Making mates on giant chessboard in Holland Park

A giant outdoor chessboard has helped bring together children from different backgrounds — and even Russian grandmasters.

The board, in Holland Park, was the idea of Jason Kouchak, a local chess player and classical pianist.

Mr Kouchak, 36, from South Kensington, split the cost of the project with Kensington and Chelsea council. He said: "I wanted to bring children from various backgrounds together, to get together people from different creeds regardless of where they are from. The game is more important than the player.

"I wanted people to play each other across the board rather than using their iPhones to play chess."

The launch was attended by English grandmaster Raymond Keene, though Mr Kouchak says a number of Russian grandmasters have also played at the site. He said: "Through the winter we'll have various grandmasters doing simultaneous displays."