Checkmate again for Dubai's sense of the ostentatious in the United Arab Emirates. In the land of sheikhs, a king and queen will shortly rule the skyline.
Chess City, where each building will be shaped as a chess piece, is about to rise from a desert site.
The city will spread over 64,000 square metres, representing the squares on a chessboard, and will cost US$3 billion. It is due for completion in four years.
Chief executive of Dubai Projects, Sulaiman al-Fahim, said the city would include 32 buildings shaped like chess pieces and he hoped it would be become the chess capital of the world.
'Dubai will host 60 million amateur and professional chess followers from around the globe annually. They will have a permanent venue where they can congregate and play 24-hour championships throughout the year.'
Dubai is pouring millions of dollars into an ambitious infrastructure plan it hopes will boost tourism - a major source of income for the Gulf emirate, whose crude oil resources are running out.