World Chess Hall of Fame

by Bill Wall

In 1986, from the efforts of

Steve Doyle (1959- ), U.S.
Chess Federation (USCF)
president from 1984 to 1987, the
U.S. Chess Hall of Fame was
created at USCF headquarters in
New Windsor, New York.

In 1986, the first inducties to the

U.S. Chess Hall of Fame
included Reuben Fine (1914-
1993), Robert Fischer (1943- Bill Wall
2008), Isaac Kashdan (1905-
1985), George Koltanowski
(1903-2000), Frank Marshall
(1877-1944), Paul Morphy
(1837-1884), Harry Pillsbury
(1872-1906), and Samuel A passed pawn increases in
Reshevsky (1911-1992). strength as the number of pieces
on the board diminishes. —
In 1987, Sam Loyd (1841-1911) Capablanca
and William Steinitz (1836-
1900) were inducted into the
U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

In 1988, the U.S. Chess Hall of

Fame opened in the basement of
the USCF's then-headquarters
(1976-2006) in New Windsor,
New York.

In 1988, Arpad Elo (1903-1992)

and Hermann Helms (1870-
1963) were inducted into the
U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

In 1989, Al Horowitz (1907-

1973) was inducted into the U.S.
Chess Hall of Fame.
In 1990, Dr. Hans Berliner
(1929-2017) was inducted into
the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

In 1991, John "Jack"W. Collins

(1912-2001) and Arthur Dake
(1910-2000) was inducted into
the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

In 1992, the U. S. Chess Trust

purchased the U.S. Chess Hall
of Fame museum and moved its
contents to the U.S. Chess
Center, 1501 M. Street, NW,
Washington, D.C.

In 1992, Arnold Denker (1914-

2005), Gisela Gresser (1906-
2000), and George Henry
MacKenzie (1837-1891) were
inducted into the U.S. Chess
Hall of Fame.

In 1993, Pal Benko (1928- ) and

Dr. Victor Palciauskas (1941- )
were inducted into the U.S.
Chess Hall of Fame.

In 1994, Arthur Bisguier (1929-

), Robert Byrne (1928-2013),
and Larry Evans (1932-2010)
were inducted into the U.S.
Chess Hall of Fame.

In 1995, Ed Edmondson (1920-

1982) was inducted into the U.S.
Chess Hall of Fame.

In 1996, Fred Reinfeld (1910-

1964) was inducted into the
U.S.Chess Hall of Fame.

In 1997, Kenneth Harkness

(1896-1972) was inducted into
the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

In 1998, Milan Vukcevich

(1937-2003) was inducted into
the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

In 1999, Benjamin Franklin

(1705-1790) was inducted into
the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

In the late 1990s, Sidney Samole

(1935-2000), former owner of
Excaliber Electronics, proposed
to move the hall of fame to
Miami.

In July 2000, Sidney Samole

died. The U.S. Chess Trust
accepted the proposal to move
the Chess Hall of Fame to
Samole's Excalibur Electronics
building at 13755 SW 119th
Avenue in southwest Miami-
Dade County, off the Florida
Turnpike.

In 2000, Edmar Mednis (1937-

2002) was inducted into the U.S.
Chess Hall of Fame.

In October 2001, the musueum

moved to Miami, Florda. It was
located in the Excalibur
Electronices headquaters in
Miami, in a building shaped like
a rook. The museum was
renamed the World Chess Hall
of Fame and Sidney Samole
Chess Museum. The museum
continued collecting chess sets,
books, tournament memorabilia,
advertisements, photographs,
furniture, medals, trophies, and
journals. The Bobby Fischer
(1943-2008) exhibit at the
museum was sponsored by Bill
and Lois Wall.

The museum had a timeline of

chess as you enter, hundreds of
different chess sets and pieces, a
movie theater which runs a
movie of chess history and a
Pixar chess cartoon, dozens of
different chess clocks, a replica
of the table used in the first
Fischer-Spassky chess match,
chess paintings, a gift shop,
displays, dozens of chess boards
and tables, chess computers and
the old Chess Challenger.

