Chess became a source of inspiration in the arts in literature soon after the spread of the game to theArab World andEurope in theMiddle Ages. The earliest works of art centered on the game areminiatures in medieval manuscripts, as well as poems, which were often created with the purpose of describing therules. After chess gained popularity in the 15th and 16th centuries, many works of art related to the game were created. One of the best-known,[1]Marco Girolamo Vida's poemScacchia ludus, written in 1527, made such an impression on the readers that it singlehandedly inspired other authors to create poems about chess.[1]
Palatine Chapel in the Norman Palace inPalermo you can admire the first painting of a chess game that is known to the world. The work dates from around 1143 and the artists who created the Muslim players were chosen by the Norman king of Sicily Roger II of Hauteville, who erected the church.
The earliest known reference to chess in a European text is aMedieval Latin poem,Versus de scachis. The oldest manuscript containing this poem has been given the estimated date of 997.[2] Other early examples includeminiatures accompanying books. Some of them have high artistic value. Perhaps the best known example is the 13th-centuryLibro de los juegos. The book contains 151 illustrations, and while most of them are centered on the board, showingproblems, the players and architectural settings are different in each picture.[3]
Book of the customs of men and the duties of nobles or the Book of Chess (1473)
Another early illustrated text is theBook of the customs of men and the duties of nobles or the Book of Chess (Latin:Liber de moribus hominum et officiis nobilium super ludo scacchorum) which is based on the sermons ofJacopo da Cessole and was first published in 1473.[4]
The pieces illustrating chess problems inLuca Pacioli's manuscriptOn the Game of Chess (Latin:De ludo scacchorum, c. 1500) are described as "futuristic even by today's standards"[5] and may have been designed in collaboration withLeonardo da Vinci.[6]
After chess became gradually more popular in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries, especially in Spain and Italy, many artists began writing poems using chess as a theme.[7]Chess of love (Catalan:Scachs d'amor), written by an unknown artist in the end of the 15th century, describes a game betweenMars andVenus, using chess as anallegory of love. The story also serves as a pretence to describe the rules of the game.De ludo scacchorum (unrelated to the manuscript mentioned above) byFrancesco Bernardino Caldogno [it], also created at that time, is a collection of gameplay advice, presented in poetic fashion.[8][9]
One of the most influential[1] works of chess-related art isMarco Girolamo Vida'sScaccia ludus (1527), centered on a game played betweenApollo andMercury onMount Olympus. It is said that, because of its high artistry, the poem made a great impression on anyone who read it, includingDesiderius Erasmus.[1] It also directly inspired at least two other works.[10] The first isJan Kochanowski's poemChess (c. 1565), which describes the game as a battle between two armies, while the second isWilliam Jones'Caissa, or the game of chess (1772). The latter poem popularised the pseudo-ancient GreekdryadCaïssa to be the "goddess of chess".[10]
Another connection between art and chess is the life ofMarcel Duchamp, who almost fullysuspended his artistic career to focus on chess in 1923.[14]Salvador Dalí andMan Ray were also chess players and both designed chess sets.[15] The three artists played chess together, and one of the chess sets designed by Dalí is calledEchecs (Hommage à Marcel Duchamp).[16][17] Duchamp's 1910 paintingThe Chess Game depicts his brothersRaymond Duchamp-Villon andJacques Villon playing chess in the garden of Villon's studio.[18] Another Duchamp painting from the following year again depicts his brothers at the chess table.[19] Duchamp wrote a book titledOpposition and Sister Squares Are Reconciled which was published in 1932.[20] Man Ray and Duchamp are seen playing chess inRené Clair's filmEntr'acte.[21] A book titledMarcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess was published in 2009.[22]
De ludo scachorum (On the Game of Chess) (early 16th century) byFrancesco Bernardino Caldogno [it]. A collection of chess gameplay advice in poetic form
John and the Chess Men (1952) by Helen Weissenstein, a children's novel introducing the game of chess. The author competed in several US women's championships.
From Russia, with Love (1957) byIan Fleming, part of theJames Bond series. One of the villains, Tov Kronsteen, is a chess grand master who applies chess principles to espionage
Forbidden Planet (1961) byLionel Fanthorpe using the pseudonym John E. Muller, which describes an interstellar chess game played by superhuman entities using humans as pawns.
