Repro 1961 Soviet Championship Baku Chess Pieces in Ebonized / Boxwood - 4” King with Board

Reproduced 1961 Soviet Championship Baku Chess Set's dark pieces are made of genuine Ebonized boxwood and the light pieces are made of Boxwood. The King proudly stands at 4" tall with a base diameter of 1.53". The dark chess pieces are made of ebonized boxwood. The opposing pieces are made of boxwood which is traditionally used for white side. It is one of the fairly easy woods to work with and shows off aesthetic detail. The set comes with free extra queens for effortless pawn promotion. All chess pieces are expertly carved and weighted for fantastic hand-feel and a very nice thud on the wooden chess board. Pieces have unique rings and thick green felts, which precisely envelops the base of each chessmen for smooth movement on the chess board. The Knights are well-reproduced and represent the highest grade of knight carving skills that our Indian artisans have to offer. 

Total Set Weight: 5100 grams approx (171.89 oz). Please note that the weight in the set is added manually so the final weight of the set can vary by plus or minus (±) 10%.

History: There were two USSR Championship held in 1961. The first in Moscow and the second in Baku. Boris Spassky was the winner of the Baku Championship.  Many of vintage "Baku" sets were not weighted with the lead but instead, filled with sawdust which suggests that these sets originated in the 1940's when all precious metal was used for the wartime effort. There are photos of World Champions Mikhail Tal, Boris Spassky, and Anatoly Karpov along with Paul Keres shown with the "Baku" set. The most famous is Mikhail Tal playing Buthuti Gurgenidze at the 1961 USSR Baku Championship. "Many thanks to vintage chess set aficionado Chuck Grau for the "Baku" moniker" - Mike Ladzinski

Craftsmanship: The carving and turning the quality of the knight is quite spectacular. Knights have a divergent style of carving on each side making even more captivating pieces from different angle views. The lathe work on each chess piece is noteworthy, especially the unique collar rings and elegant curves. There are no cuts in the turrets of the rook. The pawns have a wide base which adds another interesting dimension to the set. The design of the other pieces is also highly commended, that allows the set to truly stand out. They are meticulously handcrafted from the finest grade wood and polished by hand to give it a rich and long-lasting shine. Each chessmen is carefully handcrafted in India with dainty details and the design, quality, and craftsmanship of these chess pieces is comparable to the original chess sets that are sold for $1000+ by other retailers.

Chess and its Russian/Soviet connection: Chess is one of the most popular games in the Soviet Union and there is one interesting fact that most of the world chess champions were citizens of the Soviet Union. The period from 1993 to 2000 the world chess champions were almost Russians. From the early days, chess has been a central feature of Soviet history and culture from the middle ages onwards, resulting in a great range of chess sets from various times and zones. Click here to see our full range of Russian/Soviet chess sets. Chess is considered one of the most interesting, exciting and educational games in Soviet. Now a day's Russians also use chess as a training concentration.