Chess Square

The story

Chess Square stands on Bialik Street, in Neighborhood Bet of Beersheba. A large chessboard extends over the whole square and on it are large chess pieces. The square marks the chess club of the city, founded by Eliyahu Levant, a club that won many Israeli championships and represented Israel in international competitions. According to the source eight grandmasters played at the club — the highest proportion of grandmasters per capita in the world. Levant also headed the Israeli women's team that won an Olympic gold medal in 1976. Beersheba became known for its chess more than any other city in Israel, and whoever wishes to see where this thing stands in the urban landscape finds it not in a club but in a traffic circle: a black-and-white board that cars go round. The square is one of about fifty squares of Beersheba that have a name of their own and carry a sculpture, a fountain or invested landscaping, out of more than two hundred and fifty traffic circles in the city. Some of them commemorate people, some carry the names of the city's twin cities and some mark events.

• Sport
• Public art
• Beersheba