Duchamp

Marcel Duchamp was the strongest chessplaying artist the world has seen. He defeated a number of master players, including Koltanowski, the Knight’s Tour expert and exponent of blindfold play, and represented France in the Chess Olympiad. Chess permeates his work; there is even a chessboard pattern concealed beneath his work Étant donnés in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Duchamp’s obsession with the game influenced other artists of the Dada and Surrealist schools such as Max Ernst, Alexander Calder, Francis Picabia and Man Ray, to incorporate chess themes in their work. René Clair’s 1924 film Entr’acte, which has been described as an absolute Dadaist movie, starts with a chess game on the rooftops of Paris.

Barry Martin, former vice-chairman of the Chelsea Arts Club and official artist for the World Championship matches of 1993 between Kasparov and Short at the Savoy Theatre, and the London 2000 match where Vladimir Kramnik defeated Garry Kasparov, is probably the strongest chessplaying artist in the world today.