An activity that makes no noise, needs no power socket and keeps people in one place
We bring the boards, clocks and a host, set up the zone in the atrium or a gallery and run it for as long as you need: two hours, a weekend evening or the whole day. From the centre we need tables, chairs and light.
The format fits equally well into a weekday dip, family weekends and the school holidays - the three periods for which a shopping centre's marketing team usually needs an activity.
An activity goes where there is a dip: Tuesday to Thursday, February, July. The chess zone runs for exactly as long as needed - from a couple of hours to the whole day
A game means ten minutes in one place, not walking past. While one person plays, two or three spectators stand beside them
The child sits down to play and the adult stays nearby. A rare case where the activity interests both and needs no entertainer with a microphone
No music, no MC, no balloons. The neighbouring tenants do not complain, and the food court and the zone are not shouting over each other
Three or four tables fit into ten square metres. No electricity is needed at all: the clocks are mechanical and the table lives on a phone
Real photographs of people in your space - for the centre's social media that is better material than an empty interior
What we do not promise is growth in footfall or in sales conversion: we have no measurements of our own, and brandishing other people's figures would be dishonest. We answer for how the zone runs and for how many people pass through it.
The tables run all day and the host explains the rules in a minute. The most durable format for passing footfall: someone plays one game and moves on
A strong player against ten to twenty visitors at once. Draws a crowd and looks good on camera
With a results table, a winner and a prizegiving. Scheduled for a weekend evening or at peak hour
The autumn, winter and spring holidays are the time for it: parents need something to keep their child busy on a weekday
A separate evening for the centre's and the shops' staff after the centre closes. Works as an internal event
Not an event but a standing spot for several weeks: the tables stay put and people get used to coming
Detailed guides - a simultaneous exhibition, blitz in an evening, a children's tournament, a family format.
A table for two takes roughly a metre by a metre and a half including the aisle. A compact four-board zone fits into 10-12 m², a full tournament for 20 people into 30-40 m²
An atrium, a wide gallery, a spot by the food court. The main thing is that the zone does not block evacuation routes and the flow of people goes around it, not through it
Rectangular tables and ordinary chairs. Round coffee tables will not do: the board sits crooked and there is nowhere to put the clock
Ordinary overhead light. Decorative lighting and dimness are no good for playing
Not needed. That makes agreeing the zone easier: no cable trunking, no connection to the switchboard
General requirements for the room - what you need from the hall; on the layout - seating and setup.
Write to us: which centre and city, how many square metres you have for the zone, and which dates and hours interest you. We reply the same day - we work out the tables and staff and give you a price.
We have no footfall measurements of our own, and we will not quote other people's. You can work it out from the mechanics: a quick game takes five to ten minutes, so one board handles six to twelve people an hour. Then multiply by the number of tables and hours.
No. The clocks are mechanical, and the pairings and the table live in an app on the host's phone. That makes agreeing the zone noticeably simpler.
The host keeps order in the zone and oversees the play, but responsibility for the child stays with the accompanying adult. We are not a kids' room and we do not stand in for a nanny - we say so honestly at the entrance to the zone.
Most of them do not. The rules are explained in a minute, and the games are short and informal. Those who do not play at all usually find it more interesting to watch - and half an hour later they sit down themselves.
Yes: your own branding in the zone, your own tournament name, your own prizes from the centre's shops. The rules of play remain the FIDE rules.
From two hours to the centre's full trading day. For passing footfall a long day works better; for an event, an hour and a half with a prizegiving.
Yes, ours: boards, clocks, scoresheets, table numbers. We bring it and take it away ourselves; all the centre needs to provide is tables and chairs.
Usually it is arranged within a few days. The tricky periods are December and the school holidays: then both the dates and the equipment are booked up in advance.
Yes, including the Moscow region. We allow plenty of time for the journey, so we agree the set-up time in advance.
Yes, and that is the most interesting option: visitors remember a chess corner that runs every Saturday and come specially.
Similar venues - a festival, a conference, a library. An event for a company - corporate tournaments and chess team building. Equipment only - chess boards for a tournament.
