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Where can I find a Soviet chess set with very ferocious/vicious knight?
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Awesome design! I’m looking for non-lacquer sets, however. Curious that Chessbazaar discontinued this design though.
HoS Odessa
Yeah I saw it on clearance, and considered getting it based on those cool finials on the kings, and the droplet terminals on the bishops. But in this case, the knights actually kept me from getting the set. That, and the lack of historical reference. At least, there are some Soviet sets with droplet bishops—most prominently the set I have below, and variations on this set; but the Odessa set doesn’t seem to be a reproduction of any particular set.
I think you're probably right that it's not a proper reproduction. I like it's combination of nice design features.
Royal Chess Mall offers basically the same set, except with different king finials.
I just learned that apparently the set is loosely based on a Mordovian set with unusual knights.
Speaking of sets that use elements from various Soviet sets, Violet Crown Chess has a set called the Modern Soviet which features Botvinnik-Flohr II panther knights. I’m more focused on original sets and would prefer to get an original BFII, but I have to admit it’s a beautiful set.
I noticed the similarity with the RCM set and decided I like the HoS finials better, as well as the clearance price. Between this and the ICC Averbakh, I think i have enough sets with similarity to the RCM '33 Botvinnik Flohr that i don't need to get it, at least for now. I already also have a Mordovian fka Latvian repro. Good quality originals a certainly another avenue.
Stephen Kong is doing a collab with ICC to reproduce Antonio Fabiano's FB-I set, so I’m waiting for that one to come out.
What Mordovian repro do you have? I find Chessbazaar's bright red one pleasant to look at, but the price is too high for me; and the knights of the originals from the early '50s are more to my liking.
I did get my stepson an original from 1952 for upcoming Christmas, for about the same price. I was prepared to spend more to get a relatively pristine one.
Maybe at some point I will get myself a cheap one, sand the paint off, and refinish it in natural and wine red or something. I really like the contrast of the natural wood king finial and red body of the repro; nicer than the black finials in the original above. It would be nice to refinish a set with that beautiful contrast.
I really love a ferocious knight that looks foaming-at-the-mouth angry and deranged, such as the one below from a 1920s–1930s set from the Vsekokhudozhnik artel. I would love to get this set, but it’s way beyond my budget. Any idea where I can find other sets with a knight like this—either original Soviet sets or reproductions?