Description
Cuba, Havana 1966, competition chess set. Havana Chess Olympiad chess set. Complete set with white and black pieces executed in the Staunton style. The pieces are placed in two wooden boards and stored in a hardwood box with a carved relief representing a knight. Bears the label "Olimpiada Mundial de Ajedrez - 1966 - Oct-Nov - La Habana - XVII". Height of the king : 10 - Length : 45 - Width : 26 cm (a white fool damaged and deploded, the box scratched inside, the lock not functional). The 17th Olympiad took place from October 23 to November 20, 1966 in Havana, Cuba. It was one of the most challenging chess tournaments of all time: Petrossian, Spassky, Tal, Kortchnoi, Fischer, Benko, Evans having distinguished themselves there. Five years after the Bay of Pigs episode, Fidel Castro is at the top of his glory, as is Ernesto Guevara (already gone to Bolivia) who unfortunately will not attend the tournament (Che dies assassinated one year later). In a context of Cold War, this tournament of international dimension will be the subject of many press articles. On the photos of the time, we can see the players fighting each other on sixty-four squares. The pieces used are those we present here or those of other identical games of this historical tournament.
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Cuba, Havana 1966, competition chess set. Havana Chess Olympiad chess set. Complete set with white and black pieces executed in the Staunton style. The pieces are placed in two wooden boards and stored in a hardwood box with a carved relief representing a knight. Bears the label "Olimpiada Mundial de Ajedrez - 1966 - Oct-Nov - La Habana - XVII". Height of the king : 10 - Length : 45 - Width : 26 cm (a white fool damaged and deploded, the box scratched inside, the lock not functional). The 17th Olympiad took place from October 23 to November 20, 1966 in Havana, Cuba. It was one of the most challenging chess tournaments of all time: Petrossian, Spassky, Tal, Kortchnoi, Fischer, Benko, Evans having distinguished themselves there. Five years after the Bay of Pigs episode, Fidel Castro is at the top of his glory, as is Ernesto Guevara (already gone to Bolivia) who unfortunately will not attend the tournament (Che dies assassinated one year later). In a context of Cold War, this tournament of international dimension will be the subject of many press articles. On the photos of the time, we can see the players fighting each other on sixty-four squares. The pieces used are those we present here or those of other identical games of this historical tournament.
