Marcel Duchamp once likened chess players to artists. David Hockney famously echoed the French artist’s sentiment, equating drawing as running parallel to the act of playing chess, saying that “your mind races ahead of the moves that you eventually make.” Today, the 1,500-year-old board game has shown a rise in popularity in previously unseen corners of culture, from celebrity players to downtown club nights.
World Chess and FIDE has published a new book chronicling the relationship between chess and culture over the past 130 years. Entitled Chess Players: From Charlie Chaplin to Wu-Tang Clan, the coffee table books presents a rare assortment of tidbits on chess maestros, such as Marlon Brando versus James Dean, Beatles superstar John Lennon to savants of the game as they ascended up the ranks — from amateur to grandmaster.
The hardcover title spans 192 pages and features an intro and photo blurbs by former chess columnist for The New York Times, Dylan Loeb McClain, as well as an essay by Martin Amis and an interview with five-time World Chess Champion, Viswanathan Anand. The book is available to preorder online and select stores for $40 USD.
