The Leningrad Human Chess Match was played across Palace Square in 1924 using people as pieces. Members of the Red Army formed the black side, while the Soviet Navy played white; horses carried several of the larger pieces. Chess masters Ilya Rabinovich and Peter Romanovsky directed them by telephone as around 8,000 spectators watched. For one afternoon, an imperial square became a chessboard and the military obeyed two men seated at tables.
Leningrad Human Chess Match
