Showing posts with label eBay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eBay. Show all posts

04 May 2025

'WOW!' Capablanca Signed Letters

In this long running series on Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010; already 15 years and still chugging along), autographed items pop up frequently. Autographs by World Champions, where the previous post was Lasker's Future Community (December 2024; book '1940 signed by Emanuel Lasker'), are particularly sought after. For this post I noticed four similar items, pictured below.

The item in the top left was titled, 'WOW! Letter 1903 Chess Legend Jose Raul Capablanca AUTOGRAPH SIGNED'. It sold for '$1,599.99 or Best Offer', which was around $1500. The other three items appear to have sold for their asking price.

The titles of those three items were nearly identical to the top left 'Letter 1903', i.e. 'Letter 1904', 'Letter 1898', and 'Letter 1908'. All four letters sold in April, within a span of three weeks.

What were the letters about? Only the buyers can answer that question. The descriptions of the four items were just copies of their titles, adding no other information.

For a previous auction from another seller -- 'Signed by famous actor and chess player Jose R Capablanca' -- see Not a Coincidence (August 2019). A few years ago I corresponded with a collector of chess autographs. He signed off the conversation saying,

Of course I can't guarantee that all my chess autographs are genuine, but I mostly buy from people I think I can trust. Besides, who would try to sell fake chess autographs? There is much more money to be made with movie stars, musicians and sportsheroes.

I would compare collecting autographs to hunting wild mushrooms. If you don't know what you're doing (and I don't) you risk getting a belly ache. For more about the subject, see ChessAutographs.com (May 2016).

06 April 2025

Pocket Money

In the long running series (more than 15 years) about Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010), I've never flagged a no-brainer. If there was ever a candidate for 'no-brainer', this is it.

The item below was titled 'Chess Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen's #JeansGate Jeans'. It sold for US $36.100 after 94 bids from 22 bidders. The price doubled in the last minute of bidding as two bidders slugged it out for possession of the jeans.

In the photo from the auction shown above, apparently from the '#JeansGate' incident, I've added a small inset showing the auction item. The description of the item started with an explanation of #JeansGate:-

On December 27th, 2024, Five-Time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen was unpaired in the 9th round of FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York City after refusing to change out of a pair of jeans in the playing hall. This interaction, both his refusal and interaction with the arbiter in the room, was dubbed by the chess community as #JeansGate and set the world on fire, gaining hundreds of millions of social media and mainstream news impressions in the week following.

Now, GM Carlsen is looking to bring that piece of chess history to auction in support of an impactful cause - Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS). The jeans that Magnus wore that day, certified and authenticated by Chess.com and the World #1 himself, are up for auction with all proceeds of the sale going to support youth mentorship at chess clinics, community events, and beyond, to build connection, belonging, and enrich the lives of young people through the game.

The description continued,

About the jeans:-
Brand: Corneliani
Color: Blue
Size: 32
Inseam: 28 inches
Waist: 18 inches (measured across)
Condition: Worn by Magnus Carlsen

The jeans come with a signed certificate of authenticity from GM Magnus Carlsen.

For another mention of the jeans incident on this blog, see World Championship Yahoos 2024 (December 2024). I don't see that the incident qualifies for 'Gate' status (e.g. 'Watergate'), but chess players live in their own world.

The seller was listed as 'matchfireauctions3b'. The auction description carried a long explanation that started with:-

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who is Matchfire?
A: The selling party has retained Matchfire (The Matchfire Group) to manage this auction. Matchfire provides a comprehensive auction management service focused on creating successful high-value, high-profile promotional auctions for charities, nonprofit organizations and top brand companies. Matchfire is a promotional agency which helps define client brand promotional strategy through auctions, delivers creative design, and manages operations of feature online auctions for maximum visibility of well-known brands, media companies, charities, nonprofits, public relations firms and advertising agencies.

Q: Is Bidder Pre-Qualification necessary to participate in this auction?
A: All bidding activity below $5,000 does not need to be pre-qualified. Fixed price listings do not require prequalification.

Bidding above $5,000 must be Pre-Qualified. Click here to fill out the secure Bidder Pre-Qualification form. In order to help ensure a smooth and successful auction experience, Matchfire will be performing Bidder Pre-Qualification for this auction. Fixed price listings do not require prequalification.

What did one pair of jeans say to the other? 'You’re looking a little worn out today!'

02 March 2025

More Fun Tops Eerie

First question: How much artwork has been featured in the long running series Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010)? In last month's post, A Sammarinese Artist (February 2025), I wrote, 'I almost always go for any artwork', so there must have been plenty.

