I could be wrong but, the 1972 match was played with Jaques chess pieces & a green & white marble board that was acid treated for a no glare finish. Bobby hated shiny chess pieces & boards at this period in time.
Will The Real Fischer-Spassky 1972 Design Please Stand Up?
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Fischer=runner
May 2, 2015
0
#4
9kick9 wrote:
I could be wrong but, the 1972 match was played with Jaques chess pieces & a green & white marble board that was acid treated for a no glare finish. Bobby hated shiny chess pieces & boards at this period in time.
This sounds right to me also.
What model of Jaques was it?
Was it a new product for that time or something older?
Does Jaques still sell the same pattern?
Robb might know as he had an exact copy of the Original from HOS.
htdavidht posted a link to a Jaques set that matched what they used a week or so ago (it's on Dorland's site, under sold sets). It was dated there as being from the 1960s, and you can see that it also resembles their 1940s sets (being an evolution of that design), so I imagine it was one of the last sets still made by Jaques's English carvers. They certainly didn't make it especially for the match — it was a last-minute replacement for the original set. If you want an accurate set, keep a look out for a 1960s Jaques and forget the repros. None of the many repros (whether Spassky—Fischer or 1849 or Dubrovnik) are ever completely accurate.
Frankly, I think that the later Jaques sets (including the Spassky—Fischer) are just not that nice.
HOS and Jaques of course both make new sets that I think are pretty good ... I'll post some pics after the weekend of comparisons etc on the 72...
May 3, 2015
0
#8
informaticacobach29 wrote:
@Eyechess
I think the "exact" replica you talk about is "The Fischer Spassky Series Commemorative Chess Pieces", by HoS.
Here is the link to the Dorland Chess website, where you can see an authentic 1960's Jaques set, that looks very close to the ones used in the Fischer - Spassky's games of 1972.
And here is a link to an auction for the chess set used in the 3rd game of the match.
Finally, another link to an auction for a reserve set of the same match. (Some pictures posted by ROBB_CHESS in another thread were taken from this site. If you want to see only the pictures yo may use this link).
After looking at the pictures, I´d say that the set being offered by HoS is a great chance to have a pretty good replica of that historic set. I own one and is a true pleasure to replay the games of the Match with it.
The above is a quote from a different thread with a different topic. I am pasting it here because it is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for in this thread.
Thank you for that info and insight.
I didn't like the HoS lesser expensive version because the bishop tops were too round and bulbous for me. When comparing all the sets it certainly looks like the bishop tops on all of them are more round than I would like.
With all due respect it looks as if this set was nothing special. Yes, it was a Jaques 1960 or thereabouts production, but it doesn't seem to have the high character that a number of other sets have.
A number of HoS sets are reproductions or some slight variation of different Jaques sets. The quality of these sets are usually quite nice, especially when the price goes up.
I have and really enjoy the HoS Players Series and Marshall Series sets. Both of them are "designed to replicate" the Jaques sets at the turn of the century. I find that the designs of these sets are pleasing to me when playing with nothing out of proportion.
Well, I guess I'll be happy with what I have and not get too excited about this set.
Thanks for posting the link to the set on Dorland's site. I've always wondered about the origins of the JoL set used in 72, and now I finally have an answer...
May 3, 2015
0
#10
Frank and others, is it me or are the bishop tops on the set used in the 3rd game of the match different from the other ones?
The pictures of that auction show the bishop top, especially the white pieces to be more slender and less round.
That's the kind of set look I want.
May 3, 2015
0
#11
Here is what I mean. First is the set used in the 3rd game:
And now the HoS set:
And the Jaques 1960:
They look the same to me.
As for quality of sets, it’s often said that the golden age of Jaques sets was up to 1890, with sets declining in quality after that (though I guess some could say they became more playable, having fewer fine details and gaining thicker pawn collars and queen coronets, for example). To me, the pawns in the Spassky—Fischer set are downright ugly, and I’m not keen on the rooks or the bishops. I really don’t see the attraction of the set.
May 3, 2015
0
#13
Those are my feelings as well.
I don't like those bishops and now that I look more closely I don't like the pawns either. The rooks are adequate.
I agree with Andy as to the aesthetics of the '72 pieces (although I do posess two repro' sets). However, I think some people find them historically interesting. Cheers, John C.
P.S. I can tell you, from experience that that the crenellations on the rooks is a weakness and they break very easily when dropped. (They're also easily repaired).
I don't care much for the design of the 72 set either, nor am I old enough to have emotional attachment to that event. The first championship match I was emotionally invested in was the first match between Karpov and Kasparov in Moscow...
I'm sure you guys have already seen this but just in case - here is some rare footage of the pieces and board in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5rhhZckJcQ
I think the original was a 3.5 inch and not a 3.75 inch that is now sold (being tournament size. But I don't know if this is correct. Jaques of London don't seem to offer their reproduction in a 3.75.
One thing I don't understand - if you want a Fischer v Spassky set, why not buy directly from Jaques? That is surely as authentic as it gets! If you don't live in the US, the postage to get an ebonised HOS set (when not on sale) renders the cost such that a Jaques is not that much pricier (although the Jaques only comes in 3.5 inches not 3.75 inches). I guess that only a person who owns both sets would be able to let us know!
On the Jaques website they seem to have two different knights being used in the photos (see the links below), but I think the knight in the 299 version is just in the pics and the actual knight they use is the one in the 399 link.
http://www.jaqueslondon.co.uk/ebonised-fischer-spassky-chess-set.html
http://www.jaqueslondon.co.uk/fischer-spassky-chess-set.html
D2_to_D8 - is that a photo of the knights from your set or from the internet? They look very good.
This thread and post is a direct question to Robb and anyone else that cares about the Fischer era equipment.
Is there a true replica or duplication of the set used by Fischer and Spassky in their match, available on the market today?
I remember when Frank Camarratta came out with the Reyjkavik set and then the Reyjkavik II, but I must confess I didn't really care about that original set to compare.
Later, when a young guy turned me on to the Dubrovnik set from Noj, 3+ years ago, he also got me interested in the set used in 1972.
By then the HOS Reyjkavik II was the only thing available and when I compared that set to the pictures of the original set sold at auction, I didn't think the newer one resembled the original that well at all. The bishop's top seemed too bulbous and round to me and the knight of the "II" version was nowhere close.
When Robb decided to sell some of his stuff, I saw and remembered that limited edition set that Frank produced which Robb got the last one, No. 40.
Looking at what HOS has for sale now, I don't see it being as close as I would expect. Sure, it's better then the Reyjkavik II but it still lacks something to me.
I think someone mentioned that the original set was a Jaques. If that is true, then can we get it duplicated by a company that will stay true to form?