Drawn Games: Chess Posters from Around the World features posters celebrating important chess tournaments, events and championships as well as the placement of the game in movies, concerts and more. Highlights include posters from Bobby Fischer’s 1972 World Chess Championship Match, Op-art work by Victor Vasarely and chess-themed promotional designs for Dave Matthews Band.

Exhibit Overview

A small selection of the World Chess Hall of Fame’s (WCHOF) over 300 posters are highlighted in Drawn Games: Chess Posters from Around the World. Dating from 1930 to the present, the posters span numerous artistic styles and are the products of many different creators. The subjects portrayed in the WCHOF’s poster collection—scenes from films, gorgeous designs made to publicize historic tournaments and world championship matches, and works designed for tournaments held on the Saint Louis chess campus—perfectly demonstrate the museum’s mission to celebrate the history of chess, as well as its impact on art and popular culture.

Drawn Games is curated by Shannon Bailey, Chief Curator, and Emily Allred, Curator; World Chess Hall of Fame

Drawn Games: Chess Posters from Around the World, Gallery View, Photo by Austin Fuller
Drawn Games: Chess Posters from Around the World, Gallery View, Photo by Austin Fuller
Drawn Games: Chess Posters from Around the World, Gallery View, Photo by Austin Fuller
Artist unknown, Interpolis Super Tournament, Tilburg, Netherlands, October 16—November 5, 1991, Digital print, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Alan Davie, 22nd Chess Olympiad, Haifa, Israel, October 26—November 10, 1976, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Antonio Maldonado, 27th Chess Olympiad, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 14-December 2,1986, Serigraph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Sten Heilmann Clausen, World Team Championship of Silent Chess, Fredericia, Denmark, August 12—21, 1974, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, 17th Chess Olympiad, Havana, Cuba, October 23—November 20, 1966, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Arcturis, U.S. Women’s Chess Championship, Saint Louis, Missouri, October 3—13, 2009, Digital print, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of the Saint Louis Chess Club
Artist unknown, 4th World Youth Team Chess Championship, Chicago, Illinois, 1983, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, Gift of Kenneth N. Marshall
Artist unknown, 3rd World Chess Championship for Minors, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico, August 10 - 23, 1981, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist Unknown, 8th European Youth Chess Championship, Rimavska Sobota, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia), August 1 - 12, 1992, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, World Junior Team Championship, 1978, 
Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, Women’s World Championship, Sofia, Bulgaria, September 1986, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Rolandgrafic, World Chess Championship, Merano, Italy, October 1 - November 19, 1981, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, Karpov vs. Kasparov, Moscow, Russia, September 3 - December 5, 1985, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, World Chess Championship, New York City, New York , October 8 - November 10, 1990, Digital print, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, Women’s Candidates Tournament, Subotica, Yugoslavia, September 7 - October 10, 1967, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Arcturis, Sinquefield Cup, Saint Louis, Missouri, September 9 - 15, 2013, Digital Print, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of the Saint Louis Chess Club
Page Pedersen, Cairns Cup, Saint Louis, Missouri, February 5 - 16, 2019 , Digital Print, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Aidan Douglas, U.S Junior & Senior Girls Championships, Saint Louis, Missouri, July 10 - 20, 2019 , Digital Print, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Arcturis, Kings vs. Queens: A Battle of the Sexes, Saint Louis, Missouri, September 9-16, 2011, Digital Print, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of the Saint Louis Chess Club
Bradley Bailey, Out of the Box: Artists Play Chess, September 9, 2011 - February 11, 2012, Digital Print, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Paige Pedersen, A Clash of Kings: Karpov vs Seirawan Rapid & Blitz Tournament, Saint Louis, Missouri, June 9 - 13, 2012, Digital Print, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of the Saint Louis Chess Club
Arcturis, U.S. Junior Closed and U.S. Women’s Chess Championships, Saint Louis, Missouri, 2010, Digital print, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of the Saint Louis Chess Club
Paige Pedersen, Champions Showdown, Saint Louis, Missouri, November 9-14, 2017,Digital Print, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of the Saint Louis Chess Club
Artist unknown, Chess-Master, c. 1980s, Digital Print, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, 4th Capablanca Memorial Chess Tournament, Havana, Cuba, August - September, 1965, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
David Brooks, Arthur Dake International Chess Tournament, San Francisco, The United States of America, July 11 - 20, 1999, Digital Print, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of John Donaldson
Artist unknown, First International Capablanca Memorial Chess Championship, Havana, Cuba, April 25, 1962, Serigraph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, International Chess Festival in Honor of the 100th Anniversary Birthday of Alexander Alekhine, Smolensk, Russia, 1992, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, Men's International Chess Tournament, Timișoara, Romania, 1987, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, 1st European Rapid Chess Championship, Gijon, Spain, May 31 - June 4, 1988, Digital Print, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, Panamerican Chess Championship, Santa Cruz, Bolivia, November 15 - December 5, 1977, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, 2009 World Team Championship, Bursa, Turkey, 2010, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of John Donaldson
Artist unknown, 16th Balkaniad Chess Tournament, Skopje, Yugoslavia, October 3 - 12, 1984, Digital Print, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, DDR VR-Bulgarien Chess Tournament, Nordhausen, East Germany , November 12 - 17, 1987, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, Tunisian Chess Tournament, Tunis, Tunisia, November 18 - 22, 1982, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Pouggelos, 17th Balkaniad Chess Tournament, Heraklion, Greece, 1985, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, Torneo Internacional, Ciudad de Luanda, Angola, January 23 - February 11, 1981, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, Garry Kasparov vs. Veselin Topalov, Sofia, Bulgaria, May 2 - 3, 1998, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, 14th Chess Olympiad, Leipzig, East Germany, October 16 - November 11, 1960, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, 23rd Chess Olympiad, Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 25 - November 12, 1978
, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, 27th Chess Olympiad, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 14 - December 2,1986, Paper, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, 30th Chess Olympiad, Manila, Philippines, June 7 - 25, 1992, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam
Artist unknown, 17th Chess Olympiad, Havana, Cuba, October 23 - November 20, 1966, Lithograph, World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, 27th Chess Olympiad, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 14 - December 2,1986, Digital Print, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, 27th Chess Olympiad, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 14 - December 2,1986, Digital Print, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Artist unknown, 3rd Chess Collectors International, Munich, Germany, 1988, Lithograph, Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame