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Once upon a time, and a very good time it was, chess sets were often made of wood and always made by master craftsmen. Immortal names like "Jaques and Sons" and "Ayres" and "Uhlig" dominated the chess set market. After World War II a French firm, Lardy, set out to capture the wood chess set market. They made both high-end collector's sets and ready-market sets. This is one of the tournament sets made in the 1960s. Lardy is out of business, so this set is a collector's item, though you can use it for tournament play.
We call this a "Christmas set" as the felt is green. For the unusual red, see "Christmas Set #1." The kings are 3 3/4 inches tall with a 1 1/4 inch base. One of the Black rooks has some indignities on his crenellation. Please see my non-Sports Illustrated quality photographs.
All the pieces are in very good condition without any noticeable "Lardy Leans," a bending of the pieces by some loose lathe work. The men are weighted; The felt is good; we enclose them in an "Ashton" cigar box for storage.
We also add in this board. It is a vinyl board, as you can see in the photographs; the footprint of the board is 20 inches by 20; each square is 2 1/8 inches square. Board shipped separately.
I, Ed Yetman, have been a tournament director for 40 years and verify that this set is legal for tournament play according to the U.S. Chess Federation rules, though other directors may disagree.
A similar Lardy set recently sold at auction for $313.
We combine shipping! To combine, place all your purchases in the shopping cart and press "proceed to checkout." Follow us! We found a number of antique sets! We have an ongoing sale of 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st century chess clocks, books, and sets! Watch for our big sales!