The study of moves on the board.
I was talking to a client about chess strategy, the moves, the personality of the players—the tactical delicacy of the moves. Are there archetypes in the game?
Yes, player archetypes.
First off, the legacy of the game is roughly 1400 years old—and, if you’re a player, you’d likely know of its origins in India, then Persia, then the west, in Spain, a tractate published in 1475. Originally, this was a martial game—Chaturanga, the Indian name for the game was formed on the etymology of “battle formation,” and the pieces then, and perhaps today, speak to warlike expressions—and the arrangements were set as a battle array.
The typographical arrangement that is shown in the blog header above is a configuration I designed for event signage, promotions, merchandising and player gear for a summit in Seattle—with Chinese and American players. I designed this for a group of investors, Seattle chess aficionados, business people that believe in the game—in meetings in Seattle and Indian Wells, CA—with plenty of game play to practice the preach.
For me, the most interesting brand-related story is the narrative of a youth playing the game—in an extraordinary way.
Most players would know immediately who that is, from his bio, as:
Josh Waitzkin
From age nine on Josh dominated the U.S. scholastic chess scene, becoming an eight-time National Champion. He won the National Primary Championship in 1986, the National Junior High Championship in 1988 while in the fifth grade, and the National Elementary Championship in 1989. At the age of 11, he drew a game with World Champion Garry Kasparov in a simultaneous exhibition. At age 13, Josh earned the title of National Master. He won the National Junior High Championship for the second time in 1990, and the Senior High Championship in 1991, as well as the U.S. Cadet Championship (Under-16). Between the third and ninth grades, Josh also led New York City’s Dalton School to win six National team championships.
For Paramount Studios I designed the original identity for the film “Searching for Bobby Fischer.” This film is based on a story of the same name by Josh’s dad, Fred—as in this Wikipedia overview.
It’s a complex title, so I created it in a stacked arrangement, tightly kerned with balancing rules to set the structure as a unit, built on a customized Didot, slightly condensed to hold its mass and presence as a titling treatment, the initial caps were redrawn, to compensate. Still, not too tall, but enough to state the intellectual sophistication of the narrative.
Every Journey begins with a single move.
I can help you.
Tim
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