Thechessfactory is proud to present our representation of a design attributed to the 15th century. The original pieces were excavated in the Novgorod region of Russia and are one of the earliest known examples of turned pieces for playing the game of chess.

It is a fine example of the Arabic influence of stylized pieces and yet shows the evolution of the game. In this version, the king is czar. The queen's predecessor is a vizier, slightly less in stature and similar to the king. The bishop retains the Persian abstract, with a design feature that continued into the 19th century, a cleft, representative of an elephant's tusks. Our knight is a Russian postured horse's head. The rook was originally known asa middle eastern chariot that came to be a boat (ship) with the addition of the top V cut. Each pawn was a vassal of the czar and so imitate the king's general design.

Most of the original Novgorod pieces found were of wood, instead of the more typical bone or ivory of the time, and averaged about 1 1/2inch in height making the pawns extremely small. This set is made of natural horn and the king is a 4 inches in height for today's players. Although created to satisfy collectors, it is remarkably suited for play, even amongst players used to using the familiar Staunton style.