The World Chess Hall of Fame is a nonprofit, collecting institution situated in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. The WCHOF is the only institution of its kind and offers a variety of programming to explore the dynamic relationship between art and chess, including educational outreach initiatives that provide context and meaning to the game and its continued educational impact. 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.
History
The brainchild of Steven Doyle, USCF president from 1984 to 1987, the World Chess Hall of Fame was created 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, the small museum contained a modest collection, including a book of chess openings signed by Bobby Fischer; 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. 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. 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. Reopened in 2001, it was renamed the World Chess Hall of Fame and Sidney Samole Museum. The museum continued collecting chess sets, books, tournament memorabilia, advertisements, photographs, furniture, medals, trophies, and journals until it closed in 2009. Philanthropist Rex Sinquefield soon afterward agreed to pay for moving the museum to St. Louis and renovating its new building. The World Chess Hall of Fame is located across the street from the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis 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 novices and experts alike. Its collection includes pieces such as a 500-year-old 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 mounts two temporary exhibitions per year. The Hall of Fame also commemorates the careers of its members.
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 each year. 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 Saint 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, 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 2001-2009.
Count
Inductee
Induction year
1
Reuben Fine
1986
2
Robert Fischer
1986
3
Isaac Kashdan
1986
4
George Koltanowski
1986
5
Frank Marshall
1986
6
Paul Morphy
1986
7
Harry Pillsbury
1986
8
Sammy Reshevsky
1986
9
Sam Loyd
1987
10
Wilhelm Steinitz
1987
11
Arpad Elo
1988
12
Hermann Helms
1988
13
Al Horowitz
1989
14
Hans Berliner
1990
15
John W. Collins
1991
16
Arthur Dake
1991
17
Arnold Denker
1992
18
Gisela Gresser
1992
19
George MacKenzie
1992
20
Pal Benko
1993
21
Victor Palciauskas
1993
22
Arthur Bisguier
1994
23
Robert Byrne
1994
24
Larry Evans
1994
25
Ed Edmondson Jr.
1995
26
Fred Reinfeld
1996
27
Kenneth Harkness
1997
28
Milan Vukcevich
1998
29
Benjamin Franklin
1999
30
Edmar Mednis
2000
31
Lubomir Kavalek
2001
32
Lev Alburt
2003
33
Walter Browne
2003
34
Donald Byrne
2003
35
Anatoly Lein
2004
36
Leonid Shamkovich
2004
37
Yasser Seirawan
2006
38
Irving Chernev
2007
39
Jeremy Gaige
2007
40
Joel Benjamin
2008
41
Larry Christiansen
2008
42
Nick de Firmian
2008
43
John Fedorowicz
2009
44
Burt Hochberg
2009
45
Diane Savereide
2010
46
Jackson Showalter
2010
47
Herman Steiner
2010
48
Boris Gulko
2011
49
Andy Soltis
2011
50
Alex Yermolinsky
2012
51
Gregory Kaidanov
2013
52
Mona May Karff
2013
53
Abraham Kupchik
2014
54
Jacqueline Piatigorsky
2014
55
Alexander Shabalov
2015
56
Gata Kamsky
2016
57
Maurice Ashley
2016
58
Edward Lasker
2017
59
Bill Goichberg
2018
60
Alex Onischuk
2018
World Chess Hall of Fame inductees
The World Chess Hall of Fame inductees are nominated by representatives of the World Chess Federation.
Count
Inductee
Induction year
1
Jose Raul Capablanca
2001
2
Robert Fischer
2001
3
Emanuel Lasker
2001
4
Paul Morphy
2001
5
Wilhelm Steinitz
2001
6
Mikhail Botvinnik
2003
7
Tigran Petrosian
2003
8
Vasily Smyslov
2003
9
Boris Spassky
2003
10
Mikhail Tal
2003
11
Alexander Alekhine
2004
12
Max Euwe
2004
13
Anatoly Karpov
2004
14
Garry Kasparov
2005
15
Siegbert Tarrasch
2008
16
Vera Menchik
2011
17
Elisaveta Bykova
2013
18
Mikhail Chigorin
2013
19
Nona Gaprindashvili
2013
20
Maia Chiburdanidze
2014
21
Paul Keres
2014
22
Olga Rubtsova
2015
23
Lyudmila Rudenko
2015
24
Carl Schlechter
2015
25
David Bronstein
2016
26
Sonja Graf
2016
27
Howard Staunton
2016
28
Johannes Zukertort
2016
29
Paula Kalmar-Wolf
2017
30
Viktor Korchnoi
2017
31
Alla Kushnir
2017
32
Aron Nimzowitsch
2018
33
Richard Réti
2018
34
Kira Zvorykina
2018
Exhibitions
Upon its move to St. Louis in 2011, the World Chess Hall of Fame not only features chess artifacts from throughout history in its permanent collection, but also art and artifacts on loan from various artists and collectors.
''OUT OF THE BOX: Artists Play Chess''
On view from September 9, 2011 to February 12, 2012, this contemporary art exhibition 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. On the exhibit's opening night, Dutch contemporary artist, Guido van der Werve, performed on a one-of-a-kind 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 September 9, 2011 to February 12, 2012, this show celebrated the Deans' 50th year of collecting together and featured selected works to trace the development of the game of chess and the design of fine chess sets from the tenth to the early twentieth century. Sets came from Austria, Cambodia, China, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Kashmir, Morocco, Persia, Russia, Syria, and Turkey. Among the works displayed were pieces owned or commissioned by Catherine the Great, Napoleon, Czar Nicolas II, and the British royal family.
Marcel Dzama: ''The End Game''
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, the figures dance across a checkered board to challenge their opponents in fatal interchanges.
''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.
''Screwed Moves''
On view from September 13, 2012 to February 10, 2013, this show featured nine of Saint 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.
''Everybody's Game: Chess in Popular Culture''
On view from October 18, 2012 to April 14, 2013, this show took a playful look at 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.
''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.
''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.
''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.
''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.
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.
''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.
''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.
''A Memorable Life: A Glimpse into the Complex Mind of Bobby Fischer''
