Peaceful chess without battles

Artist Felix Albers is very fond of chess but he wanted to teach his son a more peaceful version of the game. So he developed Paco Sako, in other words, peace chess. Instead of attacking each other, the chess pieces meet in an embrace.

The Paco Sako chess set is being completed as we speak and it will be put on display at the Chessmen Museum in May. It will also be for sale so this seems like the perfect time to meet its creator.

You have developed and created a chess game based on harmony. Why did you want to put this twist on the original game?
“When my wife was pregnant with our first child, it got me thinking. What do I want my child to know? What am I going to teach him and tell him throughout his life? I recalled what I myself had done and learned in my life and what were the things that brought me joy. Chess was one of those things. But I never liked it when I beat my father at chess. Maybe I took the game a bit too seriously…”

What do you mean by ´too seriously´?
“The game of chess represents two armies, it is a reflection of war and therefore a reflection of the most primitive and narrow-minded side of man. On the other hand, chess is perhaps the most famous and oldest intellectual game known to mankind. It is brilliant in its tactics and strategy. I find this to be a dubious combination. I wanted to teach my child how to play chess, but I did not want to pass on the element of war to him. That is why I sought to find a non-violent version of the game.”

Is it so bad, then, to engage in a little competition?
“Well, this is the way I see it: conflict is not a bad thing, as long as you have the desire to move forward and learn from it. The philosophy of this game is that there are two different parties, both with their own thoughts and ideas, that eventually come together through negotiation. They conclude a peace treaty instead of attacking each other. Paco Sako is peaceful chess.”

How are these changes to the game reflected on the Paco Sako board?
“All of the chess pieces are allowed the same movements as in normal chess, only you don´t capture your opponent. You embrace him. This makes the applied strategies very different from the ones in traditional chess. The king doesn´t just surrender to the first opponent to come along, though. He tries to avoid embracing the opposing party until the best ‘idea for cooperation’ has been presented.”

And what about the rules of the game?
“The rules are the same, except for four additional rules. The first rule is to embrace instead of attack your adversary so that there are two figures on a square, and then the pieces can move along together, locked in embrace. The third rule is that the other player can take control over this couple, and concatenating is rule number four: the takeover can be extended over several squares. This last rule is similar to the one in draughts which allows you to keep on moving and capturing for as long as possible.”

“There are more possibilities than in traditional chess and that makes Paco Sako a very dynamic game. You may also make several moves in one turn, and use number of pieces. The funny thing is that if you don’t think too much about all sorts of different options, it is a very fast game. The moves are less predictable and static, making for a very surprising game.”

Paco and Sako mean peace and chess in Esperanto. Why did you take the name of your game from this artificial language? 
“I have researched many languages to find the perfect combination of words for the game. Vredesschaken (Dutch for Peace Chess), Peace Chess, you name it. The Esperanto version was simply the most beautiful one. Besides, Esperanto was created to be a universal language. The idea that everybody in the world is able to understand each other and discuss matters with each other is reflected in the game´s philosophy.”

“Hugmate was also a possible name for a while, but I think that serious chess players could get a bit annoyed with all that cuddling. It’s not a children´s game, that’s why I’ve stayed close to the original game in terms of rules and set-up. At the same time, the game also needs to be fun for and attractive to children. I designed the chess pieces in a variety of bright colours for them. Every child can have a box with chess pieces in a colour of their choice and take it to go and play a game with a friend who has a set of pieces in a different colour. A uniform for the home team and one for the visiting team, ha-ha!”

How did you design and create these chess pieces?
“My biggest issue was how to make the union of the pieces visible. It was a complicated problem and I had to see it in material form. So I got out my old chess set and cut the pieces in half. My father is no longer alive and I thought it was a nice idea to use this particular set, which we played with many times, to bring the pieces together. When I started sawing the pieces in half it felt a bit like sacrilege, but I think my father would have been proud of the idea behind my game.”

“After I cut the pieces I had to apply some mathematics: the embrace is built up of three different layers. All of the pieces must be able to embrace each other, and at the same time, be in balance with each other. The pawn is smaller than the queen. The knight, the rook and the bishop are somewhere in between. All of their arms can now join in the embrace. I made clay models of the pieces and scanned them for 3D printing. With the help of the printer software I was able to give the feet of the pieces a pretty yin yang shape and at the same time stabilise them. Nice symbolism, isn´t it? It also fits in beautifully with the philosophy of the game.”

What would you like to achieve with your game, now that it is finished?
“I am especially curious about the reaction of the people who are going to use it. Will they think it is an innovative game? How will serious chess players react to it? What will the strategies be like? Strategically, it is actually very different from traditional chess. I myself have played over a hundred games by now and I still haven´t figured out what the best strategy is. But the most important thing is that I can now tell my son that the figurines are hugging instead of attacking each other. So it is still a competition, only now it´s about who gives the best hugs!”

You can find more information about Paco Sako chess on the website www.pacosako.com..