The Chess Player As An Artist: Marcel Duchamp

In recognition of Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess exhibit currently on display at the Francis Naumann Gallery in New York City (Sept. 10th – Oct. 30th, 2009), we are running this article, previously published on our website in 2007.

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Marcel Duchamp Article (Previously published on our website 2007)

“…I HAVE COME TO THE PERSONAL CONCLUSION THAT WHILE ALL ARTISTS ARE NOT CHESS PLAYERS, ALL CHESS PLAYERS ARE ARTISTS.” MARCEL DUCHAMP

BIOGRAPHY OF MARCEL DUCHAMP 1887-1968:

Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp was born July 28, 1887, near Blainville, France.

In 1904, he joined his artist brothers, Jacques Villon and Raymond Duchamp-Villon, in Paris, where he studied painting at the Academie Julian until 1905.

Duchamps early works were Post-Impressionist in style. He exhibited for the first time in 1909 at the Salon des Independants and the Salon d’ Automne in Paris.

His paintings of 1911 were directly related to Cubism but emphasized successive images of a single body in motion.

In 1912, he painted the definitive version of Nude Descending a Staircase; this was shown at the Salon de la Section d’Or of that same year and subsequently created great controversy at the Armory Show in New York in 1913.

Duchamps radical and iconoclastic ideas predated the founding of the Dada movement in Zurich in 1916.

By 1913, he had abandoned traditional painting and drawing for various experimental forms, including mechanical drawings, studies, and notations that would be incorporated in a major work, The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (1915-23; also known as The Large Glass).

In 1914, Duchamp introduced his ready made common objects, sometimes altered, presented as works of art, which had a revolutionary impact upon many painters and sculptors.

In 1915, Duchamp traveled to New York, where his circle included Katherine Dreier and Man Ray, with whom he founded the Societe Anonyme in 1920, as well as Louise and Walter Arensberg, Francis Picabia, and other avant-garde figures.

After playing chess avidly for nine months in Buenos Aires, Duchamp returned to France in the summer of 1919 and associated with the Dada group in Paris.

In New York in 1920, he made his first motor-driven constructions and invented Rrose Slavy, his feminine alter ego.

Duchamp moved back to Paris in 1923 and seemed to have abandoned art for chess but in fact continued his artistic experiments.

From the mid-1930s, he collaborated with the Surrealists and participated in their exhibitions.

Duchamp settled permanently in New York in 1942 and became a United States citizen in 1955.

During the 1940s, he associated and exhibited with the Surrealist migrs in New York, and in 1946 began Etant donnes: 1. la chute d’eau 2. le gaz d’clairage, a major assemblage on which he worked secretly for the next 20 years.

He died October 2, 1968, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.

A PASSION FOR CHESS:

Marcel Duchamp had a lifelong passion for chess.

He once said “I am still a victim of chess. It has all the beauty of art – and much more. It cannot be commercialized. Chess is much purer than art in its social position.”

March 1952, Duchamp had given up painting in favor of chess thirty years before.

Marcel Duchamp played thousands of chess games, and he was known as a very strong Chess Master.

Duchamp’s creativity had a significant impact in art. One wonders how chess influenced his way of thinking and his views about art and creativity.

Duchamp once said:

“The chess pieces are the block alphabet which shapes thoughts; and these thoughts, although making a visual design on the chess-board, express their beauty abstractly, like a poem…. I have come to the personal conclusion that while all artists are not chess players, all chess players are artists.” Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), French artist, address, Aug. 30, 1952, New York State Chess Association.

Duchamp was not only an avid chessplayer; he was also an active member of the chess community and made multiple contributions to chess, which will also made him a chess philanthropist.

THE MOVIE – PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST: MARCEL DUCHAMP – A GAME OF CHESS (1963):

This movie is an interview segment with the French artist. Filmed in black-and-white, this interview was held at the Pasadena Art Museum in 1963. Duchamp discusses his theories on the game of chess, his expatriate status in America, and his decision to stop working after 1923.

Kasparov Wins 25th Anniversary Match in Valencia!

25th Anniversary Match in Valencia – Kasparov Wins (3-1)!

Congratulations Garry Kasparov!

You can replay the Rounds and Blitz Games by clicking on the corresponding chessboard images below.

Additionally, check out NTD TV’s event video coverage where they cite that “it has taken a quarter of a century to break the stalemate.”

Watch the Chess.fm video below and check out the coverage on the Official Website.

CLICK TO PLAY VIDEO (ICC Chess Video)

Replay the Rounds!

CLICK IMAGE to REPLAY ROUND 1

In the 1st game, Kasparov won against a Grunfeld defense in only 24 moves with a surprising ending in a game in which Karpov was about to lose the exchange and decided to immediately resign.

CLICK IMAGE to REPLAY ROUND 2

In the 2nd game, Kasparov opened with 1. d4 again and they played a Queen’s Gambit decline, exchange variation. In the middlegame, Kasparov was able to get a slight advantage when Karpov blundered by not considering the move 22. Nf6+ which gives Kasparov an extraordinary attack against the King. This game ended in 28 moves when Karpov resigned in view of an unstoppable mating attack.

CLICK IMAGE to REPLAY ROUND 3

CLICK IMAGE to REPLAY ROUND 4

Kasparov also won the Blitz games (6-2) in the Valencia, Spain match against Anatoly Karpov.

REPLAY BLITZ GAMES!

