Description
Robert Hollendonner Modern Chess Set.
Architect Robert Rudolph Hollendonner Modern Chess Set created with the intention of challenging the dominance of traditional Staunton chess pieces in tournament settings. The King stands 3-1/16″ tall. The chessmen and chessboard are solid Walnut and Maple. They are housed in a custom-fitted solid Walnut box measuring 9-3/4″ x 5-1/2″ x 4-1/2″. The chessmen are played on a chessboard with 2-1/4″ Walnut and Maple squares, which is included. Also, part of this lot is the original 26-page brochure describing the design significance of each of the chessmen plus some historical facts and conjecture. The chess set is like new and dates to around 1978.
Background
Each handmade piece was created using a system of spheres and squares, which were arranged in ways that suggest the pieces’ movements and meanings. To Hollendonner, the circle represented the divine while the solidity of the square symbolized wisdom, construction, and dwellings. An identical Hollendonner set was owned by 2003 U.S. Chess Hall of Fame inductee Grandmaster Walter Browne (1949-2015). Browne was a dominant force in American chess and won six U.S. Chess Championships (1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1983). Walter excelled in open tournaments, earning shared or outright first place in the American Open seven times, the National Open eleven times, the U.S. Open three times, and the World Open three times.
