The Living Chess of Xàbia triumphs in its 24th edition

Love triumphed in all its expressions as the show played out events from the Poema de Escacs d’Amor, originally written in the 15th century, but adapted by Raquel Violero.

Tuesday 26th July 2022 – Mike Smith
Source: XAD Carlos López

Love triumphed and returned the spirit that Living Chess instills to Xàbia. The town’s only Fiesta of National Tourist Interest was held on Saturday night before some 1,000 people on the special stage set up on Avenida Lepanto.

Love triumphed in all its expressions as the show played out events from the Poema de Escacs d’Amor, originally written in the 15th century, but adapted by Raquel Violero with the support of the Comissió de la Mare de Déu de Loreto and masterfully performed by a hundred people: among the actors, the narrators, the always important chess pieces, who were boys and girls from 7 to 17 years of all the schools in the municipality.

Irene Wittwer was in charge of presenting the game and the protagonists were Venus (Laura Bou), playing as green, and Mars (Arnau Dkaidek), playing as red, with Mercury (Bartolomé Bas) acting as referee.

Between the chess game, sketches and live music by the symphony orchestra of the Centre Artístic Musical de Xàbia, messages with love of all kinds. Love between brothers, with an evocation of the story of Hansel and Gretel, love between two women who are repudiated, and love of personalities with Edward VIII of England who renounced the throne for his beloved, a divorced American woman.

The game concluded with the triumph of love and with a wink from the orchestra, the interpretation of the pasadoble ‘Xàbia’.