SKAK!!!

So I was going through my dad's personal effects recently, and came across this Danish set that he had.  There were also some dice in the box of pieces.  He was stationed at the Thule Airbase during the Cold War, monitoring Soviet activity and watching for ICBMs coming over the North Pole.  Apparently, some of the work was highly classified to such an extent that he never would go into any detail about it.  I like to imagine him playing chess and dice with his buddies to while away the time when he was not on duty.

There was also this vintage magnetic set, not sure when it's from.  Totally Atomic!

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Ha!!!  And they said I couldn't do a "serious" thread.  "Barney's just a troll," they said. "Nitwit", "Nincompoop", "Nattering Ninny" –– were bandied about with vicious abandon.  And I, of course, was Brutally Blocked by all of the "real" chess set collectors on here.  Well these sets are pure Vintage Gold, and rare as a ribald hare!  American Pickers and Antiques Road Show just called....

So take THAT, you priggish pansies, with your elitist, snobbish Chess Books & Equipment threads!

I really like both of these sets.  And you are right.  I have not seen any sets like these before.

By the way I have approved and enjoyed all your previous threads.  If it were possible I would put you on a super duper, never block this guy list.

Thanks Eyechess.  They are obviously soooo scared that I will post on their desiccated, oh-so-earnest Chess Equipment threads, and actually add some life to them.

And perhaps their concern is somewhat warranted.  Indeed ...  the dusty, mouldering,  "Hallowed Halls" of the Chess Books & Equipment section of the Forums has been finally breached by the irreverent antics of Yours Truly. 

cool

Thanks for the info about the sets madmacsback, I wasn't yet able to find anything about the German/Danish set.  Very interesting, thanks again!

Thank you, GM_Loser5000.   

Actually, I did read a pretty intense flame-war about piece-weight consistency on one of the threads awhile back.  So it wasn't all dull.

I like the first set. It reminds me of a German Knubbel set. I have not seen one in plastic before.

Thanks for the post, MCH818.  I was not familiar with the Knubbel design. With some small differences, it does look like that.  

By the way, the plastic tests on that set came back very pure, Bavarian origin, probably Mosel; also known for their great Riesling.

Thanks for posting this, and thanks for your Dad's service.

Very cool sets and the back story makes them even cooler. I can vaguely remember seeing one like the magnetic set as a kid.

The first set is a Danish set, a plastic variation of the Knubbel sets. While it is believed that the design was invented in Germany, these sets were never popular in Germany, but almost exclusively in Denmark. I am not aware of any of these sets having been produced in Germany for the Danish market, as was suggested above. IMHO these sets were produced in Denmark. Here are two pictures of the same type of plastic set from my collection together with an old Danish ad from a Danish turner for a wooden version, showing that this type of set was in fact produced in Denmark.

I don't know much about Knubbel sets, but I saw where some of the vintage Danish wooden sets had knights with inset glass eyeballs!

Correct!

That's it!

Thanks for the info and good vibes, everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Clearly a Danish plastic Knubbel-set. I have the same in both plastic and wood, and the lid of the box says "Skak" ("Chess" in Danish). I guess, the plastic sets are from the sixties, while the wooden ones could date back some 20-30 years. Greetings from Denmark, and nice to have a set with such a story.