Outside the museum were bricks

with sponsor's names engraved
on them (I had a brick with Lois
& Bill Wall). There was an
Excalibur rock and sword and
the entrance was shaped like a
rook.

Al Lawrence is the Executive

Director of the museum. Regina
Del Cid was the executive
assistant. Gilberto Luna was the
USCF Coordinator. Sharon
Samole was in charge of
membership.

The Grandmaster Charter

members and display sponsors
included myself (Bill Wall),
Floyd & Bernice Sarasohn,
Robin Steigman, Jim and Helen
Warren, Fred Bristol, Stephen
Doyle, Jim Eade, Robert
McCray, John Mingos, Stan
Samole, Arnold Denker, Frank
Camaratta, and Stanley &
Bernice Mestel.

In 2001, Lubomir Kavalek

(1943- ) was inducted into the
U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

In 2001, representatives of the

World Chess Federation (FIDE)
nominated inductees for the
World Chess Hall of Fame.

In 2001, Jose Raul Capablanca

(1888-1942), Robert Fischer
(1943-2008), Emanuel Lasker
(1868-1941), Paul Morphy
(1837-1884), and William
Steinitz (1836-1900) were
inducted into the World Chess
Hall of Fame (WCHOF).

In 2003, Lev Alburt (1945- ),

Walter Browne (1949-2015),
and Donald Byrne (1930-1976)
were inducted into the U.S.
Chess Hall of Fame.

In 2003, Mikhail Botvinnik

(1911-1995), Tigran Petrosian
(1929-1984), Vasily Smyslov
(1921-2010), Boris Spassky
(1937- ), Mikhail Tal (1936-
1992) were inducted into the
WCHOF.

In 2004, Anatoly Lein (1931- )

and Leonid Shamkovich (1923-
2005) were inducted into the
U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

In 2004, Alexander Alekhine

(1892-1946), Max Euwe (1901-
1981), and Anatoly Karpov
(1951- )were inducted into the
WCHOF.

In 2005, Garry Kasparov (1963-

) was inducted into the
WCHOF.

In 2006, Yasser Seirawan (1960-

) was inducted into the U.S.
Chess Hall of Fame.

In 2007, Irving Chernev (1900-

1981) and Jeremy Gaige (1927-
2011) were inducted into the
U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

In 2008, Joel Benjamin (1964- ),

Larry Christiansen (1956- ), and
Nick de Firmian (1957- ) were
inducted into the U.S. Chess
Hall of Fame.

In 2008, Siegbert Tarrasch

(1862-1934) was inducted into
the WCHOF.

In 2009, the World Chess Hall

of Fame and Sidney Samole
Museum closed down.

In 2009, John Fedorowicz

(1958- ) and Burt Hochberg
(1933-2006) were inducted into
the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

In 2009, Dr. Jeanne and Rex

Sinquefield founded the not-for-
profit Chess Club and Scholastic
Center of Saint Louis
(CCSCSL).

In 2010, philanthropist Rex

Sinquefield (1944- ) agreed to
pay for moving the museum to
St. Louis and renovating its new
building.

In 2010, Diane Savereide,

Jackson Showalter (1859-1935),
and Herman Steiner (1905-
1955) were inducted into the
U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

On September 8, 2011, the

WCHOL moved to 4652
Maryland Avenue, St. Louis,
Missouri. It moved across the
street from the Chess Club and
Scholastic Center of Saint Louis
in the city's West End
neighborhhod. The WCHOL
resides in a three-story, 15,900
square-foot, building with most
of the hall of fame memorabilia
resides on the 3rd floor. The 1st
and 2nd floor is for exhibits. The
first floor also has the Q
Boutique at the World Chess
Hall of Fame. It specialzes in
custom chess merchandise. The
exhibit rooms can accomodate
up to 100 people.

From September 9, 2011 to

February 12, 2012, a
contemporary art exhibition has
held at the World Chess Hall of
Fame. It 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.

On view from September 9,

2011 to February 12, 2012, this
exhibition celebrated Dr. George
and Vivian Dean's 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.

