Sharilyn Neidhardt
Urban Chess

On Sunday, May 11, human chess pieces will be moving from block to block on a grid in the Lower East Side. Moves will be transmitted to them via mobile phone from ABC No Rio where two chess experts go head to head.

participants:
each person will be playing the part of a gamepiece in a giant lifesized game of chess, carried out in a neighborhood of new york city. game moves will be transmitted from the chess masters at game HQ to participating gamepieces via cellphone. each gamepiece must provide a reliable cellphone number. a map of the board and a t-shirt indicating the piece to be played will be provided. there will be thirty-two gamepieces at the beginning of the game. a knowledge of chess is not required.

gameboard:
a neighborhood will be chosen for play where each block intersection represents a square of the chess board. players representing bishops, rooks, knights, and especially queens should prepare for a fairly athletic couple of hours. pawns and kings will have a more relaxed game.

the game:
experienced players will be playing a realtime game of chess at game HQ. each move will be transmitted to the pieces via cellphone. we anticipate   the entire game will take about 2 hours.

game headquarters:
the players making the actual chess moves will be stationed at game HQ (ABC No Rio), transmitting the moves to the gamepieces via cellphone. captured gamepieces will return to game HQ. pieces captured early in the game will have the option to assist in documenting the project. there will be a post-gameplay party at game HQ for players and pieces to discuss their experiences of the project.


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related website:
Sarkana Artist Materials

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