seen

gg piotrchess

Just took the opportunity to take another look at your set, this time not rushing through. Quite a remarkable set there, goodknightmike!

That set is very cool! I would love to get something like this. Any suggestions? 

Thanks Piotrchess, I enjoyed sharing with you!

Thanks again UpcountryRain, I hope you get your set soon

Thanks Nic, Check out Ebay and Etsy for Soviet sets

Got my copy of the set a couple of weeks ago (?) but was unable to take pics. 

I really like this set. Apart from the style favored by Tal, the red and black really does it for me. The set shows the wear from age and there are a couple of battle scars but that is to be expected. The set is not weighted - which I do not mind at all - but unfortunately, none of the pieces have felts. It's not a problem, but I prefer felted bottoms on the pieces.

The line-up -

The Kings:

Their Queens:

The Bishops:

The Knights:

The White Knight:

The Rooks:

And the Pawns:

The flash lightens the red to a near-orange and the wear becomes a lot more visible, but in normal lighting - or as I like it, a little dark - the set is very attractive.

If you have the opportunity, I encourage you to add one to your collection. Thanks. 

Gorgeous set, Up. Great photos, too. Many thanks!