Pentagram designer Daniel Weil has contributed a new chess set design to the world of chess. It will join the ranks of the original Staunton chess set, which has been the standard thus far.
Weil's chess set made its debut at the World Chess Candidates Tournament in London, earlier this month.
Notably, Weil's design features the neoclassical, Greek-influenced aspects of the Staunton's design, but with more emphasis on certain details. For example, the chess pieces' profiles have been remodeled closer to column proportions so as to make it easier for chess players to carry out match gestures like the “south hold.”
In addition to the new chess set, Pentagram was also tasked to redesign the identity and website of the chess tournament. Moreover, they created an audience-participation system called ChessCasting, where the audience can contribute their own live-analysis of the games.
The World Chess Federation and Weil himself, hope that the the excitement around the new chess set can be instrumental in making chess relevant again.
Here's a closer look at the Pentagram-designed chess set and a screenshot of ChessCasting on the new website:
Chess set box and chess board:
The White pieces:
Profiles of the chess pieces redesigned to match the proportions of columns:
The heights of the pieces correspond with the facade of the Greek Parthanon:
The Knight:
The ‘theatricality of the game’ was taken into account. Pieces were made to suit both the north and south grip:
The heights of the pieces were a focus as well, as they play an important role in visibility during a game:
ChessCasting in action:
[via Fastcodedesign.com, images via Pentagram, Worldchess.com]