Second question: How much of that artwork has featured comic books? It turns out not to be so much, because I count exactly six posts.

The title of the item pictured below was 'MORE FUN COMICS #76 CGC VG 4.0; OW; Dr. Fate chess cover! Scarce!' It sold for 'US $1,350.00 or Best Offer', where that USD number looks to be close to the real price.

The description just repeated the title. Fortunately, there are resources elsewhere, like More Fun Comics Vol 1 76 (dc.fandom.com; 'DC database'). There we learn that this particular comic was published February 1942. If we go back to a post from almost two years ago, Eerie Tops Strange (May 2023), I noted,

'Strange Adventures #35' [...] sold for US $643.93 • 'Eerie Adventures' comic [...] was considerably more than the 'Strange Adventures' comic.

It looks like we've upped the ante again. For my take on comic book prices, see the first of the six 'Top eBay Chess Items' posts featuring a comic, Batman Plays Chess with the Joker (December 2011), especially the last paragraph.

***

This month will see the 15th anniversary of 'Top eBay Chess Items by Price'. Am I looking forward to another 15 years? Hardly!

02 February 2025

A Sammarinese Artist

Several months ago, in Incarcerated, Self-taught, and Legally Blind (July 2024), I wrote,

When there are several choices on the short list for a new month's edition of Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010), I almost always go for any artwork.

Here's that link again -- Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010) -- and here's another example of artwork, one of two I had on the short list. The item pictured below was titled 'Nicoletta Ceccoli Limited Edition Print FOR YOUR EYES ONLY Signed by the Artist!'. It sold for 'US $375.00 or Best Offer', and as far as I can tell that US$ amount was the final selling price.

The description said,

Released in 2014
Signed by the Artist Nicoletta Ceccoli!
Unframed dimensions: 19 x 20"
Edition Number: 78/100
Edition size: 100 + 10 Artist Proofs (AP)
Medium: Archival Pigment Ink on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Paper 308 g/m

Short Bio: Nicoletta Ceccoli was born in San Marino Italy and graduated from the Institute of Art in Urbino. Her paintings are beautiful and intriguing, consistently striking a delicate balance between disturbing and enchanting. At first glance, her work masquerades as youthful and innocent but a darker narrative inevitably unfolds.

Each painting is rife with symbolism that sparks the viewer's imagination and inspires a deeper level of consideration. Ceccoli's work has been exhibited worldwide including solo exhibitions in the US, Italy and France. The artist works in seclusion deep within the Italian countryside.

Re 'rife with symbolism', 'sparks the viewer's imagination', and 'inspires a deeper level of consideration', I don't get it here. Maybe I'm just too close to the subject of chess. For more about the artist, see Nicoletta Ceccoli (wikipedia.org; 'Nicoletta Ceccoli (born 1973) is a Sammarinese artist who is known for her richly detailed, dreamlike work.').

05 January 2025

Nice Chess Sweater

Items featured in Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010) often repeat. A couple of months ago we had More Piggybanx Chess (November 2024), where two more of the same item sold in December for somewhat less after many bids.

A couple of months before 'Piggybanx Chess' we had Ugly Chess Jacket (September 2024), with a couple of links for 'previous top eBay items in the clothing category'. There's nothing ugly about the item pictured below, titled 'Rowing Blazer Lewis Chessmen Chess Sweater'. It sold for 'US $500.00 or Best Offer', which appears to be close to the final price.

The description said,

Introducing the Lewis Chessmen Chess Sweater by Rowing Blazers [NB: 'New York' according to the label], a stylish and comfortable sweater perfect for any occasion. This sweater, made from high-quality knit fabric, is designed for men with a regular size type and comes in a classic black/white color.

While I was preparing this post, I saw the same item titled, 'Rowing Blazers Lewis Chessman Knitted Chess Sweater Size XL', where a different seller was asking for 'US $297.50 or Best Offer'. The item pictured above was described as 'New with tags: A brand-new, unused, and unworn item', but the item currently for sale was described as 'Very Good pre-owned condition, no holes'. That probably accounts for the difference in price.

Neither item has anything to do with the Lewis chess pieces, about which there have been several posts on this blog. The style of the pieces on the sweater is often used in printed diagrams of chess positions. The design undoubtedly has a name and must be in the public domain.

01 December 2024

Lasker's Future Community

We don't often see books for the monthly post in the long-running series on Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010). The visuals are seldom attractive and the narrative is rarely compelling.

Although I had plenty of more attractive choices on this month's short list, I have a soft spot for the second World Champion. Titled, '1940 SIGNED by Emanuel LASKER INSCRIBED to Lotte JACOBI Society Chess Book RARE', the Lasker book pictured below sold for $850.00, 'Buy It Now'.

