• The "tokens" are detailed horse figures between 85 and 140 centimeters tall.
• The figures were designed in Aachen and are 3D printed at RWTH Aachen University.
• All game figures can be purchased in advance in the limited, exclusive edition.

The game of kings will become the game of horses during the "Aachen WEG Special" supporting program around the 2026 World Equestrian Games: From Friday, July 10th to Sunday, August 3rd, the city marketing team will be setting up an oversized chess set at the Katschhof, bringing the equestrian flair to the city even before the competitions. Flowing capes, defiant rook hats, flowing manes, traditional dungarees, wide brimmed hats and jagged crowns: All the figures - from the peasant to the king - are friendly horse characters, designed and produced with great attention to detail. Measuring between 85 and 140 centimetres tall, the gold and purple "pieces" invite young and old to play chess in the shadow of the cathedral. Aachen's Lord Mayor, Dr. Michael Ziemons, is delighted with the pieces and the idea: "This extraordinary chess game shows in a wonderful way how much creativity and community spirit there is in our city. The pieces combine Aachen's equestrian tradition with modern design and invite locals and guests alike to come together in a playful way in the middle of the city. This will create a real tournament atmosphere on the Katschhof long before the World Championships. Of course, I also hope that as many equestrian figures as possible from private individuals and businesses will decorate our beautiful city." And if you don't know the rules yet or no longer know them, they are explained right next to the 18 x 18 meter playing area.

Design from Aachen - made in Aachen
Incidentally, the play horses are a genuine Aachen joint product: they were designed by the Aachen agency "yella park - Studio für visuelle Kommunikation", who had their innovative idea virtually modeled by a 3D designer they hired themselves. RWTH Aachen University then came into play: Namely, the chess pieces are produced using a 3D printer at Prof. Kobbelt's Chair of Computer Graphics, Geometry and Multimedia. The challenges lie firstly in the size of the pieces, which first have to be broken down into several "printable" individual parts, and secondly in the printing time, which can take one or even up to two weeks per piece. Prof. Kobbelt: "It is always exciting and interesting to try out our algorithms and methods in rather unusual application scenarios." In previous projects, the chair has already produced the life-size supermarket lady and a replacement sculpture for the Raven Fountain in Aachen Forest. In order to implement the project in an ecologically sustainable way, the exclusive chess pieces in gold and purple are even made from recycled material. A stable base combined with a light layer of sand on the large "game board" give the figure the right support.

Limited edition: figures are sold
However, the figures must remain mobile, as they are sold before they are used at the Katschhof. This is done by the aachen tourist service e. V. (ats). "We want people to be able to take this special Aachen experience home with them. The chess set is a piece of World Cup atmosphere you can touch - a souvenir with collector's value," says Katrin Hissel, Managing Director of ats, explaining the commitment. Caroline Noerenberg, also ats board member, adds: "We are happy to support this campaign and - as we did with the Charlemagne figurines back then - we are handling the sale. Experience shows that it pays to be quick. Each figurine is unique and anyone who gets hold of one owns an exclusive design object with a strong connection to our city and the World Equestrian Games." So if you want to buy a rook, a king, a knight, a queen, a pawn or a bishop, you have to be quick: it's still a limited edition! 16 pawns, four bishops, knights or rooks and two kings and two queens - half in gold and half in purple - will be sold. Only the knights will have an additional 20 golden 3D pieces, which will also go on sale in advance. Each of the chess pieces comes with an exclusive certificate of ownership. So if you are looking for a really special Christmas present, you can already buy one of the pieces from the ats. The rule is: first come, first served and gone is gone!

World Equestrian Games and supporting program
From August 11th to 23rd, the world will be a guest in Aachen: 650 athletes from 35 countries will be coming to the imperial city. With a total of 800 horses, they will compete in six disciplines, cheered on by 500,000 visitors.

The City of Aachen and the Märkte- und Aktionskreis City e. V. (MAC), together with the ALRV and the ats, will bring the atmosphere of the tournament to the city center and welcome everyone to the "Aachen WM Special"! With culture, culinary delights and rousing concerts, talks with the riders and plenty of space for a cozy get-together with Euregional specialties. So if you can't be in the stadium, simply enjoy the event at the public viewing in the city. Till Schüler, Managing Director of the MAC, is already looking forward to the supporting program and the "highlight" chess game: "The idea of the chess game with horse pieces is ingenious and had a long preliminary process in which many players were involved. The result impressively demonstrates how well strategic partnerships between the city, private players and RWTH Aachen University can work. A great result with sustainability value."

All information about the supporting program: www.aachenwmspecial.de

To the sales page of the chess pieces: www.aachen.de/schachfiguren

Price list (gross prices)

• King: 1,000 euros each, 1.40m, 2 pieces
• Lady: 1.000 Euro each, 1,30m, 2 pieces
• Runners: 800 Euro each, 1.20m, 4 pieces
• Jumpers: 700 euros each, 1.10m, 4 pieces (plus 20 golden ones, 600 euros each)
• Tower: 600 Euro each, 1m, 4 pieces
• Bauer: 500 Euro, 0.85m, 16 pieces