SET OF THE MONTH

Everyone loves a great deal! And each month The Chess Schach, or rather, my dear wife Angie (as this was her idea!) will select a listing from THE GALLERY to feature as our SET OF THE MONTH. This entitles you, our dearest customer, to a 10% discount on the asking price, which, of course, already comes with our complimentary free shipping! 
My heart can’t take Angie’s ideas I tell ya!!

**addendum … it is February 2021 and I have taken control of the SET OF THE MONTH (insert evil laugh here!). It was my idea, after all. My selections may not be based on the eye of an artist or the brain of a chess nerd, but I’m looking forward to choosing a new one every month from the heart. This time, it’s personal. Hope you like them! – Angie

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✨ANGIE’S PICK FOR SET OF THE MONTH ✨

The Magpies (Picae); 32 vintage chess pieces without board, black vs. white, Soviet, birch wood, partially weighted, c.1950s
Height: King 3 3/4 inches or 9.5cm, weight 20g, base width 3.5cm; Queen 8.6cm, wt. 17g; Bishop 7.2cm 14g, Knight 6.6cm 17g, Rook 5cm 18g, Pawns 4.5cm 6g
W: dark blue felt pads; B: same.
 
To date, relatively little is known about the history of these chess pieces compared to other contemporary Soviet patterns. They are based on the post-WWII “Mordovian Gulag” sets (see my Feb ‘24 THE GULAG KNIGHT OF MORDOVIA chessay for more info on this pattern) and in my opinion, were designed specifically with labour camp (Gulag) and later, State Factory production in mind. This is evident in the knights, which weren’t carved, but crudely moulded from compressed wood shavings, an over-abundant by-product of the Soviet’s Cultural Goods and Furniture factories, a common sight within the Gulag Archipelago.
 
I say ‘crudely’ as the original knight design left much to be desired. The knights you see here have been reworked from the originals to match my own aesthetic tastes. The mane is more pronounced and the ears have been rebuilt and carved in finer detail (these were originally unsightly ‘nubs’ hinting at ears) the lower jaw has also been beefed out somewhat and now resembles the muzzle of a horse rather than the bill of a duck!
 

For more details about this gorgeous set, please click here

 

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Chess Set

✨SET OF THE MONTH✨ The Magpies (Picae); Soviet ‘Mordovian Style’ Gulag Chessmen, c.1955

Original price was: $450.00.Current price is: $405.00.
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