The description was written by someone who knows the item well.

'The Community of the Future' by Emanuel Lasker M.J. Bernin, Publisher. New York. 1940. 1st Edition. Signed. Inscribed.

5 1/2 x 7 3/4 inches. Hardcover. 1-295, [1] pp. Very good. Spine faded. Some wear, minor loss to spine along back gutter at the head. Internally near fine; clean, tight, unmarked. Signed/inscribed by Lasker in ink on front free endpaper’s verso: “Lotte Jacobi with kind greetings. Emanuel Lasker. June 7th, 40.” Nice and attractive.

The last book by Emanuel Lasker (1868-1941), a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially recognized World Chess Champion in history. In 'The Community of the Future' Lasker is proposing solutions for serious political problems, including anti-Semitism and unemployment.

Inscribed to Lotte Jacobi (1896-1990), a leading American portrait photographer and photojournalist, known for her high-contrast black-and-white portrait photography, characterized by intimate, sometimes dramatic, sometimes idiosyncratic and often definitive humanist depictions of both ordinary people in the United States and Europe and some of the most important artists, thinkers and activists of the 20th century.

For a previous eBay 'Top Item by Price' featuring a Lasker book, see Lasker's Manual Autographed (March 2017).

03 November 2024

More Piggybanx Chess

I've been posting about the series Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010), for so long -- 15 years next March -- that I can barely remember all the different bits and pieces of info behind each post. Consider the following item.

Titled 'Piggybanx 1/1 Chess Piece Matte Variation Moneky D. Luffy', it sold for 'US $2,000.00 or Best Offer'. It was higher in the list of sold items than another chess item that sold for $1826 after 35 bids, so we can accept that the real price was higher than that.

'Piggybanx'. Where have we seen that before on this blog? It turns out that I featured another item earlier this year, A Goat Says, 'It's Chess Not Checkers' (February 2024), where I wrote,

The best items featured on 'Top eBay Chess Items by Price' are those that lead to other avenues of inquiry: 'What is this?' and 'What is that?'

And, yes, that item was also Piggybanx. For this current post I'll show both the front and the back of the Piggybanx card.

Since the item's description simply repeated its title, let's record the 'Item specifics' for posterity:-

Unit of Sale : Single Piece
Signed : Yes
Title : piggybanx 1/1 chess piece
Material : Glass
Framing : Framed
Subject : Anime, Art, Card
Type : Card
Year of Production : 2024
Original/Licensed Reproduction : Original
Style : 3D, Abstract, Art Nouveau
Theme : Art
Country/Region of Manufacture : United States

The first question that comes to mind is the name in the title, 'Moneky D. Luffy'. Is that first name a typo? Yessiree, Bob, it is. According to the Wikipedia page Monkey D. Luffy (wikipedia.org),

Monkey D. Luffy, also known as "Straw Hat" Luffy, is a fictional character and the protagonist in the Japanese manga series One Piece created by Eiichiro Oda. Luffy made his debut as a young boy who acquires the properties of rubber after accidentally eating one of the Devil Fruits that belonged to "Red Hair" Shanks.

The second question that comes to mind is how chess fits into our narrative. Repeating the relevant portions of the item specifics gives:-

'Title : piggybanx 1/1 chess piece'
'Unit of Sale : Single Piece'

That didn't help at all. I failed to answer the second question, but I didn't try very hard. Maybe I'll come back to it some other time.

The third question that comes to mind is why the item is worth $2000. I could probably spend an inordinate amount of time and never find an answer. It's just the way it is.

06 October 2024

Wikipedia to Trading Cards to eBay

At the beginning of every month, in preparation for the monthly post on Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010), I prepare a short list of top items sold in the previous month. The items on the short list often repeat previous posts in the series. For example, this month I had on the short list (listed from least expensive to most expensive):-

At the top and bottom of that list I could have added a couple of paintings by Ukrainian artists. Normally I like artwork as the basis for an eBay post, but neither of the paintings inspired me.

Instead of those choices I picked an item titled, '2023 The Chess 16 cards lot'. It sold for US $850.00 'Buy It Now', along with the mentions 'Other people bought this. [one] has already sold' and 'Condition: Used'. Only the first card in the series, pictured below, was shown in the auction.

The description of the auction said,

List of cards:
#2 Emanuel Lasker
#3 Jose Raul Capablanca
[...]
#12 Anatoly Karpov
#13 Garry Kasparov

These were followed by #14 through #17: Kramnik, Anand, Carlsen, and Ding Liren. Any casual fan of chess history will recognize the World Champions, where the post-Kasparov names are those generally accepted by public opinion (apologies to Alexander Khalifman and the other FIDE Champions who aren't on the list).