In 2011, Boris Gulko (1947- )

and Andy Soltis (1947- ) were
inducted into the U.S. Chess
Hall of Fame.
In 2011, Vera Menchik (1906-
1944) was inducted into the
WCHOF.

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-mache,
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.

On view from March 9, 2012 to

October 7, 2012, the Bobby
Fischer exhibition featured
photographs by Harry Benson,
the only person to have private
access to Bobby Fischer during
the entire 1972 World Chess
Championship match in
Reykjavik, Iceland. Benson
captured intimate images of
Fischer and was the first person
to deliver the news to Fischer
that he had won the match.

On view from September 13,

2012 to February 10, 2013, the
Screwed Moves exhibition
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.

On view from October 18, 2012

to April 14, 2013, the Chess in
Populare Culture 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.

On view from October 18, 2012

to April 21, 2013, the Power in
Check: Chess and the American
Presidency explored how chess
has influenced the American
presidency since the
administration of George
Washington. I contributed much
of the information and hstory on
U.S. Presidents and chess to this
exhibition.

In 2012, Alex Yermolinsky

(1958- ) was inducted into the
U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

In 2013, Gregory Kaidanov

(1959- )and Mona May Karff
(1908-1988) were inducted into
the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

On view from March 7, 2013 to

August 25, 2013, this
humanities exhibition 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.

On view from May 3, 2013 to

September 15, 2013, this
Highlights from the Jon
Crumiller Collection 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.

On view from October 19, 2013

to April 19, 2014, the Queen
Within exhibition 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, the Jacqueline
Piatigorsky: Patron, Player,
Pioneer exhibition 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.

In 2013, Elisveta Bykova (1913-

1989), Mikhail Chigorin (1850-
1908), and Nona Gaprindashvili
(1941- ) were inducted into the
WCHOF.

On view from May 8, 2014 to

September 21, 2014, the Cage &
Kaino 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.

On view from May 8, 2014 to

September 28, 2014 the Strategy
by Design: Gamesby Michael
Graves, exhibition focused on
the games designed by the
Michael Graves Design Group.
Curated by independent curator,
Bradley Bailey.

On view from July 24, 2014 to

June 7, 2015, the Bobby Fischer
exhibition focused on the career
of Bobby Fischer, considered
one of the greatest American
chess players of all time.

From October 9, 2014 to April

26, 2015, the Living Like Kings:
the Unexpected Collision of
Chess and Hip Hop Culture
exhibition was held.

In 2014, Abraham Kupchik

(1892-1970) and Jacqueline
Piatigorsky (1911-2012) were
inducted into the U.S. Chess
Hall of Fame.

In 2014, Maia Chiburdanidze

(1961- ) and Paul Keres (1916-
1975) were inducted into the
WCHOF.

In 2014, the United States

Senate declared Saint Louis the
national capitalof chess due to
the World Chess Hall of Fame
and the Chess Club and
Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.

From May 14, 2015 to October

18, 2015, the Marcel Dzama:
Mischief Makes a Move
exhibition was held. Art, dance,
and chess all come together in a
surreal way.

From May 14, 2015 to October

18, 2015, a Jon Crumiller Chess
Collection exhibition was held.
Antique ivory chess sets and
boards were on display.

From June 25, 2015 to January

17, 2016, the Battle of the
Board: Chess during World War
II exhibition was held. The
exhibition included prisoner of
war chess sets and World War II
posters and ads with a chess
theme.

In 2015, Alexander Shabalov

(1967- ) was inducted into the
U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

In 2015, Olga Rubtsova (1909-

1994), Lyudmila Rudenko
(1904-1986), and Carl
Schlechter (1874-1918) were
inducted into the WCHOF.

From September 29, 2016 to

April 15, 2017, an exhibition
called Open Files: Celebrating
FiveYears of Collecting was
held. It honored some of the
donors from the past five years
as well as illustrating the
diversity of its collection.

