Art for the Sake of Chess

Seen on Wired.com: The Weird, Totally Charming Hobbies That Unite People by Doug Bierend.

Whether it's diving, chess, or cosplay, our passions can bring us together in unique ways. If you're into it, it's more than likely that there's a club for it. In Hobby Buddies, Swiss photographers Ursula Sprecher and Andi Cortellini create playful portraits of people joined by their innumerable pastimes.

Here's the image illustrating the chess buddies.

Children's Chess - Ursula Sprecher & Andi Cortellini

Who arranged the small pieces like that?

Each shot is carefully staged and arranged to be visually engaging yet representative of the subjects' particular passion. Some photos have an air of fantasy, like the chess club surrounded by a giant chessboard and game pieces.

Adding to the 'air of fantasy': none of the children are smiling. Have they forgotten the first rule of chess? To have fun! The Wired.com piece includes a link to another chess-related article that I hadn't seen before: Making Chess cool for kids using Star Wars LEGO.

Design does not happen in a vacuum. Chess has a particularly long and colorful history of design experimentation.

That's because chess does not happen in a vacuum. Unless you're a blindfold wizard, you need pieces to play.