Love the idea, though the background disturbs me a little - has it been cloned out? I guess some of the highlights look a little blown, but maybe that adds to the stark nature of the image. Splendid nonetheless.
I like the shot a lot. My son is a bit of a chess whiz. I used to be able to beat him, but I haven't won for over a year. I like the idea you are trying to capture here a lot. I do think the background is still a bit problematic. I see a halo around the rook that bothers me a bit. One other small nit, I would like to see the king in check, so perhaps you could reshoot and try to fix the background at the same time. I hope these suggestions help. I think this can be a very strong image. Good luck this week.
