World’s largest chess queen erected in Argentina

Standing 7.62 meters tall, a giant chess queen now towers in the heart of Río Ceballos, Argentina, Report informs, citing the International Chess Federation (FIDE).

The application for official recognition by Guinness World Records has already been submitted.

When Yanina Pepino showed her father Enrique a photo of a giant King chess piece in St. Louis, Missouri (USA), she never imagined how much it would inspire him.

The moment Enrique saw the image on his phone, he began to envision creating another monumental chess piece—a Queen, but even bigger.

Pepino, a well-known businessman originally from Santa Fe, has lived in Río Ceballos for many years. The wooden king in St. Louis, previously the largest chess piece in the world, measures 6.09 meters tall. The newly inaugurated queen surpasses it, standing at 7.62 meters, and the Guinness World Record recognition process is now underway.

Enrique is also a graphic designer, and as he describes himself, a “pencil-and-paper designer.” He began sketching the queen—the most powerful piece on the board—with a vision for something entirely different.

“It didn’t need to be wooden; it had to be something visually light, something that would blend into the landscape, not disrupt it. Obviously, it had to be more than 7 meters tall. So I started designing the Queen in the Staunton style, keeping its proportions,” he said.

He concluded that iron would be the ideal material for the sculpture. “I did the drawings all in pencil, since I’m an old-school graphic designer. Then I outlined the segments for step-by-step construction. Once I had the plans, I invited my friend José Strasorier, a traditional iron craftsman, to build it together. He and a collaborator, Fernando Rotania, gave shape to the chess sculpture through handcrafted ironwork.”

As for the color, there were only two options: black or white. “Naturally, we chose white because it offers better visibility, especially at night.”

The project was privately funded and built, and is installed on private property in downtown Río Ceballos, directly across from the Chess School founded by Pepino.

“The giant Queen is a symbol that will surely have a positive impact on chess in Córdoba. It will help raise awareness of the many benefits of this science game, and will position Córdoba as a national and international chess reference,” Pepino remarked.

And his vision is gaining traction. At the inauguration, Mario Petrucci, Executive Director of the Argentine Chess Federation (FADA), proposed declaring Río Ceballos the chess capital of Argentina.