Chess is much purer than art in its social position.

December 24, 2014 6:03 AM

Marcel Duchamp loved (Image NSW) playing Chess.
In 1918 whilest in Buenos Aires he designed and made his own Art Deco Chess pieces which you can now print for yourself.
These were created by Scott Kildall who also created Playing Duchamp a computer chess program.
Duchamp's Chess history.
The wonderful Marcel Duchamp Studies online journal Re-evaluates the Art & Chess of Marcel Duchamp.
For Chess afficionados there is this hypothosis of Beckett and Duchamp and Chess in the 1930's.
posted by adamvasco (21 comments total)

Instead of Checkmate your queen melts and flows off the board.
posted by sammyo at 6:08 AM on December 24, 2014

I've never wanted a 3d printer so much before.
posted by Mitheral at 6:17 AM on December 24, 2014 [1 favorite]

Mitheral soon you might be able to get Amazon to do it.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:21 AM on December 24, 2014

I want to be so cool naked women will play games with me and allow themselves to be photographed while doing so, but sadly, I decided my hobby was going to be puppets. Chess players get all the girls.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:22 AM on December 24, 2014 [1 favorite]

R. Butt
posted by ZenMasterThis at 6:33 AM on December 24, 2014

That was Eve Babitz
posted by adamvasco at 6:33 AM on December 24, 2014 [2 favorites]

cjorgensen, then I'm pretty sure you've never been to Bread and Puppets in Vermont.

And, thanks for this! I'm excited to see the potentials of 3D printing being explored in all these ways.
posted by meinvt at 6:34 AM on December 24, 2014

This is cool, thank you. I'd lust after 3d printed ones myself, but I think the weight would be too far off, and the result wouldn't be satisfying.
posted by Think_Long at 6:56 AM on December 24, 2014

This is cool, thank you. I'd lust after 3d printed ones myself, but I think the weight would be too far off, and the result wouldn't be satisfying.

Based on nothing more than eyeballing the pieces, I'd think they'd need some hollow space at the base for some weights.
posted by Setec Astronomy at 7:09 AM on December 24, 2014

I have heard that he became a good player, about national master strength.

They also tell a story that his wife, annoyed at the hours he spent studying endgame problems, glued the pieces to their position on the board.
posted by thelonius at 7:58 AM on December 24, 2014 [1 favorite]

but sadly, I decided my hobby was going to be puppets.

Malkovich.
posted by localroger at 8:56 AM on December 24, 2014

Strip chess. For the very patient.
posted by IndigoJones at 11:23 AM on December 24, 2014 [1 favorite]

Mitheral soon you might be able to get Amazon to do it.

Lulzbot will print any model you like for fifty bucks. If you buy one of their printers they deduct that from the final bill.
posted by clarknova at 1:57 PM on December 24, 2014

It's not in the Vanity Fair link, but I seem to remember reading somewhere that Eve Babitz expressed disappointment that Duchamp really was only interested in playing chess.
posted by jonp72 at 3:52 PM on December 24, 2014 [1 favorite]

Shapeways could do some really great metal pieces if you want, but it will probably cost a couple hundred for the set at a minimum. Their high res plastic would with a empty space in the bottom for a metal weight would be cheaper option, but still going to be at least $100.
posted by humanfont at 5:18 PM on December 24, 2014

All of the the links on the greg.org site (to the printable files) don't appear to be working. Any suggestions?
posted by taltalim at 5:25 PM on December 24, 2014

I went to high school with Scott. His father was um pretty famous...
posted by Joseph Gurl at 7:55 PM on December 24, 2014

In 1918 whilest in Buenos Aires he designed and made his own Art Deco Chess pieces which you can now print for yourself.

Living in the future is so cool.
posted by homunculus at 8:43 PM on December 24, 2014

I searched for items tagged Kildall on thingiverse and found some variants of the chess set.
posted by artaxerxes at 2:56 AM on December 25, 2014

taltalim try here.
and here is Scott's instructable. I guess you can choose your colours.
posted by adamvasco at 12:32 PM on December 25, 2014

One more and I'm gone.
The first link, a photograph by Julien Wasser, is a complex pun. To further this the background is Duchamp's The Bride stripped bare by her batchelors, even.
Eve Babitz explains in the above link; she was very proud of her assets and happy to flaunt them and as jonjp points out Duchamp then in his 70's seems more into chess,
posted by adamvasco at 1:40 PM on December 25, 2014