Chess is a wonderful game of strategy, intelligence, wit, and enjoyment that people from around the world have enjoyed playing for centuries. Yet Skyline Chess is elevating the game into an art form with their highly stylized and architecturally inspired board games.
The brand was founded by two London based designers who both professed a fondness for chess and architecture. Skyline shrinks down some of the world’s most iconic buildings and landmarks into carefully crafted chess pieces so that the game advances when the architectural wonders are moved across the board.
With Skyline Chess’ inaugural London Edition they aim to bring some of Great Britain’s greatest landmarks into the much-loved game. In Skyline’s version, Pawns become classically British terraced houses, the shrewd Rook is transformed into Big Ben, the stoic Knight takes place as the London Eye, the mighty Bishop is remodeled into the Gherkin, the elegant Queen reappears as the Shard, and the regal King becomes the four and a half inch tall Canary Wharf building.
The 32-piece chess set is constructed of high-quality injection molded acrylic to be appealing both to the chess enthusiast and design admirer alike. Each piece is double weighted and has a soft felt base for easy manipulation. As a study in classic black and white, the set makes a stunning centerpiece as an element of British design. Each set comes with a folding board, packaged neatly in a presentation box, making it a great gift.