TOOLS OF A CHESS ADDICT

 It's been a while since I've restrained myself from buying anymore chess sets, but I could not resist adding a few more this year with good bargains coming past.  The Bronstein Set (aka GM2) from HOS was a godsend when I was browsing for a used one in ETSY - with a good USD200 after a 25% discount, it was a no brainer. Bronstein beat Tal in 1968 with the King's Gambit on this set (after which the pieces were christened the "Bronstein" set). The Drueke Player's Choice had a remake from the 2017 version where the Knight was perfected. At the last Black Friday sale by HOS I had to bag this one: Only the 2022 version will beat this one but I don't think I'd spend another USD50 more for it, so this is fine by me.  That's it for 2023!

 When I discovered the shipping agent MyGermany.com, my interest in German Sets was kindled.  Many of the German sellers in ebay do not ship out to Singapore so having myGermany as a shipping agent certainly helps in aggregating my purchases. I managed to get a good bargain for many of the sets from Germany but here I shall concentrate on the art and tournament sets which are distinctively German in design. The above is a Swiss HUK set with a 2.5" King , in good condition Here we have a German art set unweighed but comes in a nice case I sold my first Bayerwald and got this one which I still hold dear  Other than the Bohemian dog-faced Knight, the Dragon knight version is also ecstatic in look This is an unknown design I acquired, hopefully the experts can help me identify it? It was love at first sigh to get this art set which encompasses several designs, like the Lardish knight, the unique Palma de Majorca King and Queen... The final acquisition from Germany which featu...

I am intrigued by sets used in major tournaments in major chess-playing countries, including those that were  featured in World Championships. UNITED STATES   The W T Pinney Liberty set was a main feature in the 1940s as the set used in the US Championships where players like Isaac Kashdan, Reuben Fine, Samuel Reshevsky and Al Horowitz were contending for the title of US Champion. I did not acquire the Windsor Castle set as it was plastic-based.   Next was the Herman Steiner set which was used in the 2 Piatigorsky Cup tournaments in the 1960s.     The Drueke was featured in the Lone Pine series of tournaments held in the 1970s and early 80s, followed by the New York Open in the 80s and 90s before the Sinquefield Cup tournaments reestablished the US as a major international tournament scene from 2010 till present. The 2014 version had elegant Knights, which was improved in the 2017 edition below. BRAZIL The other South American set that came my way was gener...