Towering Giants of the Soviet Chessboard: The Ukrainian GM Set
This is the chess of my childhood, proclaims Ukrainian collector and dealer Mykhailo Kovalenko. It is “the most common Ukrainian chess set… made of wood,” and was used in regional but not high level tournaments. SK 4 June 2020 & 14 April 2021, accessed 19 April 2023. Sometimes called the Ukrainian Grandmaster pieces, perhaps the largest of all Soviet tournament sets were manufactured by the Bolekhavsky Timber Plant, part of…
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1930s Poltava Artel Sport & Culture Bell-Bottom Set
One of the more unique Soviet sets comprises “Bell-Bottom” pieces, named for the unusual shape of their bases. Here are photos of the c. 1930s specimen in my collection. It came to me in pristine condition. Collector Sergey Kovalenko’s research suggests that the design originated in the Ukrainian city of Poltava, first produced by the Postyshev Children’s Commune there. Sergey located one set in the State Central Museum of Modern…
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Holiday Eye Candy–A Gallery of “Baku” Sets of Artel Drevprom
To follow up on our recent article on Artel Drevprom’s “Baku” set, here are images of Baku sets that have been posted in the Facebook Group Shakhmatnyye Kollektsionery by its members, together with a few photos of the set appearing in the historical record.
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Soviet and Late Tsarist Chess Sets 