The Set of the 1939 Buenos Aires Olympiad

I recently acquired the set of the tragic 1939 Olympiad held in Buenos Aires. Poland and Germany battled for first place even as Germany invaded Poland. When Germany finally emerged the victor, no one applauded their team at the trophy ceremony. The English team left early, fearful of being stranded by U-boats and Kriegsmarine raiders like Graf Spee. The US never sent a team out of financial concerns. Many players stayed in South America rather than return home to a war-ravaged Europe. Many who did return died in the war. The set was manufactured in Argentina and is called the Magistral. It is made of an early plastic known as Fenolite. The set is heavily weighted and its kings are 90mm. This particular set may be have been a version sold to the public, as there is some evidence that the tournament sets were 95mm. It's shown here with Justin Corfield's magnificent history of the event that situated it within its historical context. Many thanks to Manuel Rodriguez for helping to find this historic set.

Until very recently, the photos I have seen from this Olympiad did not clearly show the set. Here is one of Palestin's Czerniak playing Cuba's Capablanca...

Great Find !! The quality of that material must be first rate. No yellowing at all. BRAVO Chuck !!!

Then someone posted pictures of a specimen of the set on Manuel's forum on the 1978 Olympiad, also held in Buenos Aires. Here are some photos of that set...

The set can be identified from this sales brochure describing the set and showing it in action at the Olympiad...

My set came in a large, hollow Fenolite rook container...

The wide bishop collars are a distinguishing feature of Argentinian sets.

The knights are beautifully designed, and very hefty, as is the set in general.