Inspiring: the Match of the Century in Belgrade

Chess inspires

The "Match of the Century" captivates chess enthusiasts in Yugoslavia and all over the world – and it inspires artists.

A couple of years ago the Japanese performance artist Yoko Ono designed a chess board that is entirely in white, calling it "Play it with Trust".

In the beginning you still know who is friend and who is foe.

Now was the right time to get the game out again. As you can see, Yoko Ono's partner John Lennon also likes to play.

John Lennon playing chess | Film still from Imagine by John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Some of the other Beatles also got interested in the game.

Ringo Starr plays through the games from Belgrade

Klaus Voorman, a close friend of the Beatles since their Hamburg days, has also – he is a designer after all – been inspired by chess and decided to design his own set of pieces.

Klaus Voorman's chess set

However, rumours persist that the members of the most successful pop group in music history soon want to go separate ways. Which would be a great pity. The Beatles have stormed the charts countless times and they have millions of incredibly devoted and enthusiastic fans all over the world.

But not only the Beatles play chess. Robert Plant is also a big chess fan. He played with the Yardbirds before he co-founded the notorious band Led Zeppelin. But one can hardly imagine that this group, with their disharmonic, even bizarre new music style, will have a long life.

Make up your own mind – here is a recording of a concert that took place in England this year.

But listening all the time to music that is too loud cannot be healthy.

This is how Robert Plant might look in 50 years to come. | Photo © Pieter M. Van Hattem

On top of that, sometimes one cannot help but get the impression that a lot of modern music is mainly intended to provide the background for taking intoxicating substances.

The next film shows where this development can lead. Sometimes one's own taste in music simply does not meet the preferred taste of the listeners. Which might be embarrassing for all involved.

Translation from German: Johannes Fischer

Links

• Fischer will play!
• The Match of the Century: Vlastimil Hort with impressions from Belgrade