The "Mother of all Chess Sets"
This chess set has hand-carved pieces, the white ones made of teak and black
ones in rosewood.
The board and the box is teak, with each dark square inlayed with a globe
of the Earth at a different stage of rotation. The board is supposed to represent
the Earth involved in the war against terrorism.
The white pieces are labelled The Coalition. Each piece represents a player
in the coalition against terror, and each player is described on a separate
biographical page. The pieces are given below in the order King, Queen, Rook,
Bishop, Knight and Pawn.
George W. Bush, United
States President; Tony Charles
Lynton Blair, United Kingdom Prime Minister; Colin
Powell, United States Secretary of State; Donald
H. Rumsfeld, United States Secretary of Defence; Kofi
Annan, United Nations Secretary General; the Allies
Forces.
The black pieces are called the Axis of Evil. There is substantial biographical
material on each of the characters they are modeled after. Click on each of
the names will take you to the descriptions.
Osama Bin Laden, leader
of a terrorist organization known as Al-Qaeda ("the Base"); a suppressed
Afghani woman; Saddam
Hussein, former President and Dictator of Iraq; Hojatoleslam
Seyed Mohammad Khatami, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran; Mohamed
Said Al-Sahaf, former Iraq Information Minister; the Suicide
Bombers.
As the political arena changes the manufacturers are promising to make udates
available, with new players on the world scene. They say the sets in no way
imply support for the actions of Osama Bin Laden or Saddam Hussein. Neither
does it do so for the policies of George W Bush or Tony Blair. "This chess
set represents the civilized world on a collision course with the Axis of Evil.
It is dedicated to all innocent life which are caught between human greed for
Power, Oil and Religious Fanaticism."
The entire chess set thing has a philosophical and political background. The
web site defines it:
"Modern humankind lives in an era which is plagued by perplexing and
sobering questions. These questions not only define our generation but our
ability to respond to them will establish the legacy which we leave to every
generation that follows. Yet, there is one question which surpasses all others
in importance and indeed, virtually renders them irrelevant – it is
that of international terrorism and how to combat against it.There
must be an urgent global solidarity, and good will, where all our differences
must be put aside to form unyielding front in order to confront this danger.
Terrorists continue to lurk in the shadows reticent with the need to strike
against the civilised world. Indeed, this belligerent menace to our system
demands a concentrated and full baking of humankind which utilizes the rapid
technological advancements to counteract terrorist citadels wherever they
exist. The past several years have exemplified a new and menacing trend which
threatens our security with unprecedented horror. The list of terror continues
unabated even while the civilised world and the lovers of modernity and human
decency declare and wage a war of their own on terrorist and nations who
sponsor them.
The history of the world has been plagued with events surrounded by human
pain, trauma and agony. Yet, modern terrorist activities and lethal conflicts
fuelled by burning hatred between nations and individuals who are driven
by fanatical belief even more heinous when you consider that those who are
targeted are not military personnel trained to fight; but rather innocent,
unassuming civilians subject to death and maim."
The manufacturer also seems to have some compunctions about the set. In a
lengthy disclaimer they write:
"This is only a game. The views expressed in this chess set are those
of the artist. This chess set is a work of fiction, it brings a wit and wisdom
to the issues of our times. The mother of all chess sets raises issues and
concerns in dealing with our current threat which faces us all terrorisms,
which is a dominant globally discussed issue. Although it draws heavily upon
the artist views, and many texts and quotes will be presented exactly as
he wrote them, it should not be considered authentic.They are a fictional
interpretation and not meant in any way to be an accurate depiction. They
are absolutely false and based on a public image, and are not meant to reflect
the person's private life. No harm, misrepresentation, libel, malice or copyright
infringement is intended. At no time is this meant to be construed as reality.
We have no idea what we're talking about."
Etc. etc. Someone apparently got cold feet when the product (and the web
site) was completed.
Link
