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 Issues of 2009 |
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Antiquarian chess sets. Checkmate!
Chess-like table games where pieces have to “kill” each other are known from the earliest times: the game named “tau” in ancient Egypt (1270 BC), “petteia” in ancient Greece (V century BC), “latrunkuli” in the Roman Empire (I–II century BC).
 Chess pieces. Poland. XIX century. Wood, carving, turned work [zoom (24k)] A strategic table game resembling modern chess was mentioned in the poem “Kharsharita” written around 606–648 by the court poet Ban in honour of the king Kharshi, the ruler of the Northern India. The poem tells about the peaceful times of the Kharshi’s reign when people set their “troops” (“chaturangas”) and fought with each only on a playing board (ashtapadi). In VII century the game chatrang (denominative from “chaturanga”) appeared in Persia and the Central Asia. During archeological excavations at Samarqand researchers discovered ivory figurines dating back to VII–VIII centuries — the oldest chess pieces ever found. The pieces represent a shah (ruler), riders and common warriors. In VII century Persia was conquered by the Arabs, and tradition to play chess became widespread among the Muslims. Through VIII–IX centuries the game was extremely popular in the Arab caliphate. The Arabs changed pieces and the name of the game; at that time, it was called “shatranj”. As under the Islamic laws it is not allowed to depict people and animals, pieces became abstract in shape. It was easy to make such “chessmen”; they were rather cheap and it contributed greatly to the popularity of the game. The West-Europeans learnt about shatranj from the Arabs who inhabited Iberian Peninsula, southern regions of France (Aquitaine and Provence) and south of Apennine Peninsula. We first heard of the game in Europe in the early XI century. In XI–XII centuries it was widespread among the nobles; the art of chess was included in the knightly code. Like many other table games, chess was a game of chance, gambling. It was the reason why the Roman Catholic Church prohibited playing chess for a long time. However, in the late XIV century the Council of Regensburg lifted that ban. In the Western Europe shatranj was seriously altered. The chessboard became two-colored and looked as the modern one, while the abstract pieces were shaped in the more expressive way. The game also became more dynamic. By the XVIII century, chess stopped to be an exclusive privilege of the upper classes but rapidly spread among commoners as well. In France, chess competitions were held in cafes and clubs: cafe “Prokop” in Paris acquired vogue in the first half of the XVIII century, while “Cafe de la Regence” was the center of chess¬mania in Paris since 1750. In the XVIII century chess found its muse and patroness. It was created by an English chess fan William Jones. In his poem dedicated to the origin of chess, he told the story of Mars, Greek god of war and his beloved nymph Kaissa. First, the nymph rejected her ardent admirer, but Mars invented chess and taught Kaissa how to play it. The story ended happily. In 1836 the renowned French chess player Luis Charles Bourdonnais (1797–1840, since 1824 he was considered the best player in the world) began to publish the first chess journal “La Palamede”. Subject journals dedicated to chess also appeared in the Great Britain (1837) and in Germany (1846).
 Queen. End of XI century. Cabinet of medals, Paris [zoom (26k)] The first international chess championship took place in London in 1851. The winner of the competition was the German chess player Adolph Anderssen. The first world championship was held in the USA in 1886, and the first world champion was Wilhelm Steinits. Chess in Russia Tradition to play chess was established in Russia long ago. Most likely, the ancient game shatrange came to Russia through eastern kingdoms Khwarezm and Khazar following major trade routes. The name of the game and names of some pieces — “queen” and “bishop” (in Russian it is called “elephant”) prove that fact. First written references about chess date back to XIII century, though some archeological findings date even XI century. For example, in Novgorod while digging the occupation layer relating to X–XV century archeologists found more than 150 chess pieces. Similar pieces were discovered in many Russian towns and cities — Volkovyssk, Vyshgorod, Grodno, Drutsk, Kiev, Kopys Lukoml, Minsk, Moscow, Nikolo-Lenivets, Novogrudka, Smolensk, Toropets, Turov. In Russia abstract pieces of shatrange changed their shapes and names adapting to Russian ideas about life. For instance, the most important piece in shatranj “rukh” (it resembled an abstract boat) transformed into typical Old-Russian boat (“ladja”). First pieces with “faces” date back to XII–XIII century. Like the Roman Catholic Church, Russian Orthodox Church equated chess to gambling and created obstacles to spreading of the game. However, that prohibition proved to be useless; many Russian tsars and emperors enjoyed playing the game: Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov, Alexei Mikhailovich, Peter I, Catherine II, Pavel I, Nicolas II. Although chess was very popular in Russia, up to the late XIX century the country lagged behind England, France and Germany when speaking about the level of development of chess culture. The first Russian chess club was opened in St. Petersburg in 1853, while the first chess journal was issued in 1859. The situation