Soviet/Russian Style Chess Pieces

Aesthetically, I prefer modern adaptations of the Soviet/Russian style of chess pieces.  Particularly the ball-style finial atop the King, rather than the Formee cross. The Dubrovnik '50, Zagreb '59, Soviet Club '40, etc have all caught my eye.

I love the Dubrovnik II set (maple & red) that Noj produces and hope to order one soon.  What other Soviet/Russian styles are "out there" and which manufacturers excel in crafting fine sets? 

Any comments and/or recommendations are appreciated.

Thank you.

While not having a ball finial on the king here is a set I recently obtained that might peak your interest it's from chess bazaar called the Russian Era set. The queen has the ball finial but the king is void of any religious symbols. The simplistic design of the bishops and wide low center of gravity bases is what had attracted me to purchase the set along with the beautiful natural grains of the sheesham wood. There is still a sale in effect for the 3.75" king size at their website if interested, here's the link:

https://www.chessbazaar.com/reproduced-russian-soviet-era-series-chess-set-in-sheesham-box-wood-3-75-king.html

I have been quite happy with the CB Zagreb set.  Love the old original Soviet sets too though.  They distribute the mass in the pieces differently from the "western" designs and some I find quite attractive, and sometimes the reproductions suggest it but to my eye miss the balance and delicacy of many of the originals.  There are a number of threads on this forum about soviet sets... a quick Goog should bring up a number of them.

Can't go wrong with the NOJ Dubrovnik set. I have their 1950 version and LOVE it !!  

 Thanks for sharing those pictures Ron.  I have that set on order... can't wait till it's finished.

Hi Ronbo710, That's a fantastic set. How long does it take for NOJ to complete an order?

@QtoQlevel3 - Thanks for the link. An wonderful looking set.  I love the King and Queen finials and the Knight has a handsome character.  Definitely on my wish list.  It is at a terrific price at the moment that will likely force my hand 

No doubt Horace.  CB's  https://www.chessbazaar.com/russian-zagreb-staunton-chess-pieces-in-rose-wood-box-wood-3-8-king.html has my attention at the moment.

Jeff, the so-called "Zagreb" sets are a pet peeve of mine as they purport to be historical reproductions of a set used in the 1959 Zagreb Candidates Matches. They were not. Dubrovnik sets were used. The "Zagreb" design, while it may have intrinsic merits some find attractive, like the knights, is simply not an historic set. Yet ChessBazaar describes it as "Reproduced 1959 Russian Zagreb Series chess set." Reproducing what? The "original" "Zagreb" that House of Staunton began marketing in the 1990s? Certainly not the set used in Zagreb in 1959.

And what does Zagreb have to do with Russia? Zagreb is the capital of Croatia. Is the suggestion that the set is of Russian origin? There is no such original Russian set that I've ever seen, and I've seen and own a lot of them. Mike Ladzinski has one Russian set that has similar looking knights. But the rest of the pieces are nothing like the "Zagreb" pieces, and have nothing to do with Zagreb or the 1959 Candidates Matches that were held there.

Thanks and Thanks for asking. It took about 4 or 5 months for the completion of this set. The Tal set I have from them took a little longer because it was still in development when I ordered that one

Thanks for the clarification Chuck. I’m very new to historic Russian/Soviet chess pieces and apparently easily distracted by a “pretty face”.  While I love reproductions that have variations to the “original”, I definitely want the foundation of the reproduction to be correctly connected to a verifiable historic set.

A very instructional video that I'll be going back to as I expand my knowledge on this subject.  Thank you Chuck.  I also enjoyed the music Arlindo put with the video.

I'm glad you enjoyed it! Arlindo is very passionate about chess pieces and has a keen eye for photography and a good ear for music. He has posted videos on Spanish and German pieces as well. He is a contributor to this forum under the handle BurnAmos. Check out his posts. I think you'll like them. Arlindo inspired me to collect Soviet pieces and to pursue the reproduction of various sets he highlights in the Soviet video. On this forum, as perhaps you already have discovered, Mike Ladzinski--Goodknightmike--has posted often about Soviet, Russian, and Eastern European sets.

Because of the very kind man Chuck (cgrau) i have had the opportunity to buy the only soviet chess set i wanted (for very little money) ... here it is:

Thank you Chuck to send me to Etsy...

That's very kind of you Herve.

A beautiful example of a Latvian set. Congratulations!!

Thank to You Chuck.

He is more nice in real, very more...

Soviet chess set... I like those long chess pieces (King:14cm) beautiful Knights, and the chessboard is incredibly well carved. (because of Chuck , on Etsy)