Fischer’s Fury (‘Rabiosa’); Soviet BFII Tournament Chess Set, c.1955-1965

Rabiosa (Fischer’s Fury); 32 vintage chess pieces without board, Soviet, wood, amber vs. black, original weights and cloth pads, partially restored, c.1960.

Dimensions: 

King; 11cm, weight 38g, base width 4.5cm

Queen; 9.5cm, 32g

Bishop; 8.5cm, 30g

Knight; 7cm, 34g

Rook; 6.5cm, 32g

Pawns; 6cm, 25g

W: original blue cloth pads; B: same

 

Probably the most uniformly turned and carved 1950s BFII chess pieces that I’ve handled to date. The set is of the same style used by the legendary Bobby Fischer when he visited the Moscow Chess Club in 1958 and played a handful of rapid or blitz games with the Soviet GM Petrosian – hence the playful moniker for this historic set. 

 

The set is almost entirely original. The finials were absent on all of the royals, which I’ve replicated from a contemporary BFII set and matched them to their respective colours instead of alternating them. Instead, I chose to present the bishop finials in opposing colours, taking a leaf from the Coffee House patterns of the old Austrian Empire and eliminating the confusion between queen and bishop, a common irk with this Soviet pattern.

 

A few unsightly chips have been restored on three of the black pawns, and a few other battle scars have been left untouched. Other than that the set is in excellent vintage condition and a real pleasure to play with.

 

BOTH QUEENS (and not the kings this year!) carry the hand-painted iridescent GOLD 2024 ‘Power signature’ of the artist on their bases. The set is also accompanied by our unique ‘Certificate of Artistry’ (see our Jan 2022 chessay, THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE C.O.A’s for more info on these).

 

Etsy Set Price: $750.00

 

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