Fascinating thread, Jack. Great sets.
Souvenir Chess Sets From Yugoslavia
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There is one other set which may be related to this family of Chess sets which is owned by the owner of chess-museum.com. The description of the set is here:
http://www.chess-museum.com/odd-sets-amp-singletons.html
It follows some of the same stylings as the pieces I've mentioned so far, but is even more elaborate. I'm not sure of the size.
Searching ebay for "yugoslavia chess" and then selecting "used" will yield several listings. One of the large sets is on there right now for sale. There is a label on the box for it which lists it being sold at the 1964 World's Fair.
The listing is here:
I do not know of any new sets being made that follow this style precisely. These sets are sort of a blend of the Austrian Coffee House, Old Soviet, and Dubrovnik patterns.
The best thing one can do is search ebay frequently and see what turns up.
When you are perusing ebay in the search of a vintage wooden chess set you will run across many sets which were made in Yugoslavia. This country no longer exists, having been divided into what is present day Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzogovina, and Macedonia.
Jonas (Ifekali on this board) has made a video about chess pieces which were made in the Subozan workshop/factory in Subotica, Serbia. It's here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CTmbq6wmvw
However, this thread is not about those sets. Those sets were made of the least expensive materials possible and were sold to the general population of Yugoslavia.
It is very similar to the medium sized sets, but the Bishops are not colored for their opposite sides. The boards that come with these pieces are very high quality. Even if you don't care for the design of the pieces I think they are the best chess boards under $100 you can buy in their sizes.
The square size for my medium chess board is 42 millimeters (1.65").
This size is more finely made than the other two, and it probably cost much more as well. A couple of week's salary? I believe the height of the King is about 3.25:, and the square size is 1.75".
Sometimes I think these sets have been used more often than the carved sets, and show more signs of age.
I have also seen sets with true ebony pieces, and with rubber mats on the bottoms of the pieces.
This thread is about a different category of Chess pieces which I believe were sold in souvenir shops, train stations, airports, and other places with lots of tourist traffic. These sets are of higher quality than the sets used for day-to-day play in Yugoslavia, and would have had a premium priced attached. I believe they were mostly bought by people traveling outside of the country to bring home as gifts for family and friends, or as personal mementos of their trip.
This set is very typical of the style, the most common version you'll see on ebay.
There are three basic sizes for these sets. This is the medium size. The King stands about 3" tall. I own a set very, very similar to this one. The pieces are felted with real, high-quality felt, and they are also weighted. The wood I am not so sure of, but my guess is boxwood and shesham, or boxwood and stained boxwood.
Then there is the small size. I also own one of these sets, and this photo was taken by me.
The square size for my small chess board is 35 millimeters (1.37").
The interiors are always felted in green, or occasionally blue. The words "Made in Yugoslavia" are sometimes stamped on inside. I think the sets with the stampings are not as old.
There is also the Large size for these sets. I do not own one of these yet, but I have seen them from time to time. They are more uncommon than the other two, but I would not call them rare.
In addition to the difference in size these sets also come in about two major catetories I will refer to as the "Turned" sets and the "Carved" sets. What we have seen so far are the carved sets. But a smaller number of the sets are unadorned, lacking the elaborate carvings. Such as this set:
The board is similarly smooth:
And finally there are the oddballs among the crowd. Every so often a set shows up which has distinct divergences from the typical pattern, such as this board with its black squares:
I have played many chess games on these sets, and they will play a fine game of chess. The main issue is the lack of finnials on the King, which confuses people and they tend to mix up the King and the Queen. This has never happened to me, not even once, but for some...
These are some of the best and most inexpensive Chess sets you can buy which are truly old, but still have a feeling of luxury about them. Even the large size can be found for less than $100 on ebay.