The game of chess brings to life some of the defining features of our humanity: intellect, imagination, creativity, and the appreciation of artistic beauty. These features are on display whenever a chess game is played, whenever the pieces are moved across the board. And not only within the strategy of the game: the chess pieces themselves can be objets d’art of the highest order, especially those from distant lands and from centuries past. Thirty-two miniature sculptures, each of which bears the hallmarks of history and the symbolism of subjects within their respective kingdoms.

Over the past several decades, Sir António Horta-Osório has built a world-class collection of the best antique chess sets, chess boards, and chess pieces. His collection is considered by many to be the finest such collection ever assembled.

The astounding artistry of António's antique chess collection is now being revealed to the world, one volume at a time. Volume 1: India highlights the antique chess sets of India and the Indian subcontinent. Master craftsmen from different regions within India, working solely with primitive tools, created exquisitely beautiful chess sets that have stood the test of time for many years, and for many years yet to come. The book is itself a work of art: 424 pages, 212 high-resolution photographs, and 68 illustrations. Descriptions of the chess sets are provided by a team of top chess experts and historians, written in an engaging style that is both readable and accurate.

The team of authors is currently working on Volume 2 (East & Southeast Asia) and Volume 3 (Central & Eastern Europe), each with the same painstaking attention to top-quality production.