Where's '#1 Wilhelm Steinitz', who is shown on the card? Although the title of the auction says, '16 cards', '#17 Ding Liren' appears to have been added afterwards, since his name was listed using a different font. I bet that the set includes '17 cards'.

The back of the Steinitz card says, '(c) 2023 The History of Chess. All rights reserved'. The text of the card starts,

Wilhelm Steinitz was a Bohemian-Austrian and, later, American chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first World Chess Champion.

It doesn't take much sleuth work to discover that the text on the card is copied verbatim from the Wikipedia page Wilhelm Steinitz (wikipedia.org). The image on the front of the card is also the same as Steinitz's likeness on the Wikipedia page.

It turns out that all of the individual cards in the card set are available from the eBay seller's store. Some of the cards have the same color as the featured Steinitz card; these each sell for '$49.00 Buy It Now + $29.00 shipping from United States'. Other cards are colored in gray; these sell for '$99.00 Buy It Now + $29.00 [etc. etc.]'. There are a couple of other Karpov cards, both with 'RC Rookie Chess RARE' in their titles, selling for $499.00 each plus shipping. I've seen both cards on eBay, selling for a small percentage of that price. It's hard to imagine that anyone would be gullible enough to pay that sort of money for those cards, but who knows?

01 September 2024

Ugly Chess Jacket

And I mean that in the kindest way, like 'Ugly Christmas Sweater'. English speaking visitors to this blog might be surprised to know that the famous sweaters are known and sought after internationally. Will chess jackets also catch on?

This latest post for Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010), features an item titled, 'Kidsuper Chess Not Checkers Corduroy Blazer - Size Large - Brown - NEW'. It sold for US$ 335.00, 'Buy It Now'.

The description said,

Condition:
New with tags: A brand-new, unused, and unworn item (including handmade items) in the original ...
Brand:
Kidsuper
Type:
Blazer
Size Type:
Regular
Size:
L
Style:
Pea Coat
Outer Shell Material:
Cotton
Department:
Men
Color:
Brown
Fabric Type:
Corduroy

For previous top eBay items in the clothing category, see:-

By coincidence, a used ('Pre-owned' in eBay jargon) jacket of exactly the same type was being offered on eBay for US$ 365.99. Are ugly Christmas sweaters also worth more used?

04 August 2024

Can Monkeys Play Chess?

By some curious coincidence, this month's post in the series Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010), echoes last month's Flickr post, 'Interspecies Friendships' and Chess (July 2024). The July post started,

A good subtitle to that title would be 'Don't play chess with a monkey'.

The title of the eBay item shown below was 'Small Antique Early 20th C. Franz Bergman Vienna Bronze Monkeys Playing Chess'. It sold for 'US $695.00 Best offer accepted or Best Offer', where the number must have been close to the final selling price.

The description said,

Franz Xavier Bergman (Austrian, 1861-1936). • Size approx: 3-1/2 x 3 x 1-7/8 in. • Weight approx: 284 grams

You are bidding on a small antique early-20th century cold-painted bronze figure group of monkeys playing chess by renowned Vienna artist 'Franz Bergman'. Each figure is signed/marked/numbered as seen in photos.

Condition Report: Some surface wear, paint loss and one table leg with slight bend as shown, dirty/dusty from years of storage, needs cleaning.

The last time we saw Bergman on this blog was Cold Painted Cats (December 2022). That post included some biographical material.

07 July 2024

Incarcerated, Self-taught, and Legally Blind

When there are several choices on the short list for a new month's edition of Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010), I almost always go for any artwork. Looking at recent posts I was surprised to discover that the last featured artwork was over a year ago in Baffling eBay (April 2023).

The artwork pictured below was titled, 'Original Painting African American Children Oil Pastels Unframed Signed' The price was given as 'US $825.00; Best offer accepted or Best Offer' (whatever that all means). Judging by its position in the list of sold items, it appears to have sold for $750.

The description said,

This is a one of a kind original painting. Johnnie, an African American artist is incarcerated, has been painting about five years and is self taught. He has donated many of his paintings to support a program that allows men to earn their college degrees while behind bars and has also donated paintings to the American Glaucoma Foundation. He has a rare eye disorder and is diagnosed as legally blind but still manages to create beautiful works of art.

This is titled "We Are Resilient, Make Your Move", hand painted in oil and oil pastels on canvas. It is unframed and signed, H24" X W18".

The artist is incarcerated, self taught, and legally blind. The title of the work ('We Are Resilient...') was written its back.

