MoMA Hosts Simultaneous Chess Match Honoring Marcel Duchamp

On July 28, the Museum of Modern Art in New York will host a large simultaneous chess match to honor Marcel Duchamp, who considered chess an art form. Grandmaster Susan Polgar will play against 50 artists, historians, and art world figures on 50 boards simultaneously in the museum's central atrium. The event coincides with Duchamp's 139th birthday and the ongoing monographic exhibition "Marcel Duchamp" at MoMA (through August 22). Conceived by former art dealer and Duchamp expert Francis Naumann, the match echoes a similar event during Duchamp's 1974 MoMA retrospective. Sculptor Carol Bove has designed five artistic chess sets for visitors to use. Duchamp famously said, "all chess players are artists." The event runs from 12 to 5 pm in the Agnes Gund Garden Lobby, free with museum admission.