Spassky Fischer, Cy Endfield Travel Chess Set
Spassky Fischer, Cy Endfield Travel Chess Set
Spassky Fischer, Cy Endfield Travel Chess Set
Spassky Fischer, Cy Endfield Travel Chess Set
Spassky Fischer, Cy Endfield Travel Chess Set
Spassky Fischer, Cy Endfield Travel Chess Set
Spassky Fischer, Cy Endfield Travel Chess Set
Spassky Fischer, Cy Endfield Travel Chess Set
Spassky Fischer, Cy Endfield Travel Chess Set
Spassky Fischer, Cy Endfield Travel Chess Set

IC Design

Cy Endfield - Travel Chess Set

$690.00
SKU: IC-CYTC
Quantity:

Materials: Nickel Silver & 24K gold plated pieces (USA), Stainless Steel & ecologically neutral HPL board (Switzerland)

Dimensions: 
Board folded: 5 ½” x 2 ¾” x 5/8”; board open 10 ¾” square
Pieces: 1 3/8” height, ¾” diameter (king)

Made In: USA, Switzerland

Authorized by the Endfield Estate to Ameico Inc, New Milford CT

Spassky Fischer, Cy Endfield Travel Chess Set
Spassky Fischer, Cy Endfield Travel Chess Set
Cy Endfield Chess Set is endorsed by Frank Brady, Bobby Fischer friend and biographer,
Past Director of the Marshall Chess Club & 2022 World Chess Hall of Fame Inductee.

Cy Endfield

Cyril Raker Endfield majored in Drama at Yale while also studying mathematics, mechanical drawing and silversmithing. He occasionally worked as a professional sleight-of-hand magician and was admitted as a member of the Magic Castle in L.A. and the Magic Circle in London. Endfield assisted Orson Welles on Mercury Theater projects, then directed film noir classics such as The Underworld Story and The Sound of Fury. Blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1951, Endfield lived and worked in the U.K. for the rest of his life. There he directed such cult-classic films as Zulu, starring Michael Caine. His early friendship with Man Ray linked him to both chess and Modernist aesthetics. Endfield created this design in 1972. President of the International Chess Federation and former world chess champion Max Euwe chose the Endfield chess design as the Federation‘s sole commemorative chess set for the legendary World Chess Championship Match between American Bobby Fischer and Russian Boris Spassky. Marcel Duchamp had always emphasized portability and economy of means and Endfield created a set that was so innovative in its elegance, simplicity and practicality that he was granted a patent.

1972 World Chess Championship

Spassky Fischer

"Match of the Millenium"

One of the important battles in the cold war happened in 1972 in Reykjavík, Iceland. The battle happened over the chess board where Robert James Fischer from USA challenged Boris Spassky from USSR for the world title. The match attracted more interest than any other chess event before or since then, many consider it as the most important match of the 20th century.
Spassky Fischer, Cy Endfield Travel Chess Set

Boris Spassky

Boris Spassky was born in 1937 in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). Spassky learned to play chess at the age of 5 on a train evacuating from Leningrad during the siege of Leningrad in World War II. He first drew wide attention in 1947 at age 10, when he defeated Soviet champion Mikhail Botvinnik in a simultaneous exhibition in Leningrad. Since then he achieved lot of chess accomplishments but the most important probably happened in 1969 when he defeated Tigran Petrosian and became the world champion.
Spassky Fischer, Cy Endfield Travel Chess Set

Bobby Fischer

Bobby Fischer was born in 1943 and grew up in New York. From an early age Fisher showed remarkable chess prowess, at 14 he became the youngest ever US chess champion and at the age of 15 he became the youngest Grandmaster ever. He dominated candidates matches in 1971 like no one before and became an unavoidable challenge to USSR chess dominance.
Spassky Fischer, Cy Endfield Travel Chess Set

Pre-Match

Many psychological battles were fought before the match. Fischer’s excessive pre-match demands about lighting, tables, chairs, his hotel room view and the contrast of the chessboard squares (the chessboard even had to be remade at Fischer's request). Many times Fischer threatened not to participate in the match and his behavior contributed much confusion for game organizers and the Soviets. For Spassky the world championship had been almost entirely dominated by the USSR since the end of the Second World War, not many people believed that Fischer could change that. Spassky’s advantage was in his preparation and consul from a large team of past USSR grandmasters. Many saw the match as a battle between a lonely American genius against the mighty USSR chess machine.
Spassky Fischer, Cy Endfield Travel Chess Set

Best of 24 Games

The match began on July 11, 1972 as the best of 24 games, with wins counting 1 point and draws counting ½ point, and would end when one of the players scored 12½ points. If the match ended in a 12–12 tie, the defending champion (Spassky) would retain the title. In first game everyone expected a draw, Fischer made a huge blunder and lost the game. After he lost the first game Fischer requested that all the cameras should be removed from the playing hole. When they were not, he refused to appear for the second game giving Spassky a default win. The appeal was rejected. Some people believed Fisher’s actions were an attempt to upset Spassky's composure. The third game proved to be the turning point of the match. Fischer showed a deep understanding of the positions and won the game resulting in a 12.5 : 8.5 victory for Fisher.
Spassky Fischer, Cy Endfield Travel Chess Set

Fischer Wins

Fischer returned to the US a celebrity and appeared in many periodicals and prime time TV interviews. Fisher received numerous offers for product endorsements in the millions of dollars, all of which he declined. Fischer and Spassky met again in in 1992 for an unofficial rematch. Fischer won 10–5, with 15 draws.
Spassky Fischer

IC Design

Zurich-based IC Design specializes in the licensed re-editions of design classics and forgotten pieces by such visionaries as Man Ray, Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Antonia Campi. In so doing, it tells the story of the wealth of objects, toys of various kinds, in particular, created in the 20th century to enrich and embellish lives of increasing efficiency and leisure.

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