02 June 2024

Everybody Loves Morphy

A couple of months ago in this series on Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010), the post of the month was Morphy Unpublished (April 2024). There I wrote,

On this blog's long running series 'Top eBay Chess Items', Morphy items are not unusual. Having said that, it's been a few years since the previous post on Morphy.

And here we are again. The item pictured below was titled '1860 Sage Token No. 3 Paul Morphy Chess King Harrwitz & Staunton Copper Plated', and carried the note 'AU Details, copper plate white metal'. It sold for US $2225.00 after 34 bids from eight bidders. After a starting price of $0.99, in the last hour of the auction the price rose almost 50% from $1501.

The description started by echoing the title,

1860 Sage Historical Token No. 3, AU Details, copper plate white metal.

Then quoted most of the token's inscription,

[Front:] Paul Morphy, The American Chess King. [Back:] He Has Beaten Harrwitz In Chess Playing And Staunton In Courtesy • No. 3 Aug. 8. [Sage's Odds and Ends]

Then added,

Sage's Historical Tokens (150-250).

I couldn't find much about the tokens, although I didn't look very hard. The page A.B. Sage Series | Coin Census Population Report | NGC (ngccoin.com; NGC Census : US Tokens & Medals : A.B. Sage Series), mentions the Morphy token twice.

05 May 2024

1976 U.S. Junior (Closed)

In this monthly series on Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010), the sellers often label their items as 'Rare' or 'Amazing'. More often than not, a more appropriate label would be 'Commonplace' or 'Banal'.

The item pictured below was titled 'Amazing Chess History - 8 Autographs'. I won't argue with the adjective here, although 'Rare' or 'One of a Kind' would be equally appropriate. The autographed photo sold for 'US $450.00 Best offer accepted'. Despite eBay's usual obfuscation of the actual selling price, the stated price appears to be close to the actual price.


Left to right: Tisdall, Regan, Seirawan, Henley, Diesen, Fedorowicz, Rohde, DeFirmian.

The description said,

Amazing photo of the 1976 US Junior Chess Championship. Signed by all eight players. This is an amazing piece of chess history. It is signed by six Grandmasters and two International Masters. [...; full names, titles, and ratings for all players] This is NOT something you will see again.

A link titled 'I want to know more!' led to "Fed" Up With Chess? / John's First Visit (memphischessclub.blogspot.com; May 2012). The blog post started,

What a wonderful season the summer of 1976 was in the Bluff City. The United States was preparing to celebrate the bicentennial in July, but before that national event the Memphis Chess Club was presenting the city's chess players a miraculous moment, the 11th U.S. Junior Invitational Championship Chess Tournament; this Memphis event would be repeated only once more in 1978, and in both events, John Fedorowicz participated.

'Fed' was and still is a nickname for Fedorowicz. The September 1976 issue of Chess Life & Review carried a report on the tournament. Titled 'U.S. Junior Invitational Championship' by Carol Little, ITD, it started,

The 11th Annual U.S. Junior Invitational Championship, held in Memphis, Tennessee, June 20-26. was won by Mark Diesen of Potomac, Maryland. and Michael Rohde of South Orange, New Jersey. They each had a score of 5 points and were declared Co-Champions.

This did present a problem for the USCF: Who was going to represent the U.S. in the Netherlands later this year? After a long-distance call to the New Windsor office, an equitable solution was agreed upon by both players, and Mark Diesen will go to Holland as the U.S representative to the World Junior Championship.

The 1976 U.S. Junior Championship was the first national tournament to be held in the Mid-South since the Western Open Championship, the forerunner of the U.S. Open, was held in Memphis in 1914.

The Wikipedia page John Fedorowicz (wikipedia.org) says, 'co-winner of the 1977 U.S. Junior Championship (with Kenneth Regan) and outright winner in 1978'. Somewhat curiously, the same page carries no link to a separate page on the series of U.S. Junior championships.

07 April 2024

Morphy Unpublished

On this blog's long running series, Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010), Morphy items are not unusual. Having said that, it's been a few years since the previous post on Morphy.

The item pictured below was titled 'Unpublished CDV of Paul Charles MORPHY CHESS PRODIGY Playing a Game 1860s Photo'. It sold for US $2158.00 after 19 bids from seven bidders. On a starting price of $30.00, the bids jumped from $150.00 to the final price in the last 20 minutes of the seven day auction.


Left: Front • Right: Back

The description said,

Very rare image of Charles Morphy playing a game of chess. Unidentified photographer, 1860s. Original albumen print CDV. Overall measures approx. 4 x 2.5 inches. Condition is very good.

