Chess 80" was developed by Hans Födisch from Halle/Saale. While reading historical books, the chess amateur came across the elephant, which could be found as a playing piece on all chess boards in the early Middle Ages. In the further course of chess history, however, the elephant's original appearance was altered in such a way that it was no longer recognizable as such. However, it was precisely because of the elephant's objective recognition, its strength, size and intelligence, that it should definitely return to the playing field as the original piece; as a fighting elephant with even greater strength than its predecessor.
Turning theory into practice was difficult; a wooden figure had to be developed that would match the size and aesthetics of the current tournament figures.
With the help of a professional carver from Halle and many experiments on the computer and drawings on paper, the project succeeded. Today, the figure - after the model was cast in bronze - is produced abroad on a CNC milling machine and fits well into chess sets for tournament games.
