 Street view | |
  Location within St. Louis | |
Former name | U.S. Chess Hall of Fame World Chess Hall of Fame and Sidney Samole Museum |
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| Established | 1984 (1984) |
| Location | Central West End,St. LouisMissouri |
| Coordinates | 38°38′39″N90°15′40″W / 38.644301°N 90.261153°W /38.644301; -90.261153 |
| Type | Hall of Fame Art museum |
| Public transit access |  MetroBus |
| Website | worldchesshof.org |
TheWorld Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) is a nonprofit collecting institution in theCentral West End neighborhood ofSt. Louis,Missouri,United States. Founded in 1984, it featureschess 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.
Formerly located inNew Windsor, New York,Washington, D.C., andMiami, Florida, it moved to St. Louis on September 9, 2011.[1] It is run by the United States Chess Trust.
The World Chess Hall of Fame is located across the street from theSaint Louis Chess Club, with which it collaborates on programming, instruction, and outreach.
The museum's permanent collection and temporary exhibitions highlight the great players, historic games, and cultural history of chess. Rotating exhibitions feature items from the permanent collection, including a piece from anEgyptian game calledsenet, the earliest known board game; a custom-made set of chess furniture that belonged to Bobby Fischer; and the first commercial chess computer. The museum also displays two temporary exhibitions per year.
Steven Doyle, president of theUnited States Chess Federation from 1984 to 1987,[2] founded the World Chess Hall of Fame in 1986 as theU.S. Chess Hall of Fame.
It opened in 1988 in the basement of the Federation's then-headquarters in New Windsor, New York.[1] The museum's small collection included a book ofchess openings signed byBobby Fischer;[3] a silver set awarded toPaul Morphy, American chess player and unofficial World Champion; andcardboard plaques honoring pastgrandmasters.
In 1992, the U.S. Chess Trust purchased the museum and moved its contents to Washington, D.C., where it featured America's "big four" chess players:Paul Morphy,Bobby Fischer,Frank Marshall, andSamuel Reshevsky.[4] It displayed theWorld Chess Championship trophy won by the United States team in 1993 as well as numerouschess boards andchess pieces. The museum gave visitors the opportunity to play against achess 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 toMiami, where it would be located in arook-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 theWorld 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.
Soon afterward, billionaireRex Sinquefield agreed to pay to move the museum to St. Louis. He also renovated its new building, across the street from the Sinquefield-founded St. Louis Chess Club.[1]
There are 74 members in the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.
There are 53 members in the World Chess Hall of Fame. The winner of the first Women's World Chess Championship,Vera Menchik, was the first woman to be inducted into the WCHOF in 2011.[6]
The U.S. Chess Federation Recognitions 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 takes place at the U.S. Chess Federation Awards Luncheon during the U.S. Open or at the World Chess Hall of Fame itself. The induction is almost always performed by the chairman of the U.S. Chess Trust or the chairman of the Hall of Fame Committee.
2017 members of the committee included John McCrary (chair), Frank Camaratta, John Crumiller,William John Donaldson, John Hilbert, Randy Hough, Alexey Root, Sophia Rohde,Andrew Soltis, Peter Tamburro, and Fred Wilson.[7]
The World Chess Hall of Fame inductees are nominated by representatives of theWorld Chess Federation (FIDE).
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