24/10/2008

Robert Chaplin Vs Garry Kasparov


Once upon a time, not so very long ago, the world was a place where tall tales reigned supreme and great men walked upon the earth. These great men ascended by virtue of their gifts, focus, and dedication; lumberjacks, steel drivin’ men, and chess masters. Now I'm an ordinary man, I make things, and some of them turn out well. This chess set I’ve designed in Lego seems to fit that bill, and this is me getting my ass kicked by Garry Kasparov.
The really cool thing about playing Kasparov is that, you can have no expectation of victory, so there's no pressure. He started playing chess when he was a very little boy. Kasparov’s young mind wrapped itself around the secrets of the game, and this process formed the consciousness of the man sitting across the table from me. The thing about focus on a single activity at a young age, is that it creates people who can do things very well, and this experience can inform lateral thinking. Garry Kasparov has retired from professional chess and is now active in Russian politics, his understanding of situations is sublime.

I flew to Toronto to meet Kasparov and deliver his Lego chess set; this happened on Monday morning, it came about because my family loves me, and I’ve made some damn good friends. I taught Kasparov the secrets of Lego chess, how to take the set apart , put it away, and how to move the men using the piece picker. From Kasparov, I learned about the traditional board orientation, and that you can’t castle out of check. Getting a lesson, and high praise from a giant feels pretty good :) Nothing can replace the play of chess, in real time, on an actual set, with an actual human. Now you can play chess like Kasparov, anywhere, anytime.



Photo Credit 1: Taralea Cutler
Photo Credit 2: Peter Lattimer

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10 comments:

? said...

Thanks for sharing. This is amazing.

Anonymous said...

so.fucking.cool.

Malcolm Douglas Chaplin said...

Kasparov 1 Chaplin nil
maybe a rematch someday...
good show bert.

Doomkat said...

Thank you for visiting my blog and thank you for your interest in my artwork.

I would be willing to sign and sell my "Dodo bird" drawing. Do you have an email address that I could contact you at?

Anonymous said...

If only I did something so fantastically well that you were compelled to make a teeny-tiny version of it out of lego...

It's good that Kasparov now has a set small enough to go everywhere with him -- that way, when someone says "I'd kick your ass in chess, it's just too bad there isn't a set around," he can just whip it (the chess set) out.

Robert Chaplin rca said...

thanks for looking
if you hold your breath long enough,
I might make you a lego snorkle
Cheers amigo, R

Hobo Divine said...

"The game of chess is like a sword fight, you must think first before you move"

~RZA

I guess the game of cheese is like a sword fight too if you are lactose intolerant.

Mmmn... Cheeeeese!

My Word Verification was: paerem

Robert Chaplin rca said...

Thanks Hobo,
I came away from that trip feeling like I won. Things have been a little easier since then, I've got a new book at the printer and have entered our film in some festivals.
Crossed fingers and broken legs all around,
R

Cat said...

hey, thanks for stopping by my blog thingee! haha you're right, I usually go on the computer after a night out, and when I see the results the next day, I either laugh my butt off or cry.

Nogrinnin said...

That is so awesomely cool!!

word verification: trine