At the beginning of 2024, I was contacted by the grandson of Zahari Stanchev (Захари Станчев) from Sofia, Bulgaria. His grandfather was a representative for Bulgaria at FIDE in the 1960s. In addition to writing chess books, Stanchev collected a large collection of chess books (English, Russian, German, Czech and Bulgarian), magazines, photos and memorabilia during his chess life. Even though Grandpa passed away more than 40 years ago, the collection has always remained in the family. After a few conversations, we came to an agreement.
We prepared the entire collection together in Sofia and packed it in 60 boxes (1000kg) on two pallets for transport by truck to the Netherlands.
From his position as representative for Bulgaria at FIDE, Stanchev organized several major tournaments, such as the XVI Chess Olympiad (1962) in Varna.
In the collection, we also find the financial administration, correspondence, invitations and personal photos of the tournament. Also, 150 photos were taken by press photographers. These include famous names such as Fischer, Tal, Bronstein, Euwe and many others.
Other tournaments that are discussed include the Botvinnik-Tal dual event, Bronstein Memorial 1965 and Havanna 1966.
In the next month, some collection books will be added to the website. The items will have the following additional description:
“This item originates from the chess book collection of Zahari Stanchev (Захари Станчев), (April 27, 1920 – January 27, 1980) from Sofia, Bulgaria. Stanchev was Bulgaria’s representative to FIDE in the 1960s.”
