Calgary Chess Statue... Odd Position

Hey everyone, 

I've just uploaded an album of pictures about a local chess statue we have here in Calgary this afternoon - but the humorous position of the board alone warrants an article of it's own so as we can discuss the feasibility of it being a real position.

Come take a look at the pictures first, here: http://www.chess.com/photos/view_album/Rael/the-winner---calgary-chess-statue

... then have a look at the position below.

Here is a detailed picture of the position:

You'll note the missing pieces on a1, a2 and e1.

In my diagram of the position below, I've assumed that the King is likely on e1, and I speculated that the white Queen is sitting on a2... meaning that it's black to move and the statue is contemplating his check.

[EDIT: I've updated the position to reflect Meemo's latest information] 

White's "taken" material beside the board shows 2 knights, 2 bishops and 2 pawns.

Black's "taken" material beside the board shows his Queen, 1 bishop, 2 rooks and 1 pawn.

The Statue is titled "The Winner" and was made by the artist J. Seward Johnson.

Tell me what you think, guys. I figured this was a great problem for the chess.com crew to analyse.

Great photo. Where is Black's other bishop though? It can't be on a1 because the b2 pawn hasn't moved, so perhaps it's on a2 and the white queen is on a1. In this case, if it's white's move, black must have left his bishop en-prise (unlikely unless there was some pressing capture elsewhere) so perhaps it is black's move and he's, rather hopelessly, thinking about which square to retreat his bishop to?

I prefer your "Queen giving check" solution but it doesn't explain where the other black bishop is or why there is a hole on a1.

I forgot about Black's missing Knights. I did a quick search and there is a photo here:

http://squirrelchess.com/cms/blog/getting-into-chess/train-slow-improve-fast.html

that shows a black knight on e1, so the white king must be on a1 or a2.

There seem to be more missing pieces than holes though (even counting the one at the side of the board).

Aha! Excellent work Meemo. So the black knight is on e1, eh? Hmmm. I'm betting the white King would be on a1 then.

Oh, and Kohai, why not post your solution in the thread? I'm going to look over it and see if it checks out.

Haha I'm sure whomever did it got away with the pieces scot free. I do at least hope that the thieves didn't just throw the piece down a drain somewhere, but that someone out there has the white king and queen or something. Damn shame, really. We all have our strengths I guess... you're good at chess, idiots are good at breaking things. Heh.

This picture shows 7 white pieces captured including 3 pawns (1 is broken), 2 bishops and 2 knights.  The diagram above shows an extra pawn on  the board at d2 not shown in the picture.

Black is missing a knight and a bishop.  Photo shows at least 1 hole and possibly 2 where blacks captured pieces are. 

Ah! Right you are, mhooner. I'll change the diagram again to reflect that.

Driving home it was bugging me that Black seemed to have more missing pieces (knight and bishop) than available holes. Is it possible that he is making his move and has a piece palmed in his hand?  The sculpture is called "The Winner" but I can't see any winning placement of a knight or bishop whichever way round the white King and Queen are.

There could be a smothered mate lurking in there, but white would have to blunder. What a great puzzle! I really hope there is a solution.

I suspect that the title is actually about whomever sits down across from him on the bench. By sitting down, you become "The Winner".

I don't know if this will help . . .

but aparently, Calgary doesn't own the only copy of the 1986 sculpture, "The Winner."  There are at least 2 others - one in Preston Park Village in Plano, Texas and one at the Central Ohio Technical College at OSU in Ohio.

According to Time magazine of June 11, 1984:

"The figures, priced at about $30,000, have been purchased by or are on loan to financial institutions such as New York City's Chemical Bank and Merrill Lynch, real estate developers like Dallas' giant Trammell Crow, and colleges from Yale to William and Mary. Although each of the 70 or so figures Johnson has fashioned to date has been cast in editions of up to seven, the sculptures are usually personalized for clients."

Also from this 24 year old article:

"Today Johnson markets his sculptures with executive aplomb. Last year his work brought in $700,000; this year the amount may reach $1 million. His Wash ington-based Sculpture Placement organization will put on twelve shows this year at urban plazas, resort hotels, corporate headquarters and airports. They are not aimed only at collectors. "We do some advertising in ARTnews, but we also advertise in Architectural Digest, " says Johnson. "That's where the money and power for outdoor sculpture is." In the art world Johnson has been as much a patron as a producer. He has provided substantial funding for the International Sculpture Center, a Washington arts foundation, and created a subsidiary, the Public Art Trust. But, he says, "mostly I've used my money to start my atelier and sculpture-casting foundry." This facility, located near Trenton, is a $2.5 million state-of-the-process installation that employs 140 assistants and students. It is one of the world's largest, and such sculptors as George Segal and Marisol have works cast there. "

Here's a picture from Preston Park Village -

Here's one from OSU -

"[Johnson] He is a multimillionaire grandson of one of the founding brothers of the Johnson & Johnson health products firm. "

Wow Batgirl, that's really interesting! Geez... and it looks like the two other statues are in much better condition. Looks like we were correct in assuming the positions of the white king and queen. It looks like he's somehow colored the coats of the other two statues somewhat differently, maybe to make them slightly more unique.

You know who the Barbara Gordon Batgirl became right? With your ability to access info like you do... you're well on your way to becoming

... without the whole paralysing thing of course!

Thanks batgirl!

Perhaps someone at OSU could dash out, have a look and put us out of our misery. There's still a missing black knight as far as I can tell.

He must have been thinking longer in the OSU one, because his cigar has burnt down.

I quite like his jacket and shirt.

If no one gets there sooner, I'll run out tomorrow at my lunch hour, find the statue, and copy down the position as well as take some pictures.