Based on the Chigorin portrait, the antique set, and the 1999 article by Orhan Günsav.
This display features a historic Russian chess set alongside an original photograph of the legendary Russian chess master, Mikhail Chigorin (1850–1908). The accompanying 1999 article by Orhan Günsav former Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor and 20-year President of the Turkish Chess Federation details the dramatic history of how this set made its way to Turkey.
The Story of the Set: The article recounts the heavy emotional toll chess took on Chigorin, specifically after a heartbreaking loss to Steinitz in 1892. In a moment of despair, Chigorin burned his chess sets in his garden. He only saved one special set: a gift from the Russian Tsar.
The story of the specific set on display continues with Selim Palavan, the first Chess Champion of Turkey. Palavan’s family, who were Kazan Turks living in Russia, survived the revolution unharmed. In 1912, they were gifted a historical photograph of Chigorin alongside a chess set commissioned by the Tsar in his memory. During World War II, as the war reached Odesa, the family moved to Romania and eventually arrived in Istanbul in 1943, bringing the historic set with them.
Years later, Selim Palavan developed a deep bond with H. Sertaç Dalkıran. Translating directly from Orhan Günsav’s article, he describes how the set changed hands:
“Because of his playing style and his hard work for chess in our country, Palavan saw Dalkıran as the ‘Chigorin of Turkey.’ In his will, he gifted Dalkıran the historic chess set the Tsar had made in Chigorin’s memory, along with the old yellow photograph.”
Today, Dalkıran meticulously preserves this set side-by-side with Atatürk’s personal chess set.