changed in the early XX century after St. Petersburg Chess Association founded on the base of a private chess club. The association was established on January 17, 1904, and in April 1914 in its residence on 10, Liteiny prospect, the new organization was born — the National Chess Union. The association held chess competitions for professionals and amateurs, tournaments between St. Petersburg and Moscow teams, displays of multi-board chess-play, published subject books and journals. The association boasted the most comprehensive chess library in Russia. The golden age of chess in Russia came after the October turnover. In 1948 Mikhail Botvinnik became the first Soviet champion of the world. These are the names of other world champions from Russia: Tigran Petrosyan, Vasiliy Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, Boris Spassky, Anatoliy Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, and Alexander Khalifman. In total, grandmasters Ludmila Rudenko, Elizaveta Bykova, Olga Rubtsova, Nona Gaprindashvili, Maya Tchiburdanidzev held the champion’s title among women for two decades. Chess Collections Throughout history of humanity, the chess theme attracted many artists. Exceptional chess sets created by masters of different ages were highly sought-after among chess fans and connoisseurs of applied art of the past. From the earliest times chess pieces were made of various materials: ivory and walrus bone, wood and ceramics, silver and gold, steel and bronze, mother-of-pearl and amber, porcelain and glass. In the XX century people began to produce plastic chess sets.
 Road chess set. Russia. Early XX century. Wood, walrus bone. Photo from the site artantique.ru [zoom (41k)] In the Russian Empire the most skillful makers of chess pieces were ivory carvers from the village of Kholmogory in Arkhangelsk region. They used to make chess sets for export; nowadays one can find that chess sets in European museums and private collections. The Northern masters used different types of bone for making chess pieces: bones of domestic animals, ivory, walrus bone, deer’s horns. First each piece was carved by hand, but after invention of lathe work of carvers became easier and faster. Since that time, each piece had a round base topped with a certain figurine. The “knight” figurine was the most difficult to make, often it was carved by hand like in former times. Russian porcelain chess sets deserve special attention. First porcelain pieces appeared in the mid XVIII century, while they became world famous in the age of the so-called “Soviet propaganda porcelain”. For example, the chess set “The Reds and the Whites” was created by artists Natalia and Elena Danko at the porcelain factory in Petrograd (the name of St. Petersburg in 1914–1924) around 1922–1923. We can also name another masterpiece — an outstanding chess set made by Tula gunsmiths in 1780s as a present for the Empress Catherine II. There are many collectible chess sets. Alongside old masterpieces of applied art, one can collect unusual sets designed for playing in quite different situations. For instance, Mikhail Klevtsov, Ph.D. in Engineering, invented a special chess set for playing in the state of weightlessness. Each piece of this unique set is attached to the board with a spring and can be moved in any direction along the slits. Using that chess set on June 9, 1970, Soviet cosmonauts Andrean Nikolaev and Vitali Sevostianov played against General Nikolai Kamanin and Victor Gorbatko on board the spaceship “Soyuz-9”. The game lasted about six hours with short breaks and ended with a draw. The classic chess pieces (which are the most popular and widespread nowadays) were designed by the artist Nathaniel Cook on the eve of the first international chess tournament in London in 1851. That type of chess sets was called “Stauton” after the famous English chess-player Howard Stauton. Before that, chess players used different types of pieces: “Berlicorn” in England, old-fashioned “Selenius” in Germany, “Regence” in France and Russia. One of the “trademarks” of the newly designed set was mane of “knights”, cut in the classic style: one of the horses from the Parthenon’s frieze created by the Greek sculptor Phidias (V century BC, now is situated in the British museum in London) served Cook as the model. Stauton permitted to put his facsimile on boxes with chess-sets: that was how that design got its name. The design was patented on March 1, 1849, while on September 29 the London-based firm “John Jaques and Son” sold the first set. For a long time that company had exclusive right to produce “Stauton” chess sets. When the term of the patent expired, other European firms began to produce similar chess pieces. In St. Petersburg, the firm of Geitch produced “Stauton” chess pieces according to established standards but using hardwood. Indeed, “Stauton” chess pieces are the international standard: even computer chess program use the design created by Cook 160 years ago. Not everyone can afford collecting chess pieces. The price for a chess set made in XIX century can reach $2,000 depending on the manufacturer. Still, it does not stop real fans of chess. More and more people are getting involved in collecting rare chess pieces now. As an example, we can name the association titled Chess Collectors International uniting collectors and historians from twenty countries of the world (including Russia). Chess Collectors International was founded in 1984 in the USA.
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