Through the Featured Chess Set project, the World Chess Hall of Fame showcases a variety of chess sets throughout the year. These include highlights from our own collection as well as chess sets owned by friends and chess lovers who have special stories to accompany their sets. For more information about how to participate in the Featured Chess Set project, please inquire at the front desk.
June’s Featured Chess Set is from the collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame. Since its creation in 1986, the World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) has endeavored to highlight the history and cultural significance of the game of chess. The WCHOF’s collection is diverse and includes sets once owned by legendary players, mass-produced sets with lively pop culture themes, antique ivory sets, travel sets, as well as chess computers. Through these artifacts, the WCHOF illustrates how chess has evolved through its over 1500-year history.
Mattel
California Classics 2 • Go! Chess, 1992
King size: 2 3⁄8 in.
Board: 17 1⁄8 x 12 ½ in.
Plastic and cardboard
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, © Mattel
June’s Featured Set has been selected in connection with the opening of Golf the Galleries – Artist-Designed Mini Golf (June 1-August 11, 2019), an interactive art exhibition at the Sheldon Art Gallery that features a creative mini golf course with holes designed by artists, designers, and the World Chess Hall of Fame. The eye-catching colors and 90s’ aesthetic of this portable chess set provided the inspiration for Perpetual Check, the WCHOF’s submission to the exhibition. The chess set is part of a series of games—which included backgammon, checkers, dominoes, and chinese checkers—that were produced by Mattel in neon colors in 1992. The brightly-colored board can fold into a box used