After two years of silence due to the pandemic, Living Chess resumes its appointment every summer with the celebration of the XXIV Living Chess of Xàbia which will take place on Saturday, July 30, at 22:30 p.m., in the venue that will be installed on Lepanto Avenue.
This cultural event, whose first edition was held in 1996, is organized by the Mare de Déu de Loreto Festival Commission with the collaboration of MI Town hall of the Villa.
For this edition, in which its 25th anniversary will be commemorated a year late, the organization has decided to once again represent one of the most praised works of its history: the Poema Escacs d´Amor (Love Chess Poem) by Francesc de Castellví , Narcís Vinyoles and Mossen Fenollar.
This text written in Valencià, possibly in 1475, acquires a universal dimension for two reasons: it is a classic of Valencian literature and it constitutes the first modern chess reference where the new rules of the game are contemplated, which are maintained by most until our days, including the transcendental change represented by the incorporation of the Queen or Lady.
From its first steps, Living Chess has felt closely linked to this jewel of our cultural legacy. In fact, he represented the Poema in 2004 to support the recently constituted "Valencia Foundation, Cradle of Modern Chess"; and he will once again join this initiative on the occasion of the series of events promoted by said Foundation on
last May and was attended by prominent personalities from the world of chess, including Judit Polgar, the best chess player in history.
The Living Chess scriptwriters have written for this year a new libretto for the work from a current perspective, based on the adaptation that was carried out 18 years ago in which the linguistic adaptation from ancient to modern Valencian was made, as well as the theatrical (according to the time) through the creation of stagings (remember that it is a poem that contains the development of a game, but without any theatrical mention).
The representation will count, as in the last editions, with the participation of the Xàbia Symphony Orchestra that will interpret a selection of medieval music accompanying the development of the function.
Origin of the Poem Escacs d'Amor
The authors of the Poema were prominent figures of Valencian cultural life, very fond of chess, who had a close friendship with the future King Ferdinand of Aragon, who was also passionate about the game. (Fernando de Aragón married Isabel de Castilla in 1469, she being proclaimed queen in 1474 and Fernando in 1479).
Chess historians conjecture that Castellví, Vinyoles and Fenollar would have spoken on more than one occasion with Fernando de Aragón to try to change the rules of the game and give it more dynamism (perhaps it would be boring or monotonous). And, possibly, among the proposals considered, one was the substitution of the masculine piece called «alferza» of Arab-medieval origin —it was placed next to the king as a vizier or adviser and enjoyed a very limited movement in the game— by another higher value piece. It is believed that during a meeting one of the four suggested that the new piece be called "Queen", inspired by the recently proclaimed
Queen Isabella of Castile of great political power in those years and that, consequently, she was endowed with the greatest mobility on the board.
With a contemporary look, this fact can be considered as an act of greater transcendence than can be inferred from the strictly chess point of view, since, without a doubt, it manifests the vindication of the equality of women by incorporating them into the game of chess that until then He was completely masculine at the time.
What is Xàbia Living Chess
Living Chess is a theater group that creates a singular and differentiated stage modality that supposes a new way of understanding this ancient variety of chess. It can be defined as "a story told through a theatrical performance, performed by schoolchildren, based on a game of chess". In reality, the spectator attends more to the contemplation of a play than to the development of a game, in such a way that it is not necessary to know how to play chess to understand and enjoy the play. This initiative takes elements from classical theater and living chess, giving rise to a new theatrical modality called “theatrical living chess”.
This event was distinguished in 2002 with the title of Festival of National Tourist Interest. The Living Chess, directed from its beginnings by Rafael Andarias, is organized by the Mare de Déu de Loreto Festival Commission, currently chaired by Vicent Gavilà.
The group is made up of about twenty members, with more than forty schoolchildren, between 6 and 14 years old, who participate each year as extras. Its approximate duration is about sixty minutes and it is carried out with the presence of a narrator and two players who read the movements of the game. These players are an outstanding student of the Xàbia Chess Club, and a Guest of Honor who is a prominent personality or entity.
As Guests of honor there have been figures from the world of sports, science and culture. Among them we can highlight: the tennis players Juan Carlos Ferrero and David Ferrer (Favorite Son of Xàbia), the chess player, Miguel Illescas, the journalist, Matías Prats, the judoka from Alicante, Isabel Fernández, the diplomat from Xàbia, Consuelo Femenía, the pianist, also from our town, Marta Espinós, the Prince of Asturias awards the astronaut, Pedro Duque (Adoptive Son of Xàbia), the paleoanthropologist, co-director of Atapuerca, Juan Luis Arsuaga and the scientist, Santiago Grisolía (President of the Consell Valencià de Cultura and promoter of the Jaume I awards). Also present were the writer, Javier Reverte and the actor Álvaro de Luna.
Likewise, charitable or social organizations have been present, such as the Spanish Association for the Prevention of School Harassment (AEPAE), PayaSOSpital and Cáritas, attended by prominent representatives of the same.
A milestone to highlight in the journey of Living Chess was when in 2006 the writer JK Rowling and the producer Warner Bros. granted us express authorization to make the theatrical adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, being the first time that it was carried out scene. (This permission included the use of the logos, music and other elements that appear in the film).
Living Chess have carried out other performances outside of Xàbia: Thiviers (France), Vitoria and Linares (this one in the framework of the XXV anniversary of its prestigious tournament that was attended by the then world champion, the Indian V. Anand).
Finally, it only remains to indicate that since the first edition the organization has promoted inclusivity. There has never been any type of discrimination in the selection of small actors and actresses: they have come from all the schools in Xàbia, they have belonged to a large part of the numerous nationalities that coexist in our town and schoolchildren with functional diversity have acted, both psychic as well as physical (among the various editions in which they have participated, we want to highlight the one in 2018 in which an adolescent in a wheelchair performed).
For more information and to see a photo gallery, you can consult their website.
