32 buildings
December 2008 
Dubai International Chess City
Posted on Dec 16th, 2007
by 
Albert
Albert
It was in Dec 2004 when I was invited in Dubai to a -then confidential -presentation for a small group of entrpreneurs, architects and consultants. It was a wonderful Business Villa in Jumeirah. And the project belongs rely to the Mega Projects Dubai is well-known for. It was about the architectural draft for a big Chess City to be build in Dubai. A small group of German architects prepared for a final competition with a big New York Bureau and won.
Though I have no firsthand knowledge right now about the status quo of this big project I know from the homepage of the archtiects remarkable animations. Here are some drafts:
Dubai Chess City 2005/2006
Here a 2004 article from ChessBase
Ilyumzhinov and the Chess City in Dubai
08.08.2004 - Who can say he doesn't think big? FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has just unveiled a plan to build a new "chess city" in the Emirate of Dubai. It's a US $2.6 billion project that is expected to play host to (hold on to your hats) 60 million amateur and professional chess followers annually. You don't believe he can do it?
Chess City in Dubai
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, President of the Russian internally self-governing Republic of Kalmykia, and President of the World Chess Federation FIDE, has announced his intention to establish an international chess city in Dubai, with total investment expected to reach AED 9.6 billion (2.6 bn US$). This was reported last weekend by a number of news services.
It a truly colossal project, a $2.6 billion gamble on the game of chess. The sprawling desert emirate, which has already vowed to build the world's largest mall, theme park, archipelago of man-made islands and tallest building on earth, now says it aims to conquer the age-old world of chess. By creating the 64,000 square meter International Chess City, which will feature 32 buildings designed to mirror the image of a traditional black and white game board, Dubai hopes to corner yet another niche industry by winning over millions of chess enthusiasts worldwide.
"It is Dubai's destiny to become the center of such a magnificent game," said Ilyumzhinov, President of Russia's Kalmykia region, who is backing the project. "Dubai will play host to over 60 million amateur and professional chess followers from around the globe annually. They will have a permanent venue where they can congregate and play 24 hour championships throughout the year, while some other 500 million lovers of the game will have the chance to follow the excitement via interactive electronic screens," he added in a joint statement with the chief executive of Dubai Projects, Sulaiman al-Fahim.
President Ilyumzhinov also revealed intentions to reallocate the headquarters of the International Chess Association from Lausanne in Switzerland to the new International Chess City in Dubai.
Reports
Big Move: Dubai Backing $2.6 Billion International Chess City
AME Info: Innovative International Chess City soon to grace Dubai skyline
International Herald Tribune: Russians set to build city devoted to chess
MenaFN: Dubai to build $2.6 billion International Chess City
New York Times (21.07.2004): Chess is King and People are Pawns
Though I have no firsthand knowledge right now about the status quo of this big project I know from the homepage of the archtiects remarkable animations. Here are some drafts:
Dubai Chess City 2005/2006
 |  | |||||||
Here a 2004 article from ChessBase
Ilyumzhinov and the Chess City in Dubai
08.08.2004 - Who can say he doesn't think big? FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has just unveiled a plan to build a new "chess city" in the Emirate of Dubai. It's a US $2.6 billion project that is expected to play host to (hold on to your hats) 60 million amateur and professional chess followers annually. You don't believe he can do it?
Chess City in Dubai
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, President of the Russian internally self-governing Republic of Kalmykia, and President of the World Chess Federation FIDE, has announced his intention to establish an international chess city in Dubai, with total investment expected to reach AED 9.6 billion (2.6 bn US$). This was reported last weekend by a number of news services.
It a truly colossal project, a $2.6 billion gamble on the game of chess. The sprawling desert emirate, which has already vowed to build the world's largest mall, theme park, archipelago of man-made islands and tallest building on earth, now says it aims to conquer the age-old world of chess. By creating the 64,000 square meter International Chess City, which will feature 32 buildings designed to mirror the image of a traditional black and white game board, Dubai hopes to corner yet another niche industry by winning over millions of chess enthusiasts worldwide.
"It is Dubai's destiny to become the center of such a magnificent game," said Ilyumzhinov, President of Russia's Kalmykia region, who is backing the project. "Dubai will play host to over 60 million amateur and professional chess followers from around the globe annually. They will have a permanent venue where they can congregate and play 24 hour championships throughout the year, while some other 500 million lovers of the game will have the chance to follow the excitement via interactive electronic screens," he added in a joint statement with the chief executive of Dubai Projects, Sulaiman al-Fahim.
