World Chess Champions on postage stamps and World Champions in Chess - Women. Jugomarka, Belgrade, 1996 and 2001.

World Chess Champions on postage stamps contains a cardboard folder with 13 envelopes (size 16,4 x 11,5 cm) with World Champions from Steinitz to Kasparov, 3 sheets of stamps (13,1 x 11,4 cm) and annotation. Published 1996.

From annotation:

Wishing to present to a wider public and, in particular, to the youngest among them the process of creation of postage stamps,,,Jugomarka" organizes the exhibition in Moscow within the period of December 8, 1996 with the proposed motives for a log-term planned issue titled ,,The Kings of Chess".

From the year 1886 to the present days, thirteen great men of black-and-white squares such as Steinitz, Alekhine, Tal, Fischer, Karpov ascended a chess throne. The Community of Yugoslav PTT intends in the next period to commemorate on postage stamps all the world champions so far in the mostly spread game over the planet. Academic painters, stamp designers in,,Jugomarka“, dealing with the proposed designs for all postage stamps issued for the needs of Jugoslav PTT trafic, have created motives for this big series pictures as they saw them, experienced them or imagined them on the basis of what they were listening about them. These paintings of big formats will generate miniature postage stamps which, we are sure, will find their place in classers and hearts of all philately fans throughout the world and especially due to the fact that they will be printed at the Belgrade Mint. It is unknown to us if any country has ever made such a big and important series of postage stamps aobut the history of chess and about the great men who created this history. As much as chess is widely spread as a game in the world, so it is an unavoidable theme on postage stamps which is on the very top of motives philatelists like to see in their collections. We do hope that issuing of this series of postage stamps,,The Kings of Chess" will be our contribution in the honour of those who have marked the history of black-and-white squares.

NENAD KILIBARDA Director of,,Jugomarka“

World Champions in Chess - Women contains a cardboard folder with 8 envelopes (size 16,4 x 11,5 cm) with Women World Champions from Menchik to Zsuzsa Polgar and annotation. Published 2001.

From annotation:

Till nowadays,,Jugomarka" has presented all world champions in chess on its special postage stamps. This time, there will be presented eight,,queens of chess".

First of them is Czech chess player Vera Mencik. From 83 games played till the beginning of the Second World War, she lost only one and played four draws.

The Soviet chess players dominated the period from 1950 to 1991. This, fourty years long domination has been interrupted by Chinese player Xie Jun.

Yugoslavia also has its heroines: Milunka Lazarević and Alisa Marić. Milunka Lazarević was very close to the highest world top. On the tournament held in Suhumi in 1964, in the last round she refused the offered draw, that would have been sufficient for her to be the first and to play the match with Nona Gapridanshvili for the title of world champion. But, Milunka Lazarević made a mistake and lost the match thereby sharing the first and third place. In the triple match, which was played a little bit later, she didn't succeed in taking the first place. She had the second chance in 1971 in Holland where she played in the semifinal with Nana Alexandria, but she lost that match, too. In 1991 in final match Alisa Marić lost from Xie Jun, who won Maja Chiburdanidze and became the 7th world chess champion.

The series of these eight special postage stamps has been created by academic painters, stamp designers in ,,Jugomarka". They have painted the chess players as they saw them, experienced or imagined them on the basis of what they were listening about them. These stamps have been printed at Belgrade Mint. It is unknown if any country has ever made such a big and important series of postage stamps about the history of chess and about the great women who created this history.

Besides already issued series,,The Kings of Chess" the issuing of this series of postage stamps,,,The Queens of Chess" will complete the cycle of chess giants- who have marked the history of black-and-white squares.

NENAD KILIBARDA Director of,,Jugomarka"

Condition - Very Good: folders with slight use.