The Dubrovnik chess set is a style of

chess piece A chess piece, or chessman, is a game piece that is placed on a chessboard to play the game of chess. It can be either White and Black in chess, white or black, and it can be one of six types: King (chess), king, Queen (chess), queen, Rook (ches ...

s. These chessmen are considered to have significant historical importance and are regarded as a timeless design classic. Over the decades several variants of the Dubrovnik chessmen were designed.

1950 Dubrovnik chess set

The 9th Chess Olympiad was organised by the

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...

and the government of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, supported by

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

.Bill Wall – Dubrovnik Chess Olympiad 1950
The Olympiad was held in

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), commonly abbreviated as SR Croatia and referred to as simply Croatia, was a ...

(now in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

), between August 20 and September 11, 1950. Chess is a significant part of the culture in Dubrovnik, being first documented in 1422. The Olympiad had 84

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

players representing 16 nations who played a total of 480 games. The Yugoslav team won the gold medal,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

silver and

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

bronze. In 1949, the Olympiad management requisitioned a new style of chessmen. Painter and sculptor P. Poček was contracted to

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

the Olympiad chessmen.1950 Dubrovnik chess set details
/ref> The pieces were made in Subozan in Subotica, Yugoslavia. The 1950 Dubrovnik chess set was designed without

religious symbol A religious symbol is an iconic representation intended to represent a specific religion, or a specific concept within a given religion. Religious symbols have been used in the military in many countries, such as the United States military chap ...

s. The pieces were designed for play with wide bases requiring a minimum of

chessboard A chessboard is a game board used to play chess. It consists of 64 squares, 8 rows by 8 columns, on which the chess pieces are placed. It is square in shape and uses two colours of squares, one light and one dark, in a chequered pattern. During p ...

squares. They had green felted sliders and were not weighted. The chess box was felted with a metallic badge on the inside of the box with the inscription "IX. šah olimpijada Dubrovnik, Jugoslavija." The box was unusually large, featuring squares. Approximately 50 chess sets were made with original sets being very rare if not impossible to locate or buy. In a radio interview

Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Chess Champi ...

stated: "This 950 Dubrovnik chess setis the best set I have ever played on. It is marvellous. I don't have it."1950 Dubrovnik – Radio interview with Bobby Fischer
/ref> A chess collector provided a chess set after Fischer requested it for the 1992 Fischer–Spassky rematch held in

Sveti Stefan Sveti Stefan ( Montenegrin and Serbian: Свети Стефан, ; lit. "Saint Stephen") is a town in Budva Municipality, on the Adriatic coast of Montenegro, approximately southeast of Budva. The town is known for the Aman Sveti Stefan resort ...

Variants

The Dubrovnik design has influenced the creation of several chess set variants with a variety of names, including but not limited to, ''Zagreb'' and ''Yugoslavia''. 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 by Andrija Maurović, a famous

Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

, 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.

1970 variants

The initial 1950 Dubrovnik chess pieces, designed without spiritual symbols like a cross

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

atop the king or a miter on the bishops, prioritized tournament practicality with broader, sturdier bases. The Dubrovnik chess set underwent a redesign for the

19th Chess Olympiad The 19th Chess Olympiad (), comprising an open team tournament as well as the annual Fédération Internationale des Échecs, FIDE congress, took place between September 5–27, 1970, in Siegen, West Germany. The Soviet team with six Grandmaster ...

held at Siegen, West Germany, in 1970. This tournament gained fame for the showdown between

Boris Spassky Boris Vasilyevich Spassky (; January 30, 1937 – February 27, 2025) was a Russian chess grandmaster who was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 to 1972. Spassky played three world championship matches: he lost to Tigra ...

and Bobby Fischer, laying the groundwork for Fischer's 1972 World Championship match against Spassky. This famous match, however, did not use the Dubrovnik set, but the Bohemian German chess set that has a cross

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 documentary '' Bobby Fischer Against the World''.

Gallery

File:1950 Dubrovnik Kings with Staunton.JPG , 1950 Dubrovnik kings with Staunton kings side by side ( Dubrovnik, Staunton, Dubrovnik, Staunton) File:1950 Dubrovnik Bishops with Staunton.JPG , 1950 Dubrovnik bishops with Staunton bishops side by side ( Dubrovnik, Staunton, Dubrovnik, Staunton) File:1950 Dubrovnik Knights with Staunton.JPG , 1950 Dubrovnik knights with Staunton knights side by side ( Dubrovnik, Staunton, Dubrovnik, Staunton) File:1950 Dubrovnik Pawns Rooks Queens with Stauntons.JPG , 1950 Dubrovnik pawns, rooks, and queens with Staunton pieces side by side ( Staunton queen, Dubrovnik queen, Dubrovnik rook, Staunton rook, Staunton pawn, Dubrovnik pawn) File:1950 Dubrovnik Chess Set.JPG , 1950 Dubrovnik Chess Set manufactured 2015 by Chess Bazaar of IndiaThe Reproduction 1950 Dubrovnik Bobby Fischer Chess Set in Sheesham / Box Wood – 3.6" King

References

External links

History of Dubrovnik Chessmen Design
{{chess Chess sets

Chess set A chess set consists of a chessboard and White and Black in chess, white and black chess pieces for playing chess. There are sixteen pieces of each color: one King (chess), king, one Queen (chess), queen, two Rook (chess), rooks, two Bishop (chess ...