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Anniversaries Chess Compositions.
The works are accomplished
from different kinds of wood of low and medium density.
The author: Mrs.
Uralova Elena Vyacheslavovna. |
Gazing at
wooden miniatures created by Mrs. Elen Uralova visitors unwillingly asked:
"Do you make chess?"That has given us idea to make chess-sets. But Helen
feels not interested in creation just simple, traditional chess.The present
compositions reflect the author's attempts to reach the artistic unity
of the chess-board and the pieces exposed on them (see pictures). After
the wooden board that was produced with no use of any up-to-date technologies.
Namely this kind of chess-field is in harmony with the carved edges of
the board and the chess- pieces. Sometimes our visitors, especially children,
ask: "Is it an antique chess-set."
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THE 400th Anniversary of Bogdan Khmelnytsky`s Birth. |
We should
notice that the first presentation of the set took place in Oleska Castle
(near Lviv),at the celebration of Anniversary B. Khmelnitskiy (1995). The
chess were exposed on an exibition " World of a Woman " from
5 to 6,. March 1997. Cultural Centre " Ukrainian House", Kiev.
King:Ukrainian Hetman .
Queen:"Hetmans"The symbol of Ukraine.
Officers:"Hatamans"(so-called officers in Cossack
-army).
Knights:Steppeland Horse.
Rooks:the wooden towers.
Pawns:Ukrainian Cossacks.
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King:Polish King.
Queen:Polish Queen. Symbolises Poland.
Officers:members of polish Seim
Knights:- knight's heavy horses.
Rooks:the stone towers.
Pawns:professional polish warriors.
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The board: its sides have carved lions which symbolize that
the composition is accomplished in Lviv (a lion is the symbol of the city).
Front side performs carved castle situated on the hill. All these are surrounded
with carved leaves. The pieces are fully accomplished. Their heights range
from 60 mm. to 110mm. (2.4 to 4.4 inches). The closed chess-board's dimensions
are: 460x230x78mm. (18.5x9.25x3.2 inches).
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300th Anniversary of Russian Navy's Foundation. |
THE DEFENSE
of SEVASTOPOL . The Tragic but Heroic Page of Russian Navy's History. The
middle 19th century. Russia was involved into a war for its Southern frontiers.
Only because of their heroism and patriotism, Russia could stand against
the enemy. The most significant contribution was made by the defenders
of Syevastopol and the Black Sea Navy's marines.
The Whites.
King:The Russian Naval Admiral.
Queen:This is a collective image of "The Sisters
of Mercy
Officers: Russian Naval Officers.
Knights:Horses, used for defending the fortress.
Rooks:These are the images of Russian battle-ships
which were sunk in the Bay of Syevastopol
Pawns:Russian marines
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The Blacks
King: The Turkish Sultan.
Queen:An English Lady.This image symbolises the Britain
Officers:British and French Naval Officers.
Knights:Horses, being brought by adversaries on the
ships.
Rooks:British sail-and steam-propelled manowars.
Pawns:Turkish soldiers and marines.
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The board: there is a sail-steamer on the one side of it. On
the other side there is the defending bulwark of Syevastopol. On the front
side there is a three- mast ship carrying St. Andrew flag. All these are
surrounded with carved leaves that are symbolizing the land - the only
dream and the final destination of a sailor.During one year the chess-set
had been demonstrated in the General Consulate of Russian Federation in
Lviv.
The pieces are fully accomplished. Their heights range from 42 mm. to 65
mm ( 1.69 to 2.6 inches). The closed chess-board's dimensions are: 376x188x55
mm. ( 15.1x7.55x2.2 inches).
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" 850 the anniversary of Moscow's foundation ". |
The Heavy
pages in Moscow's History of Rurikoviches Dynasty Times .The set is an
author's attempt to reflect the revolutionary events in history of Moscow's
history which took their places during the time of Rurikoviches dynasty
reign: the foundation of the wooden fortress in 1156; devastation and burning
of Moscow by Baty-Khan in 1237; seizure of the city by Polish army and
burning in 1611. All the pieces are executed in the manner of busts in
order to perform more precisely the smallest details of each figurine.
The Whites.
The King:Yuri Dolgoruky.
The Queen:The Russian Princess, She symbolises
the revival of the city and the Moscovian Princedom.
The Officer:The Prince Dmitry Pozarsky.
The Officer:Koosma Minyn.
The Knights: Russian steeds, as belonged to Bohatyrs.
The Rook:A tower of the wooden Moscow Kremlin.