President Ilyumzhinov also revealed intentions to reallocate the headquarters of the International Chess Association from Lausanne in Switzerland to the new International Chess City in Dubai.
Reports
Big Move: Dubai Backing $2.6 Billion International Chess City
AME Info: Innovative International Chess City soon to grace Dubai skyline
International Herald Tribune: Russians set to build city devoted to chess
MenaFN: Dubai to build $2.6 billion International Chess City
New York Times (21.07.2004): Chess is King and People are Pawns
Access: PublicTagged with: Dubai, Chess City, Ilyumzhinov, Chess, International Chess Association, 64.000 square meter, 32 buildings
whoa! thanks for the heads up Albert. i love chess. too bad i stopped playing when i was high school due to migraine headaches. chess is mental torture! at least for me :)
this city is very interesting. Dubai has all the money in the world to make it a happenin' place. personally, i like this better than the Creationists British Theme Park. but the Creationist park has the advantage of a grander story-telling than a city devoted to chess :)
~C
Tky for the link! Indeed I agree with you about the grander story telling. Please keep in mind that Dubai has already Dozens of Theme Parks…and its only a matter of time when Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Qatar and Bahrain come up with similar projects.
They have this incredible dynmaics developed in only 10 years. Compare it with Singapore, 50 years. With Hongkong, 100 years.
Regarding the money: Dubai isnt investing as city state. iIs the investment of the FIDE president.(In case of Chess City) Many people think in Dubai money is on the road. No way.In fact each project has in the first round be able to pull in Seed Investment with own power. Later Sponsoring is possible.
We have seen this with ECMAS: As complete new entity which is not backed up by an existing mother institution -like Dubai health Care City from Harvard (www.dhcc.ae)- there are rough and looooong procedues to be done. Personally I have communicated with for example Nemir Kirdar, head of investcorp and other leading orgs. With CEO“s, VC`s, etc. etc…..nobody could immediately suport it. As most projects in Dubai, initiated by Europeans, Americans are financed first by their mother organizations. IBM; McKinsey, Siemens, BCG etc….
The first hotel of the world to be build under water….did need 6 years of preparatioin and finding Seed Investors.
http://www.hydropolis.com
Decide yourself: Is their homepage attractive for you?
So, all in all, I am personally working as hard as I can- for three years now- in initiating new impulses for the region. Small but growing networks with integral and evolutionary perspectives are growing. But they need to be funded properly. No easy work.
But the D- Day will come:):)
Thx for your interest. Will keep you updated…
Best,
Albert
Albert, i appreciate the details of the funding. glad that you clarified that. i'm ignorant in the politics and economics of that part of the region (Dubai). so i really appreciate you sharing your knowledge about it.
as for the hydropolis, the homepage isn't that attractive but the philosophy and the effort behind it is :)
but my question to you is this: why do you think that advances in modern architecture and cityscapes are advancing in hyperspeed in theocratic nations (like Dubai and UAE) more than secularized Europe and the U.S.? or am i asking a wrong question?
thanks for sharing.
~C
Rommel…once again you are spot on. Hydropolis has a remarkable philosophy and efforts behind it. And J. Hauser was one of the early German entrepreneurs who realized the possbilities in Dubai. And demonstrated persistence and a loooooong breath:):)
Do you know what HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum (ruler of UAE) once -2004- said about the Germans SME? (Small MIddle Sized Enterprises?
“I like you. I like your quality. But you suffer from a collective disease. Thats the Entscheidungsinfarkt. :):) ( Heart Attack in making decisions) You are engaging in feasibility studies for 2 or three years. Analyzing endlessly risks. In the same time Brits and Americans have done it. Maybe with less quality. But fullfilling my deadlines. ”
He opened my eyes whats to be done:):)
Thanks again to the Zaadz Team at the end of this year in promoting conscious capitalism in such an engaged way. In openly fostering entrpreneurialism and Change of the World.
This is the real job.
Best, Albert
Thanks Albert for posting that. I have been following Dubai and learning about it for the last two weeks and it is trully fascinating. Its hard to envision a country bold enough to build Islands in the shape of palm trees when they have the risk of being entirely destroyed but Dubai has taken it one step further when they came up with their plan for the arcipeligo shaped like the globe! And this one is not attached to the main land like the palm tree islands are, they are completely seperated from it. It's an amazing country with amazing ideas.
But when looking at ideas money has to be a concideration, and for Dubai it is no problem. Basically none of the World islands are going to cost Dubai a penny from their oil rich economy because of investors. Two Irish investors have already bought the Emerald Isle representation for $38,000,000 and that is not even one of the larger islands!
