1950 Official

1950 OFFICIAL - a new beginning

First crafted by Noj in 2026, the Dubrovnik 1950 Official is our most precise recreation of the original design to date.

Unlike our 2013 version, which was reproduced through careful manual measurement and freehand tracing, the Official edition is based on high-precision 3D scans of original pieces from the 1950 Dubrovnik Olympiad. We are deeply grateful to the family of Stojan Puc, who represented Yugoslavia at the 1950 Dubrovnik Olympiad, for kindly lending us their set for scanning and making the highest level of precision possible.

The Dubrovnik 1950 Official preserves everything that made the original legendary – smoothly curved lines, elegantly shaped profiles, opposite-color capped bishops, stable bases and the iconic knights. An immortal, timeless classic and Bobby Fischer's favorite, now recreated with a precision never before achieved in our workshop.

Originally crafted in an unknown workshop (believed to be in Serbia) in a limited run of just 50 sets, these pieces continue to show astonishing quality and craftsmanship 75 years later. While seven sets were presented to the gold-medal-winning Yugoslav team, the remaining ones were distributed or sold to individuals and other Olympiad participants.

Among those fortunate owners was the late Nikola Karaklajič from Serbia – a prominent chess player, trainer, author, and the chief arbiter of the 1992 Fischer–Spassky match in Sveti Štefan. At Fischer's express request, Karaklajič agreed to lend his set for the match, but unfortunately it was missing a few pieces. Resourceful as ever, Nikola borrowed them from an identical set belonging to a colleague.

After the match, this "mixed" set was acquired by a collector, Mr. Novica Matić from Novi Sad. A few years later, the pieces found a new home with a collector in Brazil, whose photograph (the original pieces photographed on the Dubrovnik city walls) also graces our website dubrovnikchessmen.com, dedicated to the great event of 1950.

Gallery

Dubrovnik 1950 Official, maple.

Dubrovnik 1950 Official, walnut.

Queens and knight of the Dubrovnik 1950 Official set.

Maple pieces, ready for the start of a game.

The beautiful Dubrovnik 1950 Official pieces on a chessboard.