The Chess Players

Well, this is not Alechin vs Capablanca but… who cares?

The photograph captures two men deep in thought over a chessboard, in what appears to be the dim, warm interior of a Brussels café. One sits with his back to the camera, the word Corvette stitched boldly across his jacket. The other, leaning forward with his hand pressed to his temple, peers at the pieces through half-slipped glasses. Between them, the board sits in a pool of light — the only element in sharp enough focus to feel anchored — while the surrounding chairs and tables fade softly into the background.

Compositionally, I opted for a perspective that placed the viewer as an unseen observer just behind one of the players. This positioning not only obscures part of the board but also forces attention toward body language and gesture, which here reveal more than any close-up of the pieces could. The diagonal created by the two men’s gaze lines converges at the chessboard, giving the scene its visual tension.

Technically, the low-light conditions demanded a compromise. A wider aperture and higher ISO preserved the warmth of the ambient lighting but introduced a softness to some edges and a fine grain in the shadows. White balance leaned toward the warmer spectrum, enhancing the sense of late-afternoon or early-evening quiet, though at the expense of pure colour accuracy in the blues and skin tones.

The scene is less about chess as a game and more about concentration, ritual, and the unspoken exchanges between two people locked into the same moment.