The World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) is a nonprofit, collecting institution situated in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It features chess exhibits, engages in educational outreach, and maintains a list of inductees to the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame and World Chess Hall of Fame, the latter category being nominated by FIDE. Founded in 1984, it is run by the United States Chess Trust. Formerly located in New Windsor, New York, Washington, D.C., and Miami, Florida, it moved to St. Louis on September 9, 2011.[1]
Steven Doyle, USCF president from 1984 to 1987,[2] founded the World Chess Hall of Fame in 1986 as the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.
Opened in 1988 in the basement of the Federation's then-headquarters in New Windsor, New York,[1] the small museum contained a small collection, including a book of chess openings signed by Bobby Fischer,[3] a silver set awarded to Paul Morphy, American chess player and unofficial World Champion, and cardboard plaques honoring past grandmasters.
In 1992, the U.S. Chess Trust purchased the museum and moved its contents to Washington, D.C. At its Washington, D.C. location from 1992 to 2001, the hall featured America's "big four" chess players: Paul Morphy, Bobby Fischer, Frank Marshall, and Samuel Reshevsky.[4] It displayed the World Chess Championship trophy won by the United States team in 1993 as well as numerous chess boards and chess pieces. The museum gave visitors the opportunity to play against a chess computer. By 2001, the collection had grown to include numerous chess sets and boards and plaques commemorating inductees to the U.S. and World halls of fame.[4]
In the late 1990s, Sidney Samole, former owner of Excalibur Electronics, proposed to move the hall of fame to Miami, where it would be located in a rook-shaped building constructed by Excalibur. Although Samole died in 2000, the U.S. Chess Trust accepted the proposal the following year.[1] Reopened in 2001, it was renamed the World Chess Hall of Fame and Sidney Samole Museum.[1][5] The museum continued collecting chess sets, books, tournament memorabilia, advertisements, photographs, furniture, medals, trophies, and journals until it closed in 2009. Rex Sinquefield soon afterward agreed to pay for moving the museum to St. Louis and renovating its new building.[1]
The World Chess Hall of Fame is located across the street from the Saint Louis Chess Club in the city's Central West End neighborhood. It displays artifacts from the museum's permanent collection and temporary exhibitions highlighting the great players, historic games, and rich cultural history of chess as well as the U.S. and World Chess Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame collaborates with the Chess Club and Scholastic Center to provide programming, instruction, and outreach to an international audience of chess players. Its collection includes pieces such as a 500-year-old[citation needed] piece from an Egyptian game called senet, the earliest known board game, a custom-made set of chess furniture that belonged to Bobby Fischer, and the first commercial chess computer. Rotating exhibitions feature items from the permanent collection. The museum also displays two temporary exhibitions per year. The Hall of Fame also commemorates the careers of its members.
The 2011 inductions took place on September 8 as part of the World Chess Hall of Fame Grand Opening celebration.
U.S. Chess Hall of Fame inductees
The U.S. Chess Federation Hall of Fame Committee considers candidates for the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame and sends its nominations to the U.S. Chess Trust annually. The trustees of the U.S. Chess Trust vote on who should be inducted. The induction itself take place either at the U.S. Chess Federation Awards Luncheon during the U.S. Open or at the World Chess Hall of Fame, which is now located in St. Louis, Missouri. The induction is almost always performed by either the Chairman of the U.S. Chess Trust or the Chairman of the Hall of Fame Committee.
Current members of the committee are Harold Winston (chairman), John Donaldson, John McCrary, Al Lawrence, GM Joel Benjamin, GM Arthur Bisguier, John Hilbert, Jennifer Shahade, and Shane Samole. McCrary and Donaldson are former Chairs of the Hall of Fame Committee. Both Bisguier and Benjamin are members of the Hall of Fame. Samole was in charge of the Hall of Fame when it was located in Miami, Florida from 2001 to 2009.
The World Chess Hall of Fame moved to St. Louis in 2011. Its permanent collection includes historical chess artifacts, as well as art and artifacts on loan from various artists and collectors.
