Every year Tennessee’s Renaissance Festival (RenFest) has a theme, this year the event’s story centers around the 1591 competition between aspiring playwrights William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe as they vie for the title of Queen’s First Playwright. Spotlighting a bit of real history is part of the fun of RenFest. This rivalry comes to a head during the festival every day as the duo takes to the human chessboard to duel out their competition.
“It’s wit! It’s violence! It’s human chess,” says the event’s website.
Human Chess, also known as “living chess,” takes place on a life-sized chess board with people taking the place of the various pieces: pawns, rooks, knights, bishops, kings and queens. When it comes time for a battle, all of the other “pieces” leave the board and the opposing “pieces” battle it out with swords and sarcasm. It is a scripted theatrical piece. Popular at the Tennessee Renaissance Festival many years ago, it has come back with foil and farce.
Human chess is based on a legendary game that took place in 1454 in Marostica, Italy where two knights played the game to win the hand of a lady whom they both loved. After that event, it became a spectacle for royal courts. That game continues to be celebrated to this day.
“The game is played on a giant chessboard in Piazza Castello,” explains historichotelsofeurope.com, “the town’s main square, with over 600 actors dressed in elaborate medieval costumes representing the chess pieces. The spectacle is enhanced by music, dance, fireworks, and other theatrical elements, creating a truly immersive and unforgettable experience.”
One of the most famous games of human chess takes place in literature, in the book Alice Through the Looking Glass. The entire book is based on a game of chess, with the Red Queen coming alive. In this game it is red versus white, and the game board covers the entire countryside of the land on the other side of the mirror.
There is also a poem written by J. Pierce about the playing of a human chess game called “Living Chess at St. Leonard’s” about the event that took place in 1891. The game begins with “The stirring strain their martial ardour fires, and every breast to noble deed aspires.” The “game pieces” wore fine Tudor style costumes of red and gold or white and silver. And the game took place over three days, ending “When comes she (the queen) forth with all her weight of power, While keeping clear of Knight and hostile tower: Till, at the last, to win a brilliant game, Yielding her life, ‘mid tumults of acclaim.”
In St. Petersburg, then known as Leningrad, a large-scale human chess game took place in 1924 as part of a campaign to promote the playing of chess in Russia. The game took place in Palace Square with the game pieces being “played” by the Red Army and the Soviet Navy. This game was not staged, but actually played between top chess masters Peter Romanovsky and Ilya Rabinovich.
According to Knowledge Junction, “The match lasted five hours and ended in a draw on the 67th move, largely due to the exhaustion of the participants. Watched by a crowd of about 8,000 people, the event wasn’t just a spectacle but a serious effort by the Soviet Union to make chess a national pastime, emphasizing strategy, discipline, and mental strength. This grand event became part of a series of such exhibitions held annually in various cities, making chess an essential part of Soviet culture.”
The game itself can be traced back to India, but it didn’t make it to Europe until the 13th century CE. Over time, there have been a number of changes to the game. It was well known in England and France in the 18th century, but it didn’t become prominent around the world until the 19th century. The term “Grand Master” was first coined by Czar Nicholas II of Russia in 1914.
At the Renaissance Festival, the game begins with a literary rivalry and ends in a free for all. The fun is in between.
RenFest is open from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Memorial Day weekend on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The festival takes place at 2135 Newcastle Road in Arrington. It is best to purchase tickets in advance here.
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