Harry Potter series (1997–2007) byJ. K. Rowling. The series fictional universe features wizard's chess, a chess variant where the pieces are similar to living beings, to which the players give orders by voice
Dissident Gardens (2013) byJonathan Lethem. Uncle Lenny, who once played Bobby Fischer to a draw as a participant in a simultaneous exhibition in which Fischer defeated everyone else, destroys the chess confidence and ambitions of the young Cicero.
Independence Day (1996), features one of the main characters, David Levinson, playing chess with his father in New York City; later, David realizes that the aliens have set their ships across the world like that in chess and plan to attack
Geri's Game (1997), ananimated short film about an old man named Geri who adopts two personalities to play chess with himself
The Luzhin Defence (2000), based on the Nabokov's bookThe Defense mentioned above
Life of a King (2013), an ex-con teaches chess to inner city high school kids
The Dark Horse (2014), about a bipolar man who helps at-risk youth by teaching them chess
Pawn Sacrifice (2014), a dramatised account of Bobby Fischer's 1972 match with Boris Spassky
Wicked Blood (2014), about a teenage girl trying to escape a criminal family, with a chess poem interwoven among the plot shifts – one of her uncle's was once the state champ
Lou (2022), Lou, the title character, mentions that her son once beat her in chess at only 5 years old. Later in the film we see a flashback to the game in question.
Doctor Who, in the episodeThe Curse of Fenric (1989), features chess as a theme, both the physical game and as a metaphor for the events of the story.
Twin Peaks (1990–1991) in episode 2017, the charactersPete Martell andDale Cooper discuss chess moves. A chess board diagram highlighting the Capablanca-Marshall game from 1909 covers a painting of a tree on the background wall.
The Wire (2002–2008), Dee uses the game of chess to explain the drug trade to Bodie and Wallace.
Endgame (TV series), (2011) Canadian television series that follows former World Chess Champion Arkady Balagan who uses his analytical skills to solve crimes
Sister Boniface Mysteries serial, in the 2023 episodeSt George's Defence, Sister Boniface competes in the British Open Chess Championships, in order to investigate whether or not said competition has been infiltrated by a Russian spy ring.
As the popularity of the game became widespread during the 15th and 16th centuries, so too did the number of paintings depicting the subject.[40] Continuing into the 20th century, artists created works related to the game often taking inspiration from the life of famous players or well-known games. An unusual connection between art and chess is the life ofMarcel Duchamp, who in 1923 almost fullysuspended his artistic career to focus on chess.[41][42][43]
I Giocatori di Scacchi (The Chess Players) (c. 1590) byLudovico Carracci
Arabes jouant aux échecs (Arabs Playing Chess) (1847) byEugène Delacroix
Les Joueurs d'échecs (The Chess Players) (1863) byHonoré Daumier
Parasite Eve II (2000) features GOLEMs, villainous genetically enhancedcyborgsuper soldiers that are divided into different types named after chess pieces: Pawn GOLEMs, Rook GOLEMs, Knight GOLEMs, and Bishop GOLEMs, plus a unique leader known as No. 9 (King GOLEM).
The game is referenced inWu-Tang Clan songs such as "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'". "I love the game of chess", explained founderRZA. "The person who taught me chess was the girl who took myvirginity. She was pretty good at chess and the pussy was even better. Now I take that shit seriously. I hate losing."[45] In 2005 Wu-Tang Clan memberGZA released an album entitledGrandmasters in which every track had a chess theme.
^Marcadé, Bernard (2007). "XIX CHESS MANIAQUE A BUENOS AIRES".Marcel Duchamp : la vie à crédit : biographie (in French). [Paris]: Flammarion.ISBN978-2-08-068226-0.OCLC319214976.
^Christie, Ian (2000).A "Matter of Life and Death". London: British Film Institute. p. 77.ISBN0-8517-0479-4. A chess game as a metaphor for the struggle for life eleven years beforeBergman'sThe Seventh Seal: to Powell and Pressburger the idea may have been suggested by the death of Alekhine in 1946, the very year in which they made this film.
Litmanowicz, Władysław (1974).Dykteryjki i ciekawostki szachowe [Chess trivia and anecdotes] (in Polish). Warsaw: Sport i Turystyka. pp. 11–27.
Griffin, Jonathan (2014).The Twenty First Century Art Book. Paul Harper, David Trigg, Eliza Williams. London.ISBN978-0-7148-6739-7.OCLC889547304.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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