Jeffrey Epstein Pictured as King on His Custom Chess Board with His Queens

Jeffrey Epstein made himself the king on his own chessboard, lording over his queens -- literally!

If that doesn't sound strange enough ... get a load of these photos of Epstein and a bunch of beautiful young women -- who, we're told, were all adults. Our sources with direct knowledge of the bizarre project tell us ... approximately 9 women in their 20s walked into an NYC photo shop in 2016, and asked the staff to take photos of them which would be made into pieces for a chessboard.

We're told the ladies said they were in a chess club, but didn't reveal who the club's president was. Over the next several months, our sources say the women came into the shop and posed for 3-dimensional pics in stylish outfits.

Using the photos, the staff created 3D sculptures of every chess piece -- rooks, knights, bishops and queens -- with the exception of the 2 kings, and all were made out of sandstone-like material. We're told one of the pieces was modeled after a guy who came in with the women, but he was not Epstein.

Epstein only arrived at the end of the process and spoke to a store employee, asking for his photos to be shot so the king pieces could be turned into the chessboard emperor.

Check out the series of Epstein photos in his white and black robes, along with bejeweled golden crowns. It seems pretty creepy and weird, especially when you consider some of the women were positioned as his queens and pawns.

Interestingly, we're told the employee didn't know who the hell Epstein was until he revealed he didn't know the correct number of chess pieces. Our sources say the employee grew suspicious, looked up Epstein, and found out who he was ... which must have come as quite the shock.

Remember, Epstein had been arrested in 2006 after a grand jury indicted him on a charge of soliciting prostitution following molestation allegations from the family of a 14-year-old girl in Palm Beach, FL. Under a plea deal, Epstein pled guilty to solicitation of prostitution and soliciting a minor for prostitution and was sentenced to 18 months behind bars. In 2019, he died by suicide in a New York City jail while awaiting trial on federal charges of sex trafficking minors.

By the way, we're told Epstein and his crew ended up posing for about 600 photos, which they turned into 36 chess pieces ... all for $5,000.