After being postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic, interest in the 2021 FIDE World Chess Championship was at an all-time high. The World Championship always transcends the boundaries of regular followers and specialist media, and this time it was not only taking place at the anticipated Dubai World Expo but was also arriving in the year of the definitive boom of chess on Twitch and the release of The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix. In this context, finding a narrative and visual language that would attract these new audiences was key, but so was maintaining the intellectual and sophisticated aspect of chess that its loyal followers have always expected.

In chess, every move leaves a trace because players record each move to later analyse it carefully. This data collection allows great games to be edited as if they were musical scores or specialised material to be studied. This makes it possible for each player's style of play to be "encoded." Thus, a claim like "You are your best moves" is a call to take pride in each style of play, fitting perfectly within the sports challenge dimension while still retaining the mental aspect of chess.

We decided to work on an identity with geometric shapes that represent the movement of each piece on the board. We used gold for these patterns, associating it with the glory of winning the World Championship. In the background, the copy acts as a metaphorical chessboard thanks to the black background with white text. The balance between refinement and boldness in the typography synthesises the mix of sport and intellect that chess demands. In addition to the full graphic identity, we designed the website that centralised all the games and live content of the championship. At this touchpoint, the graphic language became interactive, adding an epic quality to the experience of following the world’s biggest chess event.