This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Sept. 12, 2011 - Strategy has always been a crucial component in chess and the World Chess Hall of Fame is unveiling its next move with a new home in the Central West End. The Hall of Fame, a cultural nonprofit institution that showcases the art and history of the game, has moved from Miami, Fla., to St. Louis and is ready for its Grand Opening celebration on Tuesday, Sept. 13.
"We are interested in the multicultural impact of chess on our culture," said Shannon Bailey, assistant director of the World Chess Hall of Fame. "There are so many connections to chess in the world and this Hall of Fame really has something for everyone."
St. Louis becomes the fourth home to this 27-year-old institution, which has a mission of building awareness for the cultural and artistic significance of chess. The Hall of Fame is at 4652 Maryland Ave. and is now open to the public with its first exhibit called "Chess Masterpieces, highlights from the Dr. George & Vivian Dean Collection" that opened Friday, Sept. 9.
The Hall of Fame on the third floor has plaques honoring inductees, iPad kiosks to provide more information about the players and chess memorabilia. The Hall of Fame on the third floor has plaques honoring inductees, iPad kiosks to provide more information about the players and chess memorabilia.
Credit Brent Jones | St. Louis Beacon
Tuesday's Grand Opening celebration will feature a fine arts performance of Dutch visual artist Guido van der Werve's "Number Twelve: Chess Piano Concert in Three Movements." Van der Werve will play chess with Matthew Bengston, a World Chess Federation chess master and concert pianist, on a sophisticated chess piano that sounds a note as each chess piece is played. This marks only the second time that this piece has been performed in the United States.
"We are proud to be one of those unique places that anyone would be interested in seeing, this Hall of Fame really adds to St. Louis," Bailey said.
Multiple exhibits of "artistic and historical significance" will be on display through out the year from collectors and nationally and internationally recognized artists who have put their spin on the game of chess. The Hall of Fame will have changing exhibits every six months.
Visitors to the Central West End are already taking notice of the Hall of Fame located next to the Starbucks and across from the Chess Club Scholastic Center.
"I love discovering new things in this city, and stumbling upon a human size chess board was definitely a fun surprise on my stroll though the neighborhood," Andrea Royals, a Midtown resident and Saint Louis University student said.
Having the Chess Club and the Hall of Fame in one location marks the Central West End as the chess hub of Midwest. While these two institutions have similar missions, they had to ensure they could coexist and work together to add something unique.
"We teach more about the history of chess, with the Chess Club next door focusing more about teaching about how to play chess," Bailey said. "Even though we have two different missions, we are going to work together." And at the Hall of Fame opening Friday night, chess club director Tony Rich said that the center was waiving fees this week in honor of the Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame was created in 1984 by the United States Chess Federation and was originally headquartered in New Windsor, N.Y. The original Hall of Fame was small and featured cardboard plaques honoring past grandmasters of the game. In 1992, the Hall of Fame was purchased by the U.S. Chess Trust and moved to Washington, D.C., the collection grew as many artifacts were added. Some of the artifacts included the World Chess Championship trophy won by the U.S. team in 1993, the U.S. and World Hall of Fame inductee plaques and numerous chess sets and boards.
In 2001, the Hall of Fame was moved to a multi-million dollar facility at the Excalibur Electronics headquarters in Miami. The museum's collections continued to grow until it closed in 2009 because of funding shortages. It was proposed that the Hall of Fame be moved to St. Louis because of the city's growing chess reputation.
"People were really excited about St. Louis because of the amount of chess players in St. Louis, and it was a good fit," Bailey said.
The opening of the Chess Club in 2008 and the fact that St. Louis was awarded "chess city of the year" for 2009 and 2011 assisted in this bid for attracting the museum to the city. St. Louis also hosted the U.S., Women's and Junior Chess Championships in the past few years, which were broadcasted to 160 countries worldwide.
"Having the chess capital located in St. Louis really adds to the unique gems that already exist in this city. The [Friday] grand opening was an exciting event for the community," Royals said.
Jonathan Ernst is an intern.