From October 29, 2015 to May

1, 2016, the Ladies' Knight: A
Female Perspective on Chess
exhibtion was held. The
exhibition presented works by
Crystal Fischetti, Debbie Han,
Barbara Kruger, Liliya
Lifanova, Goshka Macuga,
Sophie Matisse, Yoko Ono,
Daniela Raytchev, Jennifer
Shahade, Yuko Suga, Diana
Thater, and Rachel Whiteread.
Their diverse interpretations of
the game range from the playful
and feminine to the serious, and
encourage dialogue about
subjects like crime, language,
peace and conflict, and
inequality.

On April 13, 2016, David

Bronstein (1924-2006), Sonja
Graf-Stevenson (1908-1965),
and Howard Staunton (1810-
1874) were inducted into the
WCHOF. Maurice Ashley
(1966- ) and Gata Kamsky
(1974- ) were inducted into the
U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

From February 4, 2016 to

September 4, 2016, an
exhibition called Her Turn:
Revolutionary Women of Chess
was held at the WCHOF. It
celebrated the legacies of some
of the greatest female chess
players.

From May 19, 2016 to

September 11, 2016, an
exhibition called Tom Hackney:
Corresponding Squares:
Painting the Chess Games of
Marcel Duchamp was held.
British artist Tom Hackney
translated the chess games of
Marcel Duchamp into vivid
geometric abstractions.

From September 29, 2016 to

March 12, 2017, an exhibition
called Animal, Vegatable,
Mineral was held. It featured the
natural splendors from the chess
collection of Dr. George and
Vivian Dean. It included a
Fabrege Chess Set and a Rock
Crystal Chess Set.

From September 29, 2016 to

March 12, 2017, an exhibition
called Designing Chessmen: A
Taste of the Imagery of Chess
was held. Works of John Cage,
Alexander Calder, and Marcel
Duchamp were on display.

From March 23, 2017 through

September 24, 2017, the
WCHOL will have an exhibtion
on the 1st floor called The
Imagery of Chess: Saint Louis
Artists. It features 20 leading
local artists, writers,
designers,musicians,and
composers and their artwork and
performance inspired by the
game of chess. I attended the
public opening reception on
March 23 and was quite
impressed by the large turnout. I
also met GM Yasser Seirawan,
grandmaster-in-residdence to the
Saint Louis Chess Club, GM
Wesley So, and Rex
Sinquefield. All three attended
the event.

From March 23, 2017 through

September 17, 2017, the
WCHOL will have an
interactive exhibition on the 2nd
floor entitled, POW! Capturing
Superheroes, Comics & Chess.
It features over 200 chess-
related comic books (the actual
comic books), superhero chess
sets like the DC and Marvel
collection of comic book
characters, illustration stations,
costumes, and a photo booth.

Some of the rare comic books

were on loan from major chess
collector Bernice and Floyd
Sarisohn, as well as Jeff
Penning. There was also written
contributions from Roy Thomas,
former Editor in Chief at Marvel
Comics, and Michael Tisserand,
author of Krazy: George
Herriman, A Life in Black and
White.

Shannon Bailey, chief curator,

and Emily Allred, assistant
curator, were very helpful in
showing me around both
exhibits and helping me update
my article on chess and comics.

The WCHOL collaborates with

the Chess Club and Scholastic
Center to provide programming,
instruction, and outreach to an
international audience of
novices and experts alik

e. The current members of the

Hall of Fame Committee include
Harold Winston (Chairman),
International Master John
Donaldson, John McCrary, Al
Lawrence, GM Joel Benjamin,
GM Arthur Bisguier, John
Hilbert, Jennifer Shahade, and
Shane Samole.

In 2017, Paula Kalmar-Wolf,

Alla Kushnir, and Viktor
Korchnoi will be inducted in the
World Chess Hall of Fame and
join the 27 other world
members. Edward Lasker will
be inducted in the U.S. Hall of
Fame and join the 57 U.S.
members.

The World Chess Hall of Fame

has had over 60,000 visitors
since its opeing in 2011. It is
free and open to the public in a
very nice location. The hours are
10 am to 5 pm on Monday,
Tuesday, and Saturday. It is
open from 10 am to 9 pm on
Wednesday, Thursday, and
Friday. It is open from noon
until 5 pm on Sunday.

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