Description
Reproduction Moscow 1935 Chessmen.
The reproduction of the Moscow 1935 Chessmen have now joined the Camaratta Signature Line. These pieces are based on the chessmen memorialized in images of the game between Salo Flohr and Mikhail Botvinnik in the 1935 Moscow International Tournament. Each set of the Reproduction Moscow1935 Chessmen reproduction has a tournament-size King, equivalent to a Normal 4.0” tall Staunton Set with a conventional Formeé cross finial, The King has a 1-3/4” diameter base. The set is available in Natural and Black or Red-Stained Boxwood. Typical of many Soviet era chessmen designs, the Bishops lack miter cuts. The stately Rook projects the proper stature for a major piece on the chessboard. The Knight is particularly well carved, a finely balanced design that is aggressive, but not visually overwhelming. The set comes standard with the elongated Eastern teardrop-style pointed King’s finial which belie its true comparative height. Also included are an extra pair of Queens to facilitate Pawn Promotion, a feature pioneered by us in 1995. The Reproduction Moscow 1935 Chessmen are designed for play or display on chessboard with 2-1/4” squares. Several suitable chessboards are available and can be found here
Some Background.
Moscow 1935 was the second international chess tournament held in Moscow, taking place from 15 February to 15 March 1935. Salo Flohr and future world champion Mikhail Botvinnik tied for first, followed by former world champions Emanuel Lasker and José Raúl Capablanca. The single round-robin tournament was organized along the lines of Moscow 1925, with twelve Soviet players and eight international players.
Salo Flohr (Czechoslovakia) was internationally renowned and considered a world championship contender. Later, Flohr would be in the inaugural group to receive the grandmaster title when it was introduced by FIDE in 1950. Mikhail Botvinnik (Soviet Union) was known as a rising star at age 24 and two years earlier had drawn a match with Flohr. He would later become world champion in 1948.
Emanuel Lasker (Germany) and José Raúl Capablanca (Cuba) were former world champions. At age 66, Lasker was undefeated, beating Capablanca in their individual game and finishing third, a half point ahead of Capablanca in fourth place. Reuben Fine hailed Lasker’s result at age 66 as “a biological miracle.”
About the House of Staunton.
The House of Staunton was founded in 1990 and incorporated in 1999. When building the House of Staunton, our vision was to create a set of chessmen that captured the feel and exquisite old-World craftsmanship found in those early Jaques Staunton pattern chess sets. In line with that pursuit, we concentrated on recreating the masterful workmanship of the Bishops and the Knights which were derived from the noble steeds whose visages are captured in the Parthenon frieze (expropriated in 1806 by Thomas Bruce, 7th Lord of Elgin and since referred to as the Elgin Marbles). We also wanted to retain the graceful proportional relationship among the pieces and Pawns. We hope we have been somewhat successful in that pursuit.
The House of Staunton name is now recognized World-Wide. House of Staunton chessmen are so well respected that they even made the comics!