The back of the CDV says,

Charles Morphy
1837-1884
New Orleans
American Chess Prodigy

Although the year of death on a CDV dating from the '1860s' raises a question or two, I assume the bidders did their homework. As for my statement at the beginning that 'Morphy items are not unusual', I located three previous posts:-

The latest auction was the first in the series to sell at four figures. Another relevant post was:-

A quick search of Google Images confirmed that the CDV indeed appears to be 'Unpublished'. How long will it take for someone else to 'publish' it?

***

Later: After a helpful comment on this post (see below), I copied the image from the linked article ('Visions of Morphy' on Chess.com). Then I copied the original image for this post (on eBay), converted it to grayscale, and flipped it to place 'Morphy' on the right. The following composite image shows both images side-by-side.

Left: Elkin - Morphy • Right: Elkin(?) - Morphy(?)

(Can be enlarged; e.g. open in new tab)

In my opinion, the players on the left are younger than the players on the right. On the left, Elkin is about the same size as Morphy; on the right, Elkin(?) is taller than Morphy(?). The face of Elkin on the left is not the same as Elkin(?) on the right, esp. the nose. I don't think the two 'Elkin's are the same person.

Other, more expert opinions are welcome.

03 March 2024

Polgar Plus Seirawan GT Nakamura

A few months ago, also for the long-running series Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010), we saw Chess Rookie Card (November 2023). I recorded the basic info for that auction as,

The item pictured below was titled 'Hikaru Nakamura #390 American Chess Equipment Ultimate Card Auto'. It sold for around $500, 'Best offer accepted'.

For this month's post we have two more cards in the series, both pictured below. The titles of the auctions are large enough to be readable, but I'll copy them here for the benefit of the search engines:-

  • Susan Polgar #390 American Chess Equipment Ultimate Card Auto - NM
  • Yasser Seirawan #256 American Chess Equipment Ultimate Card Auto - NM

As you can see, the Polgar card sold for $299.00 'or Best Offer' and the Seirawan card for $299.00 'Best offer accepted'. Since the cards were displayed one over the other in a list sorted by descending price, I suppose they sold for close to the same amount.

The description for the Polgar card added,

This is an extremely rare American Chess Equipment card. The card is hand-numbered and signed by Grandmaster Susan Polgar.

The Seirawan card had identical text -- other than the name -- as did the earlier Nakamura card, so I suppose all three cards were from the same seller. The various abbreviations used in the auction were explained in the Nakamura post and I won't repeat them here.

In that previous post I wondered about the original selling price of the Nakamura card. Thanks to an anonymous comment I was informed, 'The Hikaru cost $8.00 at the time' along with a URL to the original product page. I'll leave it to interested parties to locate the two cards mentioned on this current post.

04 February 2024

A Goat Says, 'It's Chess Not Checkers'

The best items featured on Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010) are those that lead to other avenues of inquiry: 'What is this?' and 'What is that?' The item pictured below was titled 'Piggybanx Tom Brady Refractor 1/1 Chess Not Checkers Patriots'. It sold 'Pre-Owned' for $600.00 or 'Best Offer'.

The description of the item added only,

Piggybanx Tom Brady 1/1 Refractor. It is missing one screw for the box; it came that way. Otherwise a very nice card.

'Tom Brady' is easy enough, especially if you follow American football. In Tom Brady (wikipedia.org), Wikipedia informs,

Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots and was a central contributor to the franchise's dynasty from 2001 to 2019. In his final three seasons, he was a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady is widely regarded as the greatest quarterback of all time

'Piggybanx' leads to piggybanx (@piggy_banx; instagram.com). The cards on display there mostly use the same style header as on the Tom Brady card. The page explains itself as:-

Pop Culture Inspired Concept Art • Medium: Cards • Rarest in the World. No Commissions. No Customs.

As for '1/1 Refractor', Wikipedia comes to the rescue again. In Refractor card (wikipedia.org), we learn,

A Refractor Card is a trading card that has a reflective coating and displays a rainbow when held at a specific angle. They are parallels of base set issues and were introduced with the release of the 1993 Topps "Baseball's Finest" set.

Later on the same page, we find,

The rarest refractor variant is called the "SuperFractor". It is a card that has a production run of just 1 and is serial numbered 1/1.

The phrase that ties the eBay item to this blog is 'Chess Not Checkers'. The page Tom Brady Doubles Down on NFL Criticism: 'Way More Checkers Now Than It Is Chess' (bleacherreport.com), quotes something that Brady said in November 2023:-

I think the pro game is reflecting more of what the college game is, as opposed to the college game reflecting what the pro game is. We're asking pro players to play college football, and that's the biggest difference I see. This is way more checkers now than it is chess.