The country is prospecting and I love it. They recognize that their oil economy wont last, because not only will the oil wells run dry in 25 years, but the world is also trying to move away from hydrocarbons as a source of energy. Without their rich economy based on hydrocarbons they needs something to sustain themselves, and they settled on tourism and that is shaping their country into forms the world has yet to see and it is going to be interesting to watch where the country goes in the future.
Aaron, exactly. The process is called Diversification. And the race for it is in Dubai more fast paced than in any other region at the Gulf. Abu Dhabi has signifantly more oil reserves, but the need for producing growth via tourism, life style industry, real estate and foeign investments is greater in Dubai. This year Abu Dhabi is profiling more and more as cultural hub. And leading too in Greening initiatives. Have posted diverse infos about this development. Simply check “Dubai” and Abu Dahbi” via the Zaadz Search Machine in my blog.
And this short 4.41 Video Clip from Bruce Fenton:
Middle East 2.0 -Dubai
In Nov 20o4 there was the first global “Leaders in Dubai” Conference. Alvin Toffler, Tom Peters spoke entrance into knowledge society. THATS the real new stage of growth in the GCC Region. it should be understood however that -again- no step can be skiped. Spoke with Dr. Dennis Roberts from Qatar Foundation.
See his blog:
http://www.pursuingleadership.blogspot.com/
Dennis is in Qatar since November. We compared Dubai and Qatar. Qatar in many ways more oriented to Arab tradition. And on the other side stronger investing in education right now. Again: It has to be understood that there is no simple shortcut. Dubais process cycle of diversification via tourism, Mega Projects and real estate was and is absolutely necessary. Would take at least a full day seminar to outline only the basics of this process. Another challenge for me is the profiling of the region in Spiral Dynamics lens. From Kuwait down the road to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, OMan. That would be big project.
Try these Middle East Country Profiles too:
http://www.meepas.com/
It really takes a 90 Degree learning curve for many years to come to a into a deeper understanding.
Ahlan WA SALAN, in Dubai:):)
Albert
Albert said: “The process is called Diversification. And the race for it is in Dubai more fast paced than in any other region at the Gulf. Abu Dhabi has signifantly more oil reserves, but the need for producing growth via tourism, life style industry, real estate and foeign investments is greater in Dubai.”
this is very interesting. i wonder how the leaders in this part of the middle east balance the openness of tourism with the predominantly theocratic influence of Islam. in general Islam is perceived to be a closed (and to some extent backward religion), yet in Dubai progress in business and science is happenning at a fast pace. business as usual seem to be nicely integrated with theocracy. any opinion on why this is so? can you point me to some reading materials that explain this seeming integration? or am i asking a wrong question? :)
~C
Thanks Rommel for this excellent question! It leads to the core of educated considerations about Dubai. Will give you a longer answer with some ressources later. Right now I can say Dubai is indeed a kind of enlightened absolutism.
It began with sheikh Zayed the father of modern Dubai who visited no higher schools and simply started as Bedu (Beduin) in the desert! Read Lawrence of Arabia:):()He died in Nov 2004. I was in Dubai thisi time and was impressed by the international echo and respect for this until then unknown leader of Arab World.
His follower is now HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. Posted lots about him at Zaadz already. Dubai, the second largest emirate (after Abu Dhabi) is the most creative one. Spearheaded by the vision, boldness, action-power, clearsightedness of Sheikh Mo as he is called in Dubai. Dubai is lead like a company. Advantage for investors and global entrpreneurs is the stable, trustable and reliable framework of conditions.
Again a case of strong Blue -as in Singapore- and opening working conditions for Expats. Among them strongest talents and leaders across the globe. See presentations at World Economic Forum on MIddle East each year in May.
Dubais ambition is to become a leading hub for the whole Arab world.
I am highly interested in establishing integral perspectives in this region. And -no doubt- there has to be a Bureau in Dubai. I am thinking of Spiral Dynmaics Integal and other aproaches. The stratified profiling of the region, working together with best CEO`s, innovative Consutlants, Governement, global forums like World Economic Forum, entrpreneurs, scientists will be a strategic and perspectivic Mega Project for the next 10- 20 years.
“Dubais ambition is to become a leading hub for the whole Arab world. ”
and their action speak louder than words!
“I am highly interested in establishing integral perspectives in this region. And -no doubt- there has to be a Bureau in Dubai. I am thinking of Spiral Dynmaics Integal and other aproaches.”
cool. i hope you blog your experiences along the way :)
thanks for the info Albert. i'll need to brush up on my Middle East (specifically Dubai) historiography :) looking forward to your longer answer.
~C