Organisers revealed a design which looks like something you'd see in the Kama Sutra or in a room at the inconspicuous house with a red light out the front your recently-divorced uncle swears is just where he goes to get massages for his "bad back". And the logo has sparked a strong response from the chess community.
British Grandmaster Nigel Short wrote on Twitter organisers were "perhaps suggesting that they are giving the chess world a good f***ing", while Australian player David Smerdon was taken aback by the hot and heavy graphic.
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Grandmaster Susan Polgar questioned whether the logo was appropriate for attracting kids to the sport.
Appropriate? Maybe not. But hey, maybe it will convince children they no longer need to make the agonising choice between being a chess champion or gun Twister extraordinaire. Now they can be both!
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The World Chess Championship organisers have no qualms about their "controversial and trendy" choice for the match to be played in London between Norwegian World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen and an as yet unnamed challenger.
"We rarely stop to think about the brand of the World Chess Championship Match, because we are more interested in the players and the drama of the games. But the Match, the ultimate event that defines who is the smartest person on the planet, has much wider appeal than chess professionals. It affects politics, business, and, of course, design," their World Chess website said about the logo.
"As organisers of the Match we've been busy for over a year working with artists and designers to develop a perfect key visual, the image that will be associated with the 2018 Match and which will find its way onto mugs, posters, outdoor displays, venue design, media, broadcasting graphics and more."
We reckon it — among other related images — will soon find its way into people's internet search history, too.