OUT OF THE BOX: Artists Play Chess
Out of the Box was a contemporary art exhibition displayed from September 9, 2011, to February 12, 2012, and was curated by Bradley Bailey, assistant professor of modern and contemporary art history at Saint Louis University. It featured artworks that consider chess both at the formal level and at the level of actual play. The artists featured in this exhibition were Tom Friedman, Barbara Kruger, Liliya Lifanova, Yoko Ono, Gavin Turk, Diana Thater, and Guido van der Werve.[8] On the exhibit's opening night, Dutch contemporary artist Guido van der Werve performed on a chess piano that he built. The piano sounded a note as each chess piece was played, while nine string musicians from the Saint Louis Symphony played van der Werve's score. On closing night, the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis hosted an event featuring Liliya Lifanova's performance art piece Anatomy is Destiny, one of the pieces in the exhibition.
Chess Masterpieces: Highlights from the Dr. George and Vivan Dean Collection
On view from March 9, 2012, to August 12, 2012, Marcel Dzama's artistic works were on display, including films, related drawings, paintings, sculptures, and dioramas. Dzama's work draws from a diverse range of references and artistic influences, including Dada and Marcel Duchamp. His film features characters based on the classic game of chess. Dressed in geometrically designed costumes of papier-mâché, plaster, and fiberglass and wearing elaborate masks (including a quadruple-faced mask for the King), the figures dance across a checkered board to challenge their opponents in fatal interchanges.[15]
BOBBY FISCHER: Icon Among Icons
On view from March 9, 2012, to October 7, 2012, this show featured photographs by Harry Benson, the only person to have private access to Bobby Fischer during the entire 1972 World Chess Championship match in Reykjavík, Iceland. Benson captured intimate images of Fischer and was the first person to deliver the news to Fischer that he had won the match.[16]
Screwed Moves
On view from September 13, 2012, to February 10, 2013, this show featured nine of St. Louis' most recognized artists, known as The Screwed Arts Collective, who worked together over a two-week period to produce a one-of-a-kind, site-specific wall drawing inspired by chess.[17]
Everybody's Game: Chess in Popular Culture
On view from October 18, 2012, to April 14, 2013, this show explored how the ancient sport is represented in our contemporary culture by showcasing the game of chess as it has been featured in such mass media as magazine advertisements, rock music and movie posters, and other popular venues.[18]
Power in Check: Chess and the American Presidency
On view from October 18, 2012, to April 21, 2013, this show explored how chess has influenced the American presidency since the administration of George Washington.[19]
Bill Smith: Beyond the Humanities
On view from March 7, 2013, to August 25, 2013, this show featured the work of Bill Smith, which explores how rules guide the creation of our world's structure and behavior. In order to highlight the intersection of art, chess, and nature, Smith used art to show the underlying similarities of all things. His videos and constructions gave a holistic view of the world by presenting the ubiquitous patterns and interactions common to music, games, technology, animals, molecules, and the galaxy.[20]
Prized and Played: Highlights from the Jon Crumiller Collection
On view from May 3, 2013, to September 15, 2013, this event showcased over eighty beautiful, antique chess sets from across the centuries and around the world, as well as many interesting artifacts related to the history of chess.[21]
A Queen Within: Adorned Archetypes, Fashion and Chess
On view from October 19, 2013, to April 19, 2014, this show explored the archetypes of a queen. Works from experimental designers highlighted the queen archetypes in fashion and identified the relationships with the cultural collective unconscious and traditions of storytelling. Curated by independent curators, Sofia Hedman and Serge Martynov.[22]
Jacqueline Piatigorsky: Patron, Player, Pioneer
On view from October 25, 2013, to July 13, 2014, this show explored Jacqueline Piatigorsky's position as one of the best female chess players of the 1950s and 1960s, as well as her support of the game as a patron. It featured artifacts from her personal archive. Highlights included the Piatigorsky Cup, photos from the 1963 and 1966 Piatigorsky Cup tournaments, and artifacts and photos related to Piatigorsky's impressive career in women's chess.[9]
Cage & Kaino: Pieces and Performances
On view from May 8, 2014, to September 21, 2014, this exhibition is accompanied by live performances of the work of 20th-century composer, John Cage, and contemporary multimedia artist, Glenn Kaino. Curated by independent curator, Larry List.[9]
Strategy by Design: Games by Michael Graves
On view from May 8, 2014, to September 28, 2014, this exhibition focuses on the games designed by the Michael Graves Design Group. Curated by independent curator, Bradley Bailey.[9]
A Memorable Life: A Glimpse into the Complex Mind of Bobby Fischer
Paul Charles Morphy was an American chess player. During his brief career in the late 1850s Morphy was acknowledged as the world's greatest chess master.