If you look carefully at the card, you'll see that the White pieces are checker, not chess, pieces. On top of that, there's a goat hanging from Brady's neck. As we all know by now, GOAT stands for 'Greatest Of All Time', which echoes Wikipedia's 'greatest quarterback of all time'.

07 January 2024

In the Style of ...

In the ongoing series dedicated to chess on eBay Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010), last month's post was Fischer - Spassky Top Items (December 2023). I wrote,

My short list for this post had a dozen items, any one of which could have been featured for the post.

This month the situation was the opposite; my short list had zero items. I looked at twice the number of eBay pages that I usually do, came up empty handed, then looked at a number of related ideas and again came up empty handed. What to do? I decided to look again at the page of the most expensive items, concentrating on chess sets, which I often exclude from the short list because there are so many of them.

The item I finally chose was titled, 'RARE 1960s Giacometti STYLE Brutalist Bronze Chess Set'. It sold for US $1500.00 'Best offer accepted or Best Offer', which appeared to be close to the asking price.

Why did I choose this chess set instead of one of the other dozen in the top results? I've posted a couple of times on the brutalist style, where the first time was Brutalism in Chess (July 2011), and where I asked, 'What exactly does 'brutalist' mean?' I still don't understand the term very well. The description of the chess set pictured above said,

32 unique ultra rare chess pieces cast by hand in the brutalist Giacometti mid-century style. The King is 6.5" high; see photos. 16 pieces are a darker bronze and the other 16 are a lighter bronze look.

Rook, Seahorse, Bishop with spear, tall Queen, lofty King and bow-tied warriors -- a truly unique inspirational ensamble of chess pieces that is one of a kind in the world and will fascinate and find its new owner. Each of these chess pieces is a work of art in its own right and owes this wonderfully beautiful patina to the fact that the chessmen had been forgotten in a wine cellar for decades.

The patina does not rub off on the skin or when touched. The chess pieces are playable. I do not have the original board. I am selling the set as it is.

The board is obviously too small for the pieces. The bases of the 'Seahorse' Knights on b1 and b8 are larger than the squares on the board. As for Giacometti, his Wikipedia page, Alberto Giacometti (wikipedia.org), says,

Giacometti was one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century. His work was particularly influenced by artistic styles such as Cubism and Surrealism.

The page doesn't mention Brutalism, but other pages do. For example, 'sculpture in the Brutalist style of Giacometti'. That's almost exactly what the description of our chess pieces said.

18 December 2023

Chessman Comics

A new Monday series, where last week's post was Fischer vs. Carlsen (December 2023), reminded me of an idea that has long been on the back burner. The following composite image is from two eBay auctions that took place in October 2001. I've always wanted to learn more about the two comics and now is the time.

The descriptions for the two auctions said,

Left: 'Chessman #1 comic was the brainchild of IM John Watson and inventor of Chessman and artist for this issue, Chris [Christine] Hendrickson. 20 pages. Autographed (for me personally) by Chris Hendickson. Magazine/comic is very clean and is in very good to fine condition with no markings. Only two issues of Chessman exist, #1 & #2 (see my other auctions for #2). Only 100 copies were produced.'

Right: 'The Incredible Adventures of CHESSMAN presents "Treachery in Transylvania!" Comic. Brainchild of IM John Watson & artist Chris Hendrickson who invented Chessman and did art work in first issue. Comic, issued in 1982, has 44(!) pages chock full of chess adventures and great artwork. Chessman #1 comic had a printing of only 100 copies; I do not know what the printing was, however, on this issue. ONLY TWO ISSUES EXIST, #1 & #2 Bonus: autograph (I obtained personally) of Chris Hendrickson is on the copyright page after: "Special thanks to Chris Hendrickson for permission to use character Chessman" '

The October 1979 issue of Chess Life (p.577) included a three page comic titled, 'Chessman: The Cosmic Chessplayer' by Watson and Hendrickson. For another blog looking at 'Chessman', see John Watson and Chessman Comics (zanchess.wordpress.com; February 2015), including links to other resources. For more about Chessman's author, see John L. Watson (wikipedia.org); the entry is now somewhat dated.

03 December 2023

Fischer - Spassky Top Items by Price

After so many years of following Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010), I've learned that eBay auctions follow seasonal trends. For example, the months preceeding the year-end holidays generally have more items than the months following the holidays

This year is no exception and my short list for this post had a dozen items, any one of which could have been featured for the post. By coincidence, the three most expensive items on the list were all related to the 1972 Fischer - Spassky match. Two of those items are pictured below.

