Maizelis’s Set
Soviet Master Ilyan Maizelis included a photo of the pictured set in his famous primer “Chess Beginnings” (1937). There he described it as “Modern Chess Figures (Staunton form).” At 9. So the set dates no later than 1937. For sake of convenience, I’ll refer to it as “Maizelis’s Set,” though I have no other evidence that he actually owned or played with one like it. I recently added such a…
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Gulag Knights? A Tale of Two Valdais
Despite their popularity and longevity, I have hesitated to write about the ubiquitous Valdai Nobles chessmen. It’s not that I don’t like them–I have four specimens in my collection, each with unique attributes. I am fascinated by their design and evolution, particularly the faceted knights characteristic of the mature versions. Nothing has stopped my friends Alan Power and Eva Silvertant from authoring informative articles about them. Gulag Knights The reason…
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Soviet Checkers: Junior Partner in a Cultural Revolution
The history of checkers paralleled that of chess in the Soviet Union. Both games had been played for centuries, despite suffering the disapprobation of the Orthodox Church. Both were incorporated into the Soviet state’s political program to elevate and enrich the cultural level of the masses. According to the Russian Checkers Federation, “games similar to modern Russian checkers were known to the Eastern Slavs as early as the 4th century,…
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Soviet and Late Tsarist Chess Sets 