The Rook:One of the towers of the Moscow Kremlin
The Pawns(3 pcs):Russian Boaters.
The Pawns(3 pcs):The Starlets, who had been protecting
Moscow.
The Pawn:A well-done Don Cossack
The Pawn:A poor Ukrainian Cossack
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The Blacks.
The King: Baty-Khan.
The Queen: One of the seven wife's of
Baty-Khan- Yuldoos, who accompanied her
husband in the warfare to Ruse.
The Officer:The Polish King.
The Officer:Lzedmiitry(The False Dmitry).
The Knight: A wild steppeland horse
The Knight: -A knights heavy horse.
The Rook: A tent of Mongolian-tatars
The Rook:A tent of Polish invaders .
The Pawns(3 pcs):The Mongolian warriors.
The Pawns(3 pcs): Polish and Lithuanian knights.
The Pawn:A poor Don Cossack.
The Pawn:A well-done Ukrainian Cossack.
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The Board:On the one side of the chess-deck there is the Vasily
Blazhenny Church-carved.
On the other-a variant of St.Jeorge" the Conqueror" or "The
Victor-Bearer".
The front kind: Moscow Kremlin of 17 th-18 th centuries. All the Bareliefs
are surrounded with leaves-the symbol of the(unappeasable)forests of Ruse.
On the background there are waves represented, symbolizing numerous water
obstacles a host must overcome the way to Moscow. Numerous is artificial
small distance between chess fields is created, that also means numerous
water barrier on a way to Moscow.The pieces are fully accomplished.
The chess were exposed:in Cultural Centre " Ukrainian House",
Kiev(1997);the Attache on the culture of the Russian Embassy in Kiev (1997)
; at "Slaviansky Bazar" (" Slavonic Marcet") fest in
1998 (Odessa);
Their heights range from 55 mm. to 101 mm (2.2 to4. inches).. The closed
chess-board's dimensions are: 470x235x75mm. (19.9x9.4.5x3.inches)
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"A monument I have erected to myself... "A.S.
Pushkin
More than 150
years have already passed, as these lines were written. And there are a
lot of monuments which have been erected by the poet's grateful descendants.
An original monument to the great poet was created by Helen in her new
Chess Composition. -"Pushkin's Bail"
King- young, vigorous Pushkin
in the period
of blossom of his talent.
"... Where muse gentle to me secretly Smiled.. "
Queen-A young beautiful woman. She embodies
thegirls and women whom the poet
used to fall in love with.
"..As the genius of pure(clean) beauty.."
Officer-Pushkin's Balda. An industrious, sly,
patient Russian peasant.
Officer-Pushkin's Boris Godunov.
"...I've reached the highest power..."
Knights- young vigorous Pegasus
"...You wish to saddle the obstinate Pegasus..."
Rook-the barrel in which the queen and her
son were closed and cast into the sea..
Rook- the Goldfish itself and the broken trough
which is the main "artefact" of the tale.
"...Not a word spoke the goldfish in answer,
It just swished its tail, and in silence.."
Pawns- fabulous warriors coming out of the sea. "..
In scales Golden burning... "
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King-- Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin
in his last tragic years (1835-1837)
"..He rose against the high society..."
Queen-the prototype of that image was the
wife of poet - Nattily Goncharova.
" ...The God has sent you down to me,
to me, oh, my Madonna..."
Officer-the prototype of the piece is
Pushkin"sgrand father
"...my black uncle Hannibal..."
Officer--Yes my Emeljann Pugatshov
".. Here my Pugath with the first sight.."
Knights-Pegasus saddled by the poet.
"... Horseman quiet Pegas.. "
Rook-the fabulous oak ." ..There is an oak
at turquoise seaside..."
Rook- the living giant head standing on the ground.
"".. Deserts a watchman anonymous... "
Pawns-deuces discussing over thesum of the
tribute they had to pay to Balda.
"..There is nothing to do(make) draw
have collected (tribute)rent... ".."
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The Board:
In the front - the bas-relief portray of A. Pushkin.
Under the bas-relief are carved:
- Little Alexander Pushkin listening to his nurse Arina Rodionovna
who is telling him a fairy-tale.
- Fatally injured Pushkin laying on the snow.
- The hooks - two fairy-tale squirrels.
- Under hooks whether are cut out.
From one side there are:
- Peter the Great.
- The greedy Knight
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On the another side there are:
- Meeting of Ruslan and the fairy-tale Giant's living head.
- The Dhadon-tsar, The wiseman, The golden Rooster.
