Every year the Chessmen Museum organizes a design competition. Everyone, young and old, can submit the chess game of their own design and compete for nice prizes. Besides that, the chess sets are on display at the museum for a year: the visitors act as the judges of the competition.
Religions chess game
Keys and world peace
Ever since its opening in 2006 the museum has been organizing a true design competition on a yearly basis. Amateurs who like arts as well as professional artists participate and try and create the most beautiful pieces. In 2007, Alie Kalverda joined in the competition with her Religions design. This chess set comes with an ambitious message: the artist hopes that with this chess set she can bring more tolerance amongst the different religions of the world. That would bring world peace a lot closer. Kalverda won a prize with her bronze figurine design. The impressive pieces, some up to 15 centimeters high, are still on display at the Chessmen Museum.
The designs make for an interesting addition to the museum’s permanent collection. The most beautiful chess games from competitions of the past years are on display. Chess sets made of playing cards, house keys, bolts and screws, English licorice: anything you can think of is game and is used by our participants and made into remarkable chess sets. Harry Hoek, designer of the Rotterdam Chess Game, has also entered in the competition. Before he designed the current abstract version of his game, he contributed with a design of figurative buildings from the port town. Both versions of the Rotterdam chess set are on display at the Chessmen Museum.
King Koeman, champion of the board?
Every year, elementary school students from Rotterdam and surrounding areas can join in the race for a place in the exhibition and the competition prizes. The Erasmiaans Gymnasium organizes the annual chess design competition for school going children. Ridder Dijkshoorn, director of the Chessmen Museum, saw all the wonderful designs and soon picked out his favorite: the Feyenoord-Ajax chess game. With this chess set the two football rivals can play their match on the chess board. Hopefully, Feyenoord supporters will get to see King Koeman and his men crush the Amsterdam Ajax team.
Feyenoord-Ajax chess Game, including King Koeman.
The football chess set was created by five students. Sam had the idea for the design competition. For the Saint Nicholas celebrations he had made a surprise football chess game for his fellow student Anton. The two friends wanted to make an improved version of this surprise for the design competition. With some help from their classmates Joep, Maarten, Ramazan and Anton’s father, this Ajax-Feyenoord chess set was the sporty result.
And the winners are…
In 2012 the Chessmen Museum paired the annual design competition with Rotterdam Museum Night that was held on the 10th of March. The participating designs, including those made by school students, were revealed to the public for the first time that night. Over a hundred visitors voted for their favorite design that night. Whoever couldn’t make it to the museum that night did not have to regret it. It was possible to vote for the participating chess games throughout the whole year: visitors were the judges of the competition. During the 2013 edition of Museum Night the winners of the last chess design competition were officially revealed. And the winners are… (continue reading.)
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