Rufus et Albus; Soviet GM4 "Champion" Cold War Chess Set, c.1980 
*SOLD* Octobris Rubem (Red October); Soviet “Mordovian” Weighted Chess Set with matching board, c.1950
Red October (Octobris Rubem), 32 lightly-weighted chessmen with matching board, Soviet, Mordovian, wood, burgundy v. black, antiqued, post-WWII era, circa 1945-1960
Height: King 9.5cm, weight 17g, base width 3.7cm, Queen 8.5cm 16g, Bishop 7.1cm 10g, Knight 6.1cm 16g, Rook 5cm 15g, Pawn 4.3cm 5g.
W: burgundy felt bases B: same
The effervescent Portuguese collector, Arlindo Vieira, in his blog Xadrez Memoria (Memories Of Chess) enthuses that Tal “loved this [these]
pieces” and if I were forced to select just one Soviet set to take with me to the afterlife, this would certainly be the one. Vieira, of course, refers to the late World Champion Mikhail Tal, or “Misha” as he was fondly called, the famous ‘Magician of Riga’.’ And one can see why he favoured this particular set, as just to glance at them sparks an uncontrollable urge to play chess!
The light side has been kept true to its original colours, antiqued and gently distressed. The dark side has a very subtle antiqued ebony finish.
The board has also been artistically matched to complement the pieces
The pieces are UV resistant and ideal for display as well as casual play.
Both Kings carry the hand-painted iridescent silver ‘power’ signature of the artist on their felt bases.
