Soviet Chess Set Styles

Lately, Ive been enjoying the aesthetic of soviet chess sets. I really want to learn a bit more about them and the history behind some of the different styles. Can anyone suggests some resources that I can turn to. Ideally something free and online. But I'm also not beyond purchasing a book on the topic if it is relevant enough.

One set that I'm having trouble identifying is the below. If you know what style set that is, it would also be helpfully. Thanks

The set you display is from Belarus, probably circa 1940.  Collectors sometimes refer to them as "Mushroom" sets, for obvious reasons.

Soviets typically did not name sets, just as they did not brand most other consumer goods. Their packaging typically refers to a generic category: Tournament Chess, Youth Chess, Tourist Chess, and so on. Most of the names we now see have been given by Western collectors associating the set with a famous player, event, or location. Collectors in the former SSRs tell us they refer to sets according to the factory, city, or region where they were made.

The only book on Soviet pieces I'm aware of is the one I am writing. The best available resource is the Facebook group Ron Harrison and I administer named Shakhmatnyye Kollektsionery: Soviet and Russian Chess Sets. https://www.facebook.com/groups/738734636935127/. 

The July 2021 issue of The Chess Collector Magazine, published by Chess Collectors International, contains a good overview written by Jim Joanneau entitled 20th Century Soviet and Russian Chess Sets. I have an article on the history of Botvinnik Flohr II chessmen forthcoming there, too.

You also could consult various articles Mike Ladzinski, Ron Harrison, I, and others posted in this forum between 2015 and 2019.

Finally, I am contemplating both launching a website dedicated to them and authoring a blog here on them. Stay tuned.

Hi @Cgrau 

thanks for the reply. Ill be looking up some of the references that you suggested. The page I got the image from referenced it as a mushroom set. But after googling it and finding nothing, I concluded there may be a more common name for it. I had the same experience with a set that said is had Mongolian knights. Soviet chess sets seems to be a topic with almost no information on it. The Boltvinnik Flohe ll set is a bit of an exception, there's not a lot on it, but i have found a few anecdotes on it here and there. it's a lovely set. 

When will you be releasing your book? It sounds like it may be an interesting read.

Thanks, Manuel! I have drafts of two and a half chapters so far. One examines the imposing legacy of Arlindo Vieira and his contributions to our knowledge of and appreciation for Soviet chessmen. Another expands upon my forthcoming CCI article on Botvinnik-Flohr II chessmen. The third, which I'm currently working on, addresses Tal chessmen. It is fortuitous that an original came to me in the midst of drafting that chapter.

Thanks. I don't have a release date. I have drafts of two and a half chapters, as I explained above.

BTW, you also should look at Arlindo Vieira's magnificent video on Soviet and Russian chess sets (https://youtu.be/MXTwxG4N62Y)  and his posts on Soviet sets in his blog Xadrez Memoria (http://xadrezmemoria.blogspot.com/2012/03/soviet-chess-sets-5-pecas-de-xadrez.html). 

I'm thrilled that someone is going to give us more exposure to the Soviet sets.

I have a few Staunton sets that I love,but it's my Soviet Repros that give me goose bumps.

I can appreciate the enthusiasm for the Staunton sets,but could never figure out why some folks go nuts over a slightly different snout on the Knight,or subtle difference in how the eye is cut.

Too similar,whereas the Soviet sets have so many different types of styles.

Just my two cents.

@PandDos - thank you for starting this thread - what a wonderful set. I am captivated by the fantastic king and queen. There’s a futuristic vibe to the set even though it is 80+ years old.

And how great that knowledgeable folk like @cgrau chime in - wonderful to learn from people like Chuck and Holger and so many others willing to pass on knowledge and thoughts to people new to the game like me. Thanks all. 👍

I might add that Nicholas Lanier referred to them as "Svelte" pieces. Here is my specimen.

There is a famous picture by Robert Capa showing two boys playing with this type of set in a park in Moscow. The picture dates back to 1947.

@EfimLG47 - lovely, expressive black and white photo  and another beautiful set. ‘Svelte’ is such an apt term for those pieces.👍

The late Nicholas Lanier  also wrote  ( regarding this set) ---" a similar set sold some time ago on ebay was termed as Austrian and art deco by the seller. -My tip is German and 20ies or earlier- but  some details point to Russia or even the Baltics?" I also have   an example of this set. The knights are cruder and the kings and queens are not quite identical . Their height is not the same either.  I  bought this set 40@ years ago at a fleamarket   on Long Island N.Y.  

Those vintage photos of chess greats still make me smile whenever I see them.

Hey Chuck, I've already looked through a couple of your posts on the "Baku" set...will there be any more details about them in your book and/or blog? 

Hi Mike, yes, Bakus are a set of interest. They are cousins of the Botvinnik Flohr sets, and share many design features. You can check out the currently 61 posts about them in our Soviet collectors' group on Facebook. The relevant posts are coded #baku61chessmen.

There are a number of these Belarusian sets currently being offered on eBay and Etsy. This one appeared today on eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/393560353567?hash=item5ba2066b1f:g:YdUAAOSwjRFhOPiH. Here are several from Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1041476134/soviet-chess-set-a-rare-chess-set-with-a?ref=cart; https://www.etsy.com/listing/1070945883/soviet-chess-set-a-rare-chess-set-with-a?ref=user_profile; https://www.etsy.com/listing/1038911645/belarusian-chess-set-in-the-great?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=belarus+chess&ref=sr_gallery-1-35&organic_search_click=1&pro=1&frs=1. 

Any insight on what factories made the Baku sets, and when they started making them?

The set I got is claimed to be pre-1954, based on the original owner's info. No manufacture date as far as I can tell.

And just curious about how many factories were involved, because I can tell by the shape of the knight, that some sets out there look like mine, whereas some have a skinny face.

Knowledge about which sets were produced where is slowly growing, but remains pretty sketchy. Collectors from the former SSRs seem to know where some were produced. Those sets that come with cardboard boxes often state the factory, but those are mostly plastic sets. Sometimes boards are stamped with a place of manufacture, but it often is unclear whether the board is original to the pieces it currently houses. 

All that said, I have one set that I believe was made by an artel named "Red Combine." I don't have any other information about that artel. One dealer opined that some Baku chessmen were made by the Lvov Furniture Factory in the Carpathians. That opinion is based upon seeing Baku pieces in a number of boards bearing the stamp of that factory. I also have heard that some were manufactured around Leningrad. Finally, a specimen recently emerged with a stamp from 1937 and an artel the name of which remains unintelligible, though it is unclear to me whether that board is original to the pieces.

Your words are like beer for a thirsty man. 

I love it. Also, I don't know if you remember, but you helped inform my decision to buy my "Baku" set. I was about to buy the repro from CB, but didn't know there were real sets floating around on Etsy.

Do you buy multiple sets of the same design of chessmen? Because there's so much variation between the carvings and finishings, I'm tempted to get another "Baku" set down the line.

And I heard about this Lvov furniture company from a few Etsy descriptions. One seller said the board was made there, with no mention of whether the pieces were made there too.

"Like beer for a thirsty man".

Great line.

Great line.

Drink this in... Original Tal Chessmen circa 1959, with Hofbräuhaus Märzen...

I'm enjoying a Gulden Draak while working through a Kasparov v Karpov game tonight! 

Is it weird that I like how crowded my board looks?