"Chess Masterworks" features beautifully filmed mini-documentaries on the art and history of 25 chess sets from the spectacular collection of Dr. George Dean (Founder and President Emeritus of Chess Collectors International) and his wife, Vivian. For decades, the Deans have traveled the globe acquiring many of the most historically important, valuable and sought after chess sets in existence.
Spanning five centuries and four continents, the sets featured in this collection are miniature works of art exquisitely fashioned from substances such as ivory, amber, jade, porcelain and glass, often laden with precious and semi-precious jewels.
Included are the celebrated Fabergé set and board, commissioned as a consolation gift for Russian General Kouropatkin; the Meissen Sea Life set and board; a 16th Century German set and board of rock crystal and smoky topaz; an 18th Century Murano blown glass set; a 19th Century Moroccan set and board embroidered with spun silk and gold lace; and sets by modern masters Salvador Dali and Man Ray.