The November 2026 issue of Szachista, the Polish chess magazine published under the patronage of FIDE, carries a story I wrote: "Wróciłem do szachów, żeby je zbudować" — "I Came Back to Chess to Build It." It runs on pages 12–14.
It is a personal account of how ChessboArt began: a handsaw that had been lying in my father's workshop for years, an empty wall above a fireplace, and a long search for a wall chessboard that did not yet exist. Along the way came a phone call about boards for a film, a simultaneous game against Magnus Carlsen that I had not planned to play, and the unexpected way Judit Polgár and I ended up working together. ChessboArt has since exhibited at her Global Chess Festival in Budapest.
The article is in Polish and available in print only. It is not published online, so the November issue, available in shops in Poland, is the only way to read it.
A magazine I have read since I was a boy
I subscribed to Szachista for many years, and I still keep the old issues, some dating back to 1998. Finding my own story in its pages is something I would never have imagined back then.
The editor
The magazine is edited by Andrzej Filipowicz, a legend of Polish chess. He became a FIDE International Master in 1975 and represented Poland in six Chess Olympiads between 1960 and 1972. He has led Szachista as editor-in-chief since 1986. He is also one of the world's best-known chess arbiters: a FIDE International Arbiter since 1984, chief arbiter of the World Championship matches in 2000 and 2014, and a FIDE Honorary Member since 2006. In 2024, he received the Best Arbiter (Man) award at the FIDE 100 Awards in Budapest.
I am particularly grateful to Mr Filipowicz for getting in touch and taking an interest in my story. Thank you, Mr Filipowicz, for the invitation and for giving it a place in Szachista.
To see one of the projects mentioned in the article, take a look at the giant chess clock we built for the festival.