Queen’s Gambit | GIZMODO.cz

Tarek Elkassouf’s chess set is comprised of a Carrara marble board and sixteen brushed stainless steel pieces capped with gunmetal reflective tops.

Some of the most artistic designs are born out of the timeless and elusive charm of chessboards. From chessboards inspired by ‘Queen’s Gambit’ to chess pieces that form architectural city maps, designers have the opportunity to get their most creative when creating new chess boards.

Speaking to that, designer Tarek Elkassouf explains, “They say that all artists are not chess players but all chess players are artists.” Citing the chessboard as “an altar of concentration,” Elkassouf hopes his chessboard will help players focus on the game, their strategy, and most importantly, the moment.

Giving the traditional wooden chessboard a modern, artistic upgrade, Elkassouf designed a stylistic chessboard that takes on notes of midcentury design and with a sleek futuristic edge. Stripping the chessboard down to its bare essentials, Elkassouf’s chessboard found refinement in minimalism and artful craftwork.

Finding beauty in the changeability of chess, Elkassouf hoped to create a chessboard that speaks for itself, with a sophisticated heavy-duty board carved from marble and sleek, minimalist chess pieces.

Mounted atop a polished Carrara marble board, the rectangular chess pieces are made from brushed stainless steel with gunmetal reflective tops. Sticking to his minimalist approach, Elkassouf etched small icons of each piece on the top of each rectangular piece for players to decipher between the sixteen pieces.

In designing his chessboard, Elkassouf embraced the accessibility and intersectionality of chess, going on to describe how the game “transcends language, age, race, religion, politics, gender, and socioeconomic background. Whatever your circumstances, anyone can enjoy a good fight over the chessboard.” And it’s true, the game of chess is for everyone so long as you know the rules.

Designer: Tarek Elkassouf

With a simplistic, velvet case, Elkassouf’s chessboard is minimalist by design and refined by effect.

The Carrara marble chess board comes with alternating diagonal etches that delineate all of the available squares.

Coming in an array of different-colored marble, each chessboard from Elkassouf’s collection is unique in its own design.

From the side, Elkassouf’s chessboard maintains clean, geometric lines and silhouettes.

The post Marble meets stainless steel in this chessboard for a minimalist and artful take on the timeless chess game! first appeared on Yanko Design.

Dubbed (Archi)TECT’S GAMBIT, the chess pieces from Carpenter boast a conceptual take on the high-rises and suspension bridges that make up the bulk of Bangkok’s cityscape.

‘Queen’s Gambit’ turned the world into chess players. Soon after bingeing the hit Netflix series, we were buying the coolest chessboard we could find and maybe a couple of guidebooks too. Whether you’re new to the original board game or you’ve been playing it as long as Beth Harmon, the game of chess has a beloved board design that’s been host to an endless array of stylistic variations throughout the game’s rich history. Carpenter Design, a carpentry company devoted to repurposing wood waste, went further than only learning how to play chess after finishing ‘Queen’s Gambit,’ designing and carving their own chess board modeled after the architecture of Bangkok, the company’s home city.

Dubbed (Archi)TECT’S GAMBIT, the chess pieces from Carpenter boast a conceptual take on the high-rises and suspension bridges that make up the bulk of Bangkok’s cityscape. Starting out as a chess player in secondary school, Carpenter designer Vrada Siripong felt inspired to take up the game once more after finishing ‘Queen’s Gambit.’ (Archi)TECT’S GAMBIT was created by Siripong and her fellow Carpenter co-designer, Sirincha Sathume who both played in the same chess club. Speaking on the board’s conception, Siripong notes, “It was fun and purely out of my personal fascination. As soon as I finished the series, my brain immediately started working on ideas for the project.”

When set against the backdrop of Bangkok’s skyline, players can recognize all of the city structures that inspired Siripong’s and Sathume chess boards and pieces. For example, the board’s King and Queen pieces resemble the form and general framework of high-rise buildings in Bangkok’s city proper, whereas the Rook mimics a simpler micro-model of both ends of a suspension bridge in Bangkok. The board’s black wood gives the game a mature, refined finish and stenciled embroidery adornments fill each square. The delicate stencil work was initially programmed using AutoCAD, a software familiar to most architects.

Designer: Carpenter