The Museum of Pop Culture or MoPOP is a nonprofit museum in Seattle, Washington, United States, dedicated to contemporary popular culture. It was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. Since then MoPOP has organized dozens of exhibits, 17 of which have toured across the U.S. and internationally.
Maurice Ashley is an American chess player, author, and commentator. In 1999, he earned the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM), making him the first Black person to do so.
Joshua Waitzkin is an American former chess player, martial arts competitor, and author. As a child, he was recognized as a prodigy, and won the U.S. Junior Chess championship in 1993 and 1994. The film Searching for Bobby Fischer is based on his early life.
A chess prodigy is a young child who possesses an aptitude for the game of chess that far exceeds what might be expected at their age. Their prodigious talent will often enable them to defeat experienced adult players and even titled chess masters. Some chess prodigies have progressed to become World Chess Champions.
Samuel Herman Reshevsky was a Polish chess prodigy and later a leading American chess grandmaster. He was a contender for the World Chess Championship from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s: he tied for third place in the 1948 World Chess Championship tournament, and tied for second in the 1953 Candidates tournament. He was an eight-time winner of the US Chess Championship, tying him with Bobby Fischer for the all-time record.
This is a timeline of chess.
Donald Byrne was an American university professor and chess player. He held the title International Master, and competed for his country in the Chess Olympiad on several occasions.
Joel Lawrence Benjamin is an American chess player who holds the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM). In 1998, he was voted "Grandmaster of the Year" by the U.S. Chess Federation.
Several methods have been suggested for comparing the greatest chess players in history. There is agreement on a statistical system to rate the strengths of current players, called the Elo system, but disagreement about methods used to compare players from different generations who never competed against each other.
Pal Charles Benko was a Hungarian and American chess player, author, and composer of endgame studies and chess problems.
Marcel Dzama is a contemporary artist from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada who currently lives and works in New York City. His work has been exhibited internationally, in particular his ink and watercolor drawings.
Robert James Fischer was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11–0 score, the only perfect score in the history of the tournament. Qualifying for the 1972 World Championship, Fischer swept matches with Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen by 6–0 scores. After winning another qualifying match against Tigran Petrosian, Fischer won the title match against Boris Spassky of the USSR, in Reykjavík, Iceland. Publicized as a Cold War confrontation between the US and USSR, the match attracted more worldwide interest than any chess championship before or since.
Jacqueline Rebecca Louise Piatigorsky was a French-American chess player, author, sculptor, philanthropist, and arts patron. She was a member of the Rothschild banking family of France.
The Piatigorsky Cup was a triennial series of double round-robin grandmaster chess tournaments held in the United States in the 1960s. Sponsored by the Piatigorsky Foundation, only two events were held, in 1963 and 1966. The Piatigorsky Cups were the strongest U.S. chess tournaments since New York 1927.
Hermann Helms was an American chess player, writer, and promoter. He is a member of the United States Chess Hall of Fame, organized as part of the World Chess Hall of Fame.
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The Bobby Fischer Center is a small non-profit biographical museum housing memorabilia of the 1972 World Chess Champion, Bobby Fischer located in Selfoss, Iceland.
The Steel Guitar Hall of Fame is an organization established in the United States in 1978 to recognize achievement in the art of playing the steel guitar. The organization's stated purpose is:
To establish a Hall of Fame and Museum to support the art, popularity, and prestige of the steel guitar, to honor those musicians and composers who have made significant contributions to the steel guitar world, and to educate the public regarding the steel guitar.
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