World Chess Hall of Fame
The World Chess Hall of Fame is a nonprofit collecting institution in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1984, it features chess 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 in New Windsor, New York, Washington, D.C., and Miami, Florida, it moved to St. Louis on September 9, 2011. It is run by the United States Chess Trust.
The World Chess Hall of Fame is located across the street from the Saint 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 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. The museum also displays two temporary exhibitions per year.
History
Steven Doyle, president of the United States Chess Federation from 1984 to 1987, founded the World Chess Hall of Fame in 1986 as the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.It opened in 1988 in the basement of the Federation's then-headquarters in New Windsor, New York. The museum's small collection included 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., where it 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.
Soon afterward, billionaire Rex 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.
Hall of Fame
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.
U.S. Chess Hall of Fame Inductees
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, Frank Camaratta, John Crumiller, William John Donaldson, John Hilbert, Randy Hough, Alexey Root, Sophia Rohde, Andrew Soltis, Peter Tamburro, and Fred Wilson.