World Chess Hall of Fame

We went to St. Louis to visit family for Christmas, and I’m trying to do a better job of doing stuff in STL, not just sitting around my family’s house. I love them, but I want Erika and Felix and Trudy to see there’s more to that city than the suburbs! So this time we went to the World Chess Hall of Fame, which is surprisingly well-done.

It’s in a large converted house in the Central West End, and in a little Chess Neighborhood that includes the St. Louis Chess Club across the street, and a chess-themed diner. It’s really nice! The museum is really well done, with two and a half floors dedicated to rotating exhibits, and the Hall of Fame at the top.. The curator there is doing a kind of amazing job, given how boring one would expect Chess to be.

This super-cool table was custom made for a tournament in Cuba, and is set to show a pivotal game that Bobby Fischer played.

Another floor was a fashion exhibit - the HOF worked with the St. Louis Fashion Incubator to do a little Project-Runway-style competition where each designer was paired with a real chess Grandmaster and they created some clothes.

One floor was a gallery of Victor Vasarely prints, a pop artist who did a lot of chess-themed commissions.

This one has a ton in common with Chuck Close, of whom I am a superfan.