A stunning collection of images depicting chess players over the last 130 years, showcasing the unique relationship between chess and culture, featuring renowned actors, artists, politicians, and musicians.
You don't need to play chess to appreciate "Chess Players": from Charlie Chaplin to the Wu-Tang Clan, but as Martin Amis asks in his enlightening essay: "What are they playing?". These captivating photographs transcend the chessboard, spanning 130 years – from a steamship crossing the Atlantic in 1888 to the near-zero gravity of space – highlighting the variety of individuals who have embraced the game across all continents and eras.
The iconic quote from Marcel Duchamp, "All chess players are artists," resonates through these pages. David Hockney likened the strategic thinking of the game to the process of creating art: "Painting is rather like playing chess: your mind goes ahead of the moves you eventually make."
"Chess is war over the board," said Bobby Fischer (grandmaster and world chess champion) – but here John Lennon and Yoko Ono challenge that notion, with their white chess set of "peace."
Hollywood stars played chess both on and off-screen – Humphrey Bogart applies a Sicilian Defense against Lauren Bacall, while Faye Dunaway and Steve McQueen plot their next move in the iconic chess scene from "The Thomas Crown Affair" (1968).
With an introduction by Dylan Loeb McClain, former chess columnist for the New York Times, the photographs in "Chess Players" help explain the enduring appeal of this mental game, from pawn to king, from amateur to grandmaster.
