Members of the champion chess team at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) will be featured as part of a unique Dallas Museum of Art exhibition titled Dialogues: Duchamp, Cornell, Johns, Rauschenberg.
Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), the French painter and mixed-media artist associated with Cubism, Dadaism and Surrealism, was an avid chess player throughout his life. His works and life will be highlighted at the DMA throughout the month of October, and, as part of the exhibition, members of the UTD chess team will be available to take on all comers.
The showcase union of art and chess will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8, Sunday, Oct. 9, and Sunday, Oct 23. Play with the UTD champions is free with paid admission to the DMA, but space is limited.
UTD President Dr. David Daniel will be on hand for the Oct. 23 event.
“And why isn’t my playing chess an art activity?” Duchamp once remarked to author Truman Capote. “A chess game is very plastic. You construct it. It’s mechanical sculpture, and with chess one creates beautiful problems, and that beauty is made with the head and the hands.”
UTD players who will be featured as part of the exhibit include Grandmaster Alejandro Ramirez, Grandmaster-elect Magesh Panchanathan, International Master Dmitri Shneider, FIDE Master Michal Kujovic, Women’s FIDE Master Lilia Doibani, International Master Peter Vavrak and International Master Amon Simutowe.
For more information about the UTD chess program, please visit http://chessweb.utdallas.edu.