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The pieces are fully accomplished.
In Odessa (26-31 May 1999) we represented our chess composition called
"Pushkin's Bail". The chess was exposed as a part of the Moving
Mini-Museum of Carved Wood by Elen Uralova. The entire exposition of the
museum was dedicated to the 200th anniversary of birth of the great poet.Their
heights range from 60 mm. to 115 mm. (2.4 to 4.6inches). . The closed chess-board’s
dimensions are: -480x240x75 mm.(19.3x9.6.5x3. inches) .
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"Unity of Purposes of the Christians."The
chess - composition dedicated to the
2000th anniversaryof Christ's birth. |
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"The refore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin
will be with child
and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." [Isaiah
7:14] |
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And He has
Come-the Son of a Man,to Redeem Sins of the Mankind. "...the woman saw
that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and
also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave
some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." [Genesis 3:6]TThis
scene opens the gallery of images which represents the long history of
the fall of man.
Let
us look through the first part of the chess-board's siding:
Fratricide; Paganism; Human Sacrifices to False Gods; the Noah's ark; Moses
breaking the tables of Commandments; The Bronze Snake;A warrior-invader
shown against the backdrop of an ancient city.
Here the representation of plots of the Old Testament is
put to the end. The mentioned representation symbolized the epoch before
Christ.
Further, carved along the perimeter of the board's siding are:
The newborn Christ with Mary and Joseph bent over the Baby; "The Mountainside
Sermon"; Saint George; Saint Nicholas; the Golgotha; the bas-relief that
depicts the Savior crucified on the Cross:
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Jesus' disciples scattered over the world to bring
the doctrine to peoples. However, yet the first continuators of Jesus'
legacy had no unanimity towards treating it. From that moment on, the contradictions
continued. Rome has become capital for one branch of Christianity and Constantinopol
- for the other one.
Centuries and a millennium passed... Catholic and Orthodox branches have
grown stronger.
We can compare Christianity to a bird in the "ocean" of mankind, of its
passions, wishes, sins and vices.
And the churches are like wings of that bird.At the present moment, communicational,
informational and other connections between people, cities, countries and
continents constantly expand and extend in a disastrous way. This process
can be compared to "boiling" of the ocean when its mobility increases and
it becomes more "gaseous". That's why the "bird in the ocean of mankind"
has to be more mobile and more maneuverable, but it must not forget about
its real destination. And its wings may not be tied up neither separately,
nor together; they must not have contradictions. Both wings are equal during
the flight.
The idea of unification (but not being the same) of two great
branches of Christianity is the foundation of theme of the present chess-composition.
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The Pieces are executed in two tones: yellow (color
of memory of Christ) and violet (color of
memory of The Cross of the Lord).
Kings: tsar and king - heads of states of Eastern
and Western Europe, the symbols of peoples of Europe.
Queens: tsaress and princess - symbols of revival
of the peoples.
Officers(yellow): Patriarch
of Russian Orthodox Church; Catholic Bishop.
Officers(violet):the Pope - head of Roman Catholic
Church; Orthodox Mythropolith.
Knights: dragons. Each one of them is mounted
by a warrior that is symbolizing St. George.
Rooks: Wooden and stone castles of East and
West.Pawns:
Pawns: Orthodox and Catholic monks. |
When the board is shut, the parts of its siding are one(of
the Old testament) below another {of the New Testament). But when spread,
the plots of the siding depict the long way of the mankind from the moment
of the Original Sin until the terrible Crucifixion of Jesus Christ for
the sins of all people. Each bas-relief of the siding is seen through thick
vine-leaves which are the symbol of life. We look through the leaves as
if it were ages past since the times of the events described. The hooks
that are to lock both sides into a chest are executed in the shape of the
Copper Serpents on the pole:
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Conclusion. |
The theme represented by Mrs.
Elena V.Uralova is performed as a chess-composition
for the first time. That's why it can provoke different judgements and
treatings. We would like to ask you to remember that the author while creating
the set has been led only by good will and motivations. The chess-set is
a mean of expressing the idea. This is not a chess-set for games, but a
souvenir. But what if the first symbolic game will be played by heads of
the churches? We believe that it could be a good sign for all the peoples
of our planet. But if someone, despite the all above, will, in a way, become
suspicious towards our motivations may he remember:"8 ...but no
man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison 9
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father,and with it we curse men,
who have been made in God's likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise
and cursing. My brothers,this should not be." [JAMES 3:8-10.]
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