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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

Game pieces from Mohenjo-daro, one of the cities of the Indus Valley civilization (circa 3300-5300 ya), on a modern wooden board. Materials include faience, pottery, shell, marble, agate, slate, and steatite. Along with the Başur Höyük pieces, these are the oldest game pieces ever found.

https://www.harappa.com/slide/game-board

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

Learn your Knight moves, Italian style, 18th century

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

Most unusual pawn, made of Ivory or walrus tusk, dated late 11th – early 12th century. Found in Volkovysk, Belarus. National Art Museum of Republic of Belarus. Photos by N. P. Melnikov.

Source: Kristina Lavysh
A Vizier from Lukoml and a Pawn
from Volkovysk: on Imported and Locally
Manufactured Products Among the Finds of
Figurative Chessmen in Rus.

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

Cornelis de Man (1621-1706), The Chess Players

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

Mother and daughter playing chess; Alfonso X, Libro de juegos. 1200s. F58r

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

And Magnus prevails in a dramatic last round in Norway. Well fitted ending. World keeps turning.

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Reposted by Diego Rasskin Gutman

Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

June 5 being World Environment Day, here's a look at the outdoor activities the chess masters got up to at the 1926 Late Hopatcong (New Jersey) Tournament. From American Chess Bulletin, July 1926.

A collage of photos labeled "The Chess Player's Life at Lake Hopatcong" shows Capablanca and his family on the lake, Frank Marshall driving a car, Geza Maroczy playing a violin outdoors, Edward Lasker wearing an old-fashioned swimsuit and preparing for a dive, and Abraham Kupchik eating from a huge slice of watermelon.

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

There's a little town in Northern Spain with a great chess name!

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

GM MagnusCarlsen (10 years ago): "I very much like the game of ideas between the two players. It's captivating, it's fun, and it keeps me going."

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 02/06/2025

Bobby Fischer describing chess moves: aggressive amazing careless contrived crushing cunning dearly desperate devastating doomed effortlessly fluid free hoping ideal impatient melodramatic mysterious natural panicking powerful sharper simple surprise tempting unappetizing unfortunate unpleasant

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

More gaming treasures from my visit to the MET

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

Visiting the MET, having the Nishapur chess set in front of me was an incredible experience!!

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

In "The Morals of Chess", 1750, Benjamin Franklin wrote that by playing Chess , we may learn: "1st, Foresight, which looks a little into futurity... 2d, Circumspection, which surveys the whole Chess-board, or scene of action... 3d, Caution, not to make our moves too hastily..."

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Reposted by Diego Rasskin Gutman

Chess Olympus @chessolympus.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Anthony Quinn, born April 21, 1915, used chess to inform his acting. Here's a famous image from the set of The Guns of Navarone (1961), together with Quinn's comments about his costars' playing styles.

Black-and-white photo of Anthony Quinn and Gregory Peck, in costume as World War II commandos, sitting in directors' chairs on opposite sides of a small chess set. Next to the photo is a clipping from Chess Review magazine that reads: "Chess Review has received a clipping from Barnie Windelman on the subject of chess as a sort of personality indicator. It seems that the actor, Anthony Quinn, uses chess to get a line on human nature. Feeling that character traits are often revealed in a game of chess, Quinn says that he brought a chess set on location while the film, 'Guns of Navarone' was being shot in Greece. He then played chess with five other stars because he wished, in his own words, to know more about them for the purpose of more effectively portraying scenes of close cameraderie. Results of the chess research: Gregory Peck 'plays a slow, calculated game . . . He does very few things impulsively.' David Niven, on the other hand, is a 'devil-may-care fellow' with 'a great sense of humor,' and Stanley Baker, wo 'plays a very hard game,' is aggressive, but '. . . is a good sport' and 'likes action.' Anthony Quail 'was a colonel . . . and you can sense the military in his thinking.' As for James Darren, he 'has a bulldog quality and tenacity which make him the best player of all . . .' So chess has become a diagnostic tool."

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

Magic Circles, Cardinal Points and Game Boards

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

William Roberts, The Chess Players, 1930 Power chess

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

The word "Rook" means "charriot" in old Persian (before conquered by Arabs). It also refers to a mighty mythological giant bird, (simurgh, sometimes phoenix) which would later appear, for example, in Sinbad's adventures... Chess is intertwined with all aspects of human culture...

