Did you know that composer Sergei Prokofiev adored CHESS?

While studying at the conservatory, Prokofiev tried not to miss interesting matches and even invented new variations of the game – on a hexagonal board or on nine boards with nine sets of pieces!

In St. Petersburg in 1909, he played the then reigning world champion, Emanuel Lasker: the match lasted five hours and ended in a draw. Three years later, the composer defeated the great José Raúl Capablanca.

Among his opponents were fellow musicians. In 1937, tickets were even sold for Sergei Prokofiev's match with violinist David Oistrakh. The game followed a special regulation: after each move, the participants had to perform an excerpt from the march from the opera ‘The Love for Three Oranges’. But, the opponents were so engrossed in the game that they were in too much of a hurry to get back to it and the musical interludes were cancelled.

According to the terms of the match, the loser had to give a concert at the House of Arts Workers. And although David Oistrakh emerged victorious, both participants in this unusual battle took the stage.