While it may nor garner as much attention as soccer or football, Chess is one of the world's oldest and most recognizable games. Regardless of if you are a chess master or you've never touched the game in your entire life, the Chess Hall of Fame is worth checking out. You can stand against the world largest chess piece, learn about the history and its players, or just see some beautiful chess sets.
Located in the Central West End, this St. Louis gem has only been in the city since 2011. The Hall Fame was located in New York, Washington, D.C., and Florida before it settled in St. Louis because of its prestigious chess reputation.
The location is actually the home to both the US and World Chess Halls of Fame. There are only 58 members in the US Hall of Fame and 30 members in the World Hall of Fame according to the Chess Hall of Fame website.
The world of professional chess is much more competitive and captivating than I had realized. Players compete against each other in quest of the coveted position of Grand Master. The most important of these is the World Chess Championship that can award winners upwards of $1 million.
Fame and fortune of the players aside, the Hall of Fame also showcases some artwork and the world's largest chess piece, a 20 foot-tall king chess piece. The Hall of Fame had this record for a number of years until a piece in Belgium took the world record. To reclaim its title, the Chess Hall of Fame unveiled a taller piece in this past April.
While the largest piece may be the most noticeable item, but the Hall of Fame also has a variety of exhibits ranging in chess history to chess art. While I was there, the Hall of Fame hosted the Painted Pieces exhibit which contained creatively designed chess pieces and boards.
Bu the Hall of Fame also had exhibits on how chess became modernized and how America finally became recognized as a major player in the game of chess.
As someone who has never played chess in their life, I genuinely enjoyed the Hall of Fame. It provided fascinating insight into an incredibly storied game.
Note: the suggested donation to enter is $3 for kids and $5 for adults.