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

The Sandomierz ches set, c. 1100s, was found in Sandomierz, Poland. Made of antler; this set of obvious Arabic geometric design, made its way to Northern Europe at a very early time. A magnificent set! District Museum in Sandomierz

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

Chess during the French revolution: it was suggested to change the name of the pieces to erase its royal connotations; Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau proposed these changes: King: flag bearer Queen: officer Bishop: dragons Knights: cavalry Rooks: cannons Pawns: infantry

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

These chessmen were found at La motte de Loisy, France. From circa 10-11th century, made of deer antler. It's a sort of hybrid set. The Rook is incredibly similar to the Afrasiab set. The Queen looks European and the pawns and King, Arabic. Mâcon, musée des Ursulines

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

Gorgeous three views of this circa late 9th-early 10th century chess King, made of rock crystal from the Middle East. As it happened with many of this crystal pieces, it was perforated on the top to be re-used as a reliquary (to keep holy relics) Victoria and Albert Museum

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

This picture, taken en Algiers ca. 1899 is timeless. Games, the fabric of humanity Detroit Photographic Company, Detroit, Míchigan

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

The Giant (Le Géant) (Paul Nouge at the Belgian Coast, 1937) Photo by René Magritte

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

V Kandinsky, 1937 Thirty Pure Bauhaus. Chess, organic abstraction, biological reminiscence, musicality, prehistoric gestures... Simply fantastic!

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Les quatre fils Aymon, 1400s, a chess-induced battle... playing chess can be dangereux!

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Scott, Kubrick, Dr. Strangelove.. chess

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Savielly Tartakower (1887 – 1956) "Chess is a fairy tale of 1,001 blunders" A most precise definition!

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

E. Reginald, Ferdinand and Miranda, c. 1900 A Shakespearean chess game after the tempest..

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

Chess players, four instances. Daumier, Duchamp, Roberts & Oppenheimer

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

All the King's renders.. 3D model of the Lewis King chess piece, 12th century

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

This chess piece is a Knight, dated 10th-11th century, made of whalebone, Dorset, England. The abstraction is spectacular, of great modernity. The texture of the bone makes it organic, and the shape almost resembles early cycladic Greek sculptures. Amazing. The British Museum

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

This senet box from Egypt, end of the 18th dynasty-19th dynasty (1327 - -1186 AEC) is a meta-senet, featuring a playing senet scene within a senet... Louvre Museum

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

One of my favorites chess Knights, dated 8th–10th century, made of jet stone, attributed to Western Islamic Lands A spectacular piece abstract piece, so modern in concept, as in an art deco geometric motif. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

A very handsome 10th century mancala board, from Medina Azahara, a once flourishing city in Al Andalus, beautifully carved in ivory. Museo de Burgos

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Reposted by Diego Rasskin Gutman

Dr. Walter Crist @waltros.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Footage of narwhals playing! I’m obsessed

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Women's Day Queen, dated circa 12th century, made of walrus ivory and bone. The close-fitting hood with headband is typical of Spanish royal garments. Sitting in her throne/castle, still with circular decorative motifs of old abstract arabic chess pieces. The Walters Art Museum

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Reposted by Diego Rasskin Gutman

Dr. Walter Crist @waltros.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Shout out to all women game players on International Women’s Day! The earliest person in the world who can be identified as someone who played games was the woman buried at el-Mahasna, Egypt around 3800 BCE with this, the oldest surviving game set!

Clay gaming table with eleven conical pieces

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Two chess pawns, dated 1206-1300, from Persia, made of agate and carnelian Greenish pieces versus redish pieces. Wonderful. The Philadelphia Museum of Art

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

This chess, circa 14-15th century is made of chalcedony. A surprisingly modern look for a set that still preserves some of the medieval shapes. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

This chess piece, a King or a Queen is made of ivory. Fatimid dynasty, c. 10th-11th century. Made in Egypt?, found in Sicily. An oustanding Arabic abstract piece, with marvelous concentric rings and circle motifs around the base and top. The British Museum

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Math is a playful thing! Left, icosahedron die. Faces with Greek letters, from the Ptolemaic Period–Roman Period, 2nd century B.C.–4th century A.D., found in Egypt (MET collection). Right, Leonardo da Vinci illustration for Luca Pacioli's book, Divina Proportione, 1509.

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

This was one of the chess sets used for the 1972 world championship between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer. It was sold in auction in 2011 for $67,500. RIP Boris & Bobby Photo: Weiss Auctions

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

"Ssangryuk (or Ssanguk) is a game using dice, most commonly played in winter... It has...30 horses and 2 dice. The board... is on average 80x40cm. A die is about 1 cm³ and is made from ivory or bone. Tiger bone is preferred." this is just poetry, from Wikipedia

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Manuscript O.2.45 from Trinity College, Cambridge has these two pages depicting board games, alquerque, 9 men's Morris and Chess. It belongs to Cerne Abbey (Dorset, England) and is dated 13th-15th century Such a modern look!

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Diego Rasskin Gutman @drasskin.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Different cultures, different games, same circular motifs.. Two dice, one from Gandhara (elongated), c. 1st–3rd century (MET), one Roman 79 AD (British M) Two chess pieces, a Bishop from Islamic Lands c. 8th–10th century (MET) and a Knight from Tønsberg c. 1200 Norway (NIKU).

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