St.Louis in Missouri has often topped the news headlines for all the wrong reasons. Painted in dark undertones of racial disharmony, the midwest city’s transition into the chess capital of the world is both intriguing and inspiring. Once infamous for agitations between the black and the white communities, today St.Louis is drawing a different game with black and white squares.
Recently the city was the venue for a unique exhibition - “Mind, Art Experience: 10 years of Chess & Culture in Saint Louis”. The retrospective exhibition was organized to commemorate 10 years of The World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) in Saint Louis after its relocation to the city in 2011.
The museum displays over 120 artifacts related to chess and all that is associated with the sport.
The Story of St.Louis
The renaissance of chess in Saint Louis - as well as the U.S. - can be attributed to one man: financier-cum-billionaire Rex Sinquefield who chose to settle down in St.Louis after his retirement. Passionate about chess, Rex laid the foundation of the St. Louis Chess Club and Scholastic Center to “have a nice chess club in the city”.
Rex is a strong advocate of the transformative power of chess. He believes that chess impacts and influences all aspects of the academic life of a child.
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After almost a decade, St. Louis has become the new chess city of the world, officially declared as the chess capital of the nation by the US Congress. The three-storey St Louis Chess Club and Scholastic Center is the venue for several elite grandmaster tournaments, including the U.S. Chess Championship.
However, the primary focus of the club is not conducting events, but spreading awareness of chess and its education. The club provides and promotes chess at local schools and within the community. Today St.Louis bustles with chess activities and programs, has three local universities that offer chess scholarships, and includes SPICE, the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence.
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The World Chess Hall Of Fame
Opposite to the club stands the World Chess Hall of Fame with the unignorable 4.5m high chess piece. The World Chess Hall of Fame, run by the United States Chess Trust, was founded in 1984 and earlier based at New Windsor, New York; Washington, D.C.; and Miami, Florida, till it moved to St. Louis on September 9, 2011.
A non-profit organization that is committed to building an awareness of the artistic and cultural significance of chess, the Hall of Fame exhibits the artworks related to great players, displays the numerous chess awards, the games and strategies used in the game, and most importantly, has keeps the rich cultural heritage of the game of chess alive. It conducts classes, like "Toddler Tuesdays", introducing the sport to three-year-olds, focusing on "cognitive development" through chess.
Mind, Art, Experience: A rendezvous with chess at Saint Louis
According to Shannon Bailey, the curator of WCHOF, the mission is to make chess accessible to one and all. Mind, Art, Experience celebrates chess in all its avatars - encapsulating the essence of all fifty exhibitions held at WCHOF since its relocation to St.Louis.
The three floors of the Museum comprise three separate sections, each dedicated to the diverse aspects of the sport. The first floor is dedicated to the art of chess, while the second and third focus on the impact of chess on the culture. For example, the World Chess Hall of Fame exhibits all the comic book arts where playing chess was a part.
The exhibition sprawled over the three floors comprises more than 120 artworks and artifacts associated with chess and its legendary heroes. like Boris Spassky, Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov, and Anatoly Karpov. There are also displays from famous artists like Yoko Ono, M.C. Escher, Barbara Kruger, and Tom Friedman. Some of the displays are also from St. Louis based creatives like Peter Manion, Michael Drummond, and Audra Danielle Noyes.
As per Shanon, the exhibition not only showcases the past accomplishments in the world of chess but also portrays how chess has been the binding factor for communities in the city.
The exhibition is aided financially by the Missouri Arts Council, a state-based organization.
The major highlight of the exhibition, Mind, Art, Experience: Celebrating 10 Years of Chess & Culture in Saint Louis, is the chess sets from various places and people. To name a few, Tom Freidman’s chess set is crafted in such a way that no two pieces have any similarity. Yoko Ono’s all-white-set ‘Play it by trust’, is on display. It reflects upon the Cold War, military conflict, nuclear arms race in Vietnam. Rachel Whiteread’s Modern Chess Set comprises pieces assembled and inspired by all the dollhouses and chess pieces.
The Exhibition is about appealing to the mind, art, as well as experience. It aims to appeal to all the masses, to everyone who may get to know more about the game, understand the strategies being used, and develop a liking for chess. The achievements of the champions, along with the artwork inspired by the sport from some of the world-renowned artists, reflect upon the progress and development in the game of chess over the years.
Wrapping up
With the establishment of the Chess Club along with the Hall of Fame, St. Louis now embodies the true spirit of the sport, a place where one can breathe chess and get inspired by the game. Mind, Art, Experience exalts the cultural heritage of the brilliant mind game that is chess.
The chess center has brought the whole community together and has been the driving force behind the success of the exhibition that will run through April and July 2022. The exhibition that kickstarted on January 27, 2022, will hold a public reception in April and will be on view with free admission. For those interested, there are virtual tours of the exhibition as well, where one can virtually visit all the sections and enjoy the display.