Human chess

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Human chess is a variant of chess, often played at Renaissance Fairs, where people take on the roles of various chess pieces. This is typically done on an outdoor field, sometimes with the "board" marked out on the grass. Usually the participants follow the spirit of the game and allow themselves to be "taken". This may cause a choreographed "fight". Alternatively, they may spar following rules similar to those used by the SCA.

Human chess also appears in fiction, such as in, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and The Simpsons episode Tennis the Menace.

This term may also refer to political maneuvering between individuals and/or groups that resemble a chess match.

[edit] Cosplay human chess

In 2004, Metrocon created and hosted the first ever anime human chess match. It was pre-scripted and used choreographed combat which resulted in a new type of anime stage show.

Since then, anime conventions ranging from Anime Boston to Anime Next to Vericon began featuring cosplay human chess, in which the chess pieces are people cosplaying as anime characters. Depending on the convention, the game of chess may be pre-scripted or improvisational.