Chosen book inspiration
About the book
The Thinkers is a visual tribute to the game of chess, showcasing the emotions, exertions and desires of the players, and conveying the mental intensity only chess can command. It includes some of the most iconic portraits of today’s stars, as well as emotive shots of ordinary players from all over the world, with photos taken over the last five years in venues such as Mombasa, London, Chennai, Las Vegas, Baku and Sao Paulo. Llada’s photographs capture the full richness and drama of the game, making this the most visually stunning book ever devoted to chess.
“David Llada’s pictures are full of life, and they are colourful even if black-and-white. Precisely as the game of chess itself.” – GM Emil Sutovsky, ACP President
About the photographer
David Llada, born in Spain in 1978, has always been connected to the chess world, first as a professional chess journalist, publishing his contributions in all the world’s major chess magazines. In recent times he has earned a reputation as the chess photographer, working as Official Photographer at the three most recent Olympiads.
Llada’s intention towards creating his book was to help promote chess through his pictures with his main audience being people who were already interested in the game, making it one of the more renowned chess books on the market. The publicity the book got, however, helped to boost the acknowledgement of it with journalist brands like Wired and First Post making articles about him.
‘I am very surprised by the welcome it had, not within the chess community, but in general media.’ – David Llada.
Narrative, concept and design
‘The Thinkers’ is a hardcover book with a mix of photos being in colour and in black and white, overall having 208 pages in total with the paper quality being smooth. The book itself is published by ‘Quality Chess’ on the 16 November 2017 and is 31x24cm.
The thinkers is more of a literal title due to the people being photographed are those concentrating during a chess tournament, showing the emotions each player goes through with their own games.
Links
https://qualitychess.co.uk/products/2/310/the_thinkers_hardcover_by_david_llada
https://en.chessbase.com/post/master-class-with-david-llada