Top photo: The item was titled '1972 Chess Championship Spassky vs Fischer Board Position Postcard'. It was listed at US $1,499.99 and sold 'Best offer accepted'. This appears to have been close to the listed price. The description said,

For sale is the complete 1972 World Chess Championship - Boris Spassky vs Bobby Fischer - Final Position Postcards for all games 1-21. Incredible rare set to find even just one of the cards and this is the whole match! You may never see anything like this again! All are postcards printed in Reykjavik with stamps commemorating the match on the front.

The cards show the final position for all games in chronological order; see, for example, the game 2 forfeit by Fischer (top row, second from left) which shows the start position where no moves have been played. Fischer had the White pieces in the game.

While philatelic items related to the 1972 match are common on eBay, they usually fall well under the range for the 'Top Items by Price' series. I had to go back to Fischer - Spassky Autographs (April 2010) for a previous example.

Bottom photo: The item was titled 'Iceland chess - World Chess Championship 1972 - green ticket to games 1-24'. It sold for US $945.35 after five bids from three bidders. Its description said,

Memorabilia from the World Chess Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland 1972 where Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky played for the World Chess Championship title. Very rare admission ticket to games 1-24, ticket is no. 135. Size aprox 17,5 x 6,5 cm.

For a previous post on the same subject, see Fischer - Spassky Tickets (August 2022). I wonder what the green ticket cost in 1972.

The third Fischer - Spassky item, not pictured above, was related to the items in a post from the beginning of this year, Signed by Fischer, Spassky, and Petursson (January 2023). The latest auction had the same price and the same description as the earlier auctions.

05 November 2023

Chess Rookie Card

We've seen sports cards several times in the series on Top eBay Chess Items by Price (March 2010), most recently in the post Cards for Chess Champions (June 2019). All of the auctions have been for very old cards like the 1888 Steinitz and Zukertort cards in that 'Chess Champions' series.

The item pictured below was titled 'Hikaru Nakamura #390 American Chess Equipment Ultimate Card Auto'. It sold for around $500, 'Best offer accepted'.

The description said,

2001 Hikaru Nakamura #329 GM USA American Chess Equipment Ultimate Chess Card Auto - NM - Rare. This is an extremely rare American Chess Equipment card. The card is hand-numbered and signed by Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura.'

I suppose that the difference between the numbers in the title (#390) and in the description (#329) is due to an earlier auction being copied. 'Auto' undoubtedly means 'Autographed' and 'NM' probably means 'Near Mint'. The back of the card says,

International Master born in Hirakata City, Japan, on December 9,1987. He moved to the US at the age of two and played his first tournament at the age of seven. Within three years, Hikaru achieved the title of National Master at the age of 10 years and 79 days, becoming the youngest American to do so and setting a record that still stands today. Hikaru earned the FIDE International Master title in February 2001. Among his many successes in 2001 are victories in the National High School Championship and the U.S. Junior Invitational Championship. Hikaru resides in White Plains, N.Y.

Following that info is a game score for:-

Stripunsky - Nakamura, Land of the Sky Open, Asheville NC, 1999.

That game is not among the ten games currently listed for Alexander Stripunsky vs. Hikaru Nakamura (chessgames.com; covering 1998 - 2012). The bottom of the card back says,

Photo by Paul Truong • 12/15/01
American Chess Equipment / Ultimate Chess Card
www.amchesseq.com

The web site is still active at American Chess Equipment (amchesseq.com; 'One-stop-shop for scholastic chess products'). That page informs,

SERVING THE CHESS COMMUNITY SINCE 1982 • American Chess Equipment (ACE) is excited to team up with the WE Games brand to bring you the best in chess. We are honored to be trusted by thousands of chess organizations across the US for over 30 years.

I found an archived page from 2002 American Chess Equipment : The Ultimate Chess Card (archive.org -> amchesseq.com), that listed four cards -- Seirawan, Denker, Krush, Nakamura -- and further informed,

This new product, The Ultimate Chess Card was created to allow you to collect and enjoy finding out about your favorite chess players. The series will soon contain all the stars of the chess world and many of the most famous games in chess history. Some of the cards will be Signature Limited Edition Collector Cards (Rookie cards) that have been personally signed by the chess star. These cards will increase in value over the years since there will only be 999 numbered cards produced. Other cards by the same chess star will contain facts and figures about the chess personality.

The four cards, plus a card for GM Susan Polgar, appear to have been sold until early 2005. As for the original price, another page informed,

To protect our wholesale customers, this price list is protected by a password system.

The price was certainly far less than the '$500 Best offer accepted' given for the auction. A web search on 'Ultimate Chess Card' leads nowhere.