It's a gorgeous set made even more so on that board and in the ambiance of that room. It's good to see another satisfied purchaser.
Indian Chess Company Averbakh 1949
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Please don't tell my wife but, after seeing so many nice sets, including this "absolute gem", I may have to break my promise to stop at 23 and might begin to think were I can fit another one in my room.
magictwanger wrote:
Please don't tell my wife but, after seeing so many nice sets, including this "absolute gem", I may have to break my promise to stop at 23 and might begin to think were I can fit another one in my room.
Alas, it’s sold out! Only 25 sets were made. But you may be able to commission a reproduction from Alexander Chelnokov. His reproduction is far more accurate than Indian Chess Company’s anyway.
In a way, kinda' glad.....I like her cooking.
baudouin27 wrote:
I was pleasantly surprised by the Indian Chess Company’s Averbakh 1949 reproduction and wanted to share the experience. The dimensions, carving, and finish exceeded my expectations. I hadn’t expected the care in detail, the quality of the antiqued finish, and especially the substantial look and feel of the knights (which appear exceedingly thin in photos). Very nice work India Chess Company!
It’s a gorgeous set, and I’m super happy to be one of the 25 people who owns this set. Or rather, will own; my wife got me the set for my upcoming 2-year sobriety in January.
The antiquing is the best I’ve ever seen. And the details are beautiful from what I’ve seen. Having said that though, I don’t think the Indian Chess Company prioritizes accuracy to the originals they reproduce, which does sadden me a bit.
Below is an original set for comparison.
The two most significant differences are the thicker pedestals in the reproduction, and the more forward-leaning knight design rather than the balanced S-shape of the original.
But I still think it’s an amazing set; it looks absolutely gorgeous despite not being entirely true to the original—and in some respects maybe because of it. Plus, it’s an amazing set for the price!
There are more authentic reproductions around, but I can’t say there is one above all I would love to own; ideally, I would own all of them! They are all beautiful in their own right, and I just love the Averbakh I design.
Below is a photo of Averbakh himself using the original set during the 1949 championship (upscaled and enhanced with AI).
And yes, the knights are flat! They were in the original set as well. I find it funny that most people who own the reproduction hide this fact by showing the knights in profile only. But as you can see in the photo above, Averbakh did so as well! To be fair though, I’ve seen him do that with various other sets; I guess it was just how he used them.
PS: I will put up a post soon where I describe more of the differences between the ICC reproduction and the original, and present some of the other reproductions. I don’t think this is the place to go into it.
I was pleasantly surprised by the Indian Chess Company’s Averbakh 1949 reproduction and wanted to share the experience. The dimensions, carving, and finish exceeded my expectations. I hadn’t expected the care in detail, the quality of the antiqued finish, and especially the substantial look and feel of the knights (which appear exceedingly thin in photos). Very nice work India Chess Company!
