NFT and blockchain
NFTs are more than a twist of technologically exciting contemporary art. Their importance is much more basic. NFTs are becoming an integral part of the digital world. Some say that the explosive development of NFTs may be more important than the Internet.
The acronym NFT is an abbreviation for “Non Fungible Token”. NFTs can permanently record ownership of artwork, real estate, music, and even used cars. They are stored in the blockchain.
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Why are NFTs written to the “blockchain”? Blockchain is one of the greatest innovations of our time to establish indestructible and non-counterfeit accounting. Certificates can be stolen, lost or burned. The database on the server can be attacked and manipulated by hackers. Blockchain, on the other hand, is distributed around the world to thousands of computers that monitor each other, making it the most secure storage of information to date. I can say with confidence: What is once written on a recognized blockchain like “Ethereum” is valid forever.
Even today, the main purpose of NFTs is ownership of digital art. This year, NFTs have launched a commercial hype, causing a huge surge in creativity. I can say for sure that two things. The billions of sales currently underway are exaggerated. But it will change the world of art forever. Some artists are very popular because they can duplicate their work 1: 1 so that copying it as a file does not compromise quality. Still, you can clearly own such a piece and resell it with just a few clicks.
Would it be strange for someone to bid for exclusive ownership of a freely copyable image? Yes, but imagine the following analogy. You are a football fan and FIFA will transfer ownership of the 2014 World Cup final between Germany and Argentina via NFT. Everyone knows the game, but you are the only one who can say “mine!”
World champion as an artist
And this is where the classic world champions play an active part. They are the outstanding protagonists of our chess culture, each shaping the era. Not only are their games great sporting performances, they often show the beauty that we all perceive as art. That’s why ChessBase has launched a series of NFTs for these players. Two things were important. One is that as many players as possible need to personally approve their “own” NFTs to make them substantive and exclusive. Second, the series must be artistically valuable and beautiful. In addition to the player’s creative achievements, we need a visual aesthetic that justifies the importance of chess.
This “Chess World Champion” NFT series is auctioned on the Opensea.io platform. This is the first series about World Chess Champions, mostly approved by the players themselves. It’s always the case, no matter who will produce what in the future on this subject. After all, it entered the blockchain with a clear timestamp. Think of it as a kind of “blue Mauritius” in chess NFT.
But that’s not the focus here. Indeed, some people see the NFT market primarily as a valuable or speculative investment. However, the technical hurdles to participating in an auction are not easy. You need to be able to handle cryptocurrencies in your wallet. For those who believe that such pioneer market opportunities are worth the effort, I will write a detailed guide later. The auction will run until January 11th, so you have plenty of time to get to know it.
For now, this is just about the World Championship series as a homage to the creative efforts of player and artist Carl Ericsson. It belongs to all of us. Anyone can access the auction, view the animation and right click to download. It’s an exciting thing about NFTs. NFTs are often traded at high prices, but the actual work can actually be viewed in its original format as a JPG or, for example, a GIF.
Implementation of Carl Eriksson
Written by Miyoko Watai, the widow of Bobby Fischer.
The implementation of Swedish artist Carl Eriksson relies on four elements. The form is, of course, square, suggesting a chess board or square geometry. The game notation constitutes a fragmented plane that carries the entire design. It floats vividly on the powerfully vibrating red texture. In the notation, the player’s portrait alternates with a ray-tracing view of the game’s key locations. Therefore, you can print either the player’s view or position and hang it on the wall. Both pictures represent themselves. Alternatively, you can experience the GIF format NFT as a concise animation.
game
For enthusiasts, identifying the game of choice based on the notation is appealing. Alternatively, you can name the position fragment in the figure. At Fisher you can certainly do that, Black just moved 17 … Be6! And the white bishop of c5 will capture the black queen.
On the site nft.chessbase.com The entire series is displayed. In addition to a short portrait of the world champion, you can find all the selected games to play.
Who will participate?
At launch, the series contains 14 titles. Spassky, Fisher, Karpov, Anand and Kramnik NFTs are personally licensed and most of the proceeds are paid to the player or his family. At a later date, I would like to complete the series with Kasparov and Karlsen.
For a valuable NFT, all rights and approvals must be based on solid legal grounds. The “unlockable content” of the auction contains the appropriate certificate. Part of the joy of bringing such a project to the world was an exciting study of photographers who agreed and respected the rights to the images in this project. Also, the character fonts used were developed by Carl Eriksson himself.
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Disclaimer: This text does not represent investment or tax advice, even if the author himself really wants to own Kapa Blanca.
