Shah Mat — Death to the King.
The theme for King’s Affair 2025 is ‘Shah mat // Checkmate’.
The phrase originates with the exportation of chess (then, the Indian game of Chatarunga) to the Persian Empire under the Sassanid dynasty in the 7th century. It was the emergent culture of announcing direct attack upon the king which lead to the creation of ‘checkmate’ as a position (the king rendered powerless to move, as opposed to captured): the way the game is played to this day across the world.
King’s Affair is proud to present Shah Mat // Checkmate in tribute to King’s legacy of subversive student culture.
