TheDubrovnik chess set is a style ofchess pieces.[1] These chessmen are considered to have significant historical importance and are regarded as a timelessdesign classic.[1] Over the decades several variants of the Dubrovnik chessmen were designed.[1]
The9th Chess Olympiad was organised by theFIDE and the government ofYugoslavia, supported byJosip Broz Tito.[2][3] The Olympiad was held inDubrovnik,SR Croatia,Yugoslavia (now inCroatia), between August 20 and September 11, 1950.[1] Chess is a significant part of the culture in Dubrovnik, being first documented in 1422.[2] The Olympiad had 84chess players representing 16 nations who played a total of 480 games.[1] The Yugoslav team won the gold medal,Argentina silver andWest Germany bronze.[1]
In 1949, the Olympiad management requisitioned a new style of chessmen. Painter and sculptor P. Poček was contracted todesign the Olympiad chessmen.[4] The pieces were made in Subozan inSubotica, Yugoslavia.
The 1950 Dubrovnik chess set was designed withoutreligious symbols. The pieces were designed for play with wide bases requiring a minimum of 55 millimetres (2.2 in)chessboard squares. They had green felted sliders and were not weighted.[4] Thechess box was felted with a metallic badge on the inside of the box with the inscription "IX. šah olimpijada Dubrovnik, Jugoslavija."[4] The box was unusually large, featuring 60 millimetres (2.4 in) squares. Approximately 50 chess sets were made with original sets being very rare if not impossible to locate or buy.[4]
In a radio interviewBobby Fischer stated: "This [1950 Dubrovnik chess set] is the best set I have ever played on.[5] It is marvellous. I don't have it."[6] A chess collector provided a chess set after Fischer requested it for the1992 Fischer–Spassky rematch held inSveti Stefan.[4][7][8]
The Dubrovnik design has influenced the creation of several chess set variants with a variety of names, including but not limited to,Zagreb andYugoslavia.[4] These variant chess sets often have opposite-coloured finials on the kings and queens, while the original Dubrovnik had opposite-coloured finials for the bishops. In addition, the chess sets use different specifications from the Dubrovnik.
In the 1960s a redesigned version byAndrija Maurović, a famousCroatcartoonist, writer and chess player was created and produced in the workshop of master craftsman Jakopović in Zagreb. Bobby Fischer was often filmed and photographed with his own 1970 Dubrovnik chess set that was later stolen. The most obvious changes in design can be observed in the knights with simplified carving, and the queens had only five cuts in the crown as opposed to the original eleven.
The initial 1950 Dubrovnik chess pieces, designed without spiritual symbols like a crossfinial atop the king or amiter on the bishops, prioritized tournament practicality with broader, sturdier bases. The Dubrovnik chess set underwent a redesign for the19th Chess Olympiad held at Siegen, West Germany, in 1970. This tournament gained fame for the showdown betweenBoris Spassky and Bobby Fischer, laying the groundwork for Fischer's1972 World Championship match against Spassky.
This famous match, however, did not use the Dubrovnik set, but the Bohemian German chess set that has a crossfinial on top of the king. The 1970 rendition of the Dubrovnik chessmen refined the knight's design and streamlined the overall appearance, resulting in a sleeker aesthetic. Fischer was widely photographed and recorded playing with his 1970s-era Dubrovnik set, notably captured in the HBO documentaryBobby Fischer Against the World.[citation needed]
![1950 Dubrovnik Chess Set manufactured 2015 by Chess Bazaar of India[9]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a1950_Dubrovnik_Chess_Set.JPG)
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