CLICK IMAGE to REPLAY BLITZ GAME 1

CLICK IMAGE to REPLAY BLITZ GAME 2

CLICK IMAGE to REPLAY BLITZ GAME 3

CLICK IMAGE to REPLAY BLITZ GAME 4

CLICK IMAGE to REPLAY BLITZ GAME 5

CLICK IMAGE to REPLAY BLITZ GAME 6

CLICK IMAGE to REPLAY BLITZ GAME 7

CLICK IMAGE to REPLAY BLITZ GAME 8

Kasparov vs. Karpov (Valencia, Spain)

(Photos/AP & Reuters)

25th Anniversary Match in Valencia, September 22, 2009

25 years after their epic World Championship duel former chess World Champions Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov meet again for an exhibition match at the Arts Palau in Valencia, Spain.

In todays games,  Kasparov used the white pieces for both games (Game 1 & 2) and demonstrated a clear superiority when it comes to handling tactical positions.

In the 1st game, Kasparov won against a Grunfeld defense in only 24 moves with a surprising ending in a game in which Karpov was about to lose the exchange and decided to immediately resign.

Click Image to Replay Round 1

In the 2nd game, Kasparov opened with 1. d4 again and they played a Queen’s Gambit decline,  exchange variation.  In the middlegame, Kasparov was able to get a slight advantage when Karpov blundered by not considering the move 22. Nf6+ which gives Kasparov an extraordinary attack against the King.  This game ended in 28 moves when Karpov resigned in view of an unstoppable mating attack.

Click Image to Replay Round 2

Check back for more coverage!

Note: Click Here for Official Event Website

2009 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship (Oct. 3-13)

2009 U.S. Women’s Championship is coming up!  (Oct. 3-13, 2009)

Important Note: The 2009 U.S. Women’s Championship is also a Zonal Tournament for Zone 2.1, which means that it is also a qualifier for the World Women’s Chess Championship!

Two players from this event will qualify for the World Women’s Chess Championship – so check back for coverage and more news as it develops.

For more information contact:
Mark Bretz, Slay & Associates
314-838-9371 or mbretz@slayandassociates.com

PRESS RELEASE

2009 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship to be Held October 2-12 at Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis

ST. LOUIS, March 11, 2009 — The 2009 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship will be held from October 2 through 12 at the sparkling, new Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, which opened in July 2008. The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis also is the site of the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship, which will take place from May 7 through 17.

The U.S. Women’s Chess Championship dates back to 1937. The tournament is a 9-round event using the Round Robin pairing system, in which every player plays every other player and the highest score wins. Time controls will be the classical 40 moves in two hours, with the remaining moves in one hour. There will also be a 5-second increment per move.

Invitations will be sent to the top nine U.S. women players by ranking based on the August 2009 United States Chess Federation rating list. An invitation will also be sent to the defending champion, Olympic gold medalist Anna Zatonskih. The championship will have a purse of $64,000, with $15,000 awarded to the winner, the highest first prize in its history. In case of even scores, prize funds will be evenly divided between winners.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to host this major event in the world of competitive chess,” said Rex Sinquefield, a retired investment fund manager who founded the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. “We are honored and most fortunate to serve as the official site in 2009 of two of the premier chess championships.”

Steve Goldberg of the United States Chess Federation (USCF) Online calls the new St. Louis club “certainly one of the most impressive chess centers” in the country. While serving as host club for the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship and the U.S. Chess Championship, Sinquefield notes that “it is the goal of the Chess Club to encourage all of St. Louis’ young people to learn chess. We believe that bringing the best chess players in the country to our city will help achieve that goal.”

The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis is a not-for-profit, 501(c)3 organization that opened in July 2008. Founded by retired investment fund manager Rex Sinquefield, it already has more than 500 members, surpassing its original goal of 300 for its first year of operation. The club offers free classes for beginners, discounted tournament entry fees and discounted merchandise for club members. For more information, please visit www.saintlouischessclub.org or call 314-361-CHESS.

The United States Chess Federation is the official, not-for-profit U.S. membership organization for chess players and chess supporters of all ages and strengths, from beginners to grand masters. Founded in 1939 with the merger of the American Chess Federation and the National Chess Federation, USCF has grown to more than 80,000 members and nearly 1,200 affiliated chess clubs and organizations. USCF sanctions 25 national championship award titles to both amateurs and professionals, ranging from elementary school students to senior citizens. For more information, visit www.uschess.org.

“Chess Phenom Yet to Meet Her Match” (DailyNews.com)

By Dennis McCarthy

From DailyNews.com
Updated: 09/02/2009 06:30:52 PM PDT

Don’t let her young age and friendly demeanor fool you, her coaches say. The kid has the heart of a champion and the brains to match.

She’ll steal your queen, knock over your king, and be relaxing on the couch watching cartoons on TV before your seat’s even warm.

Simone Laio is that good. At 10.

The Agoura Hills girl just returned from Argentina with a gold medal in her age bracket at the Pan-American Youth Chess Championships attended by players from 17 countries.

She had something to prove. Last year, she won the silver. Not this year.

“Going for the gold creates a lot of stress and requires extreme focus,” says Beatriz Marinello, U.S. Youth Team coach and former president of the U.S. Chess Federation.

“Simone demonstrated that excelling at competitive chess involves more than talent and hard work, but also a winning mentality, which she definitely possesses.”

She’s an out-and-out champion, says Aviv Friedman, head of the U.S. Chess Delegation and coach of the U.S. team.

“She has fantastic talent and work ethic, which propels her to one success after another,” he says. “What a bright future she has in chess.”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT WWW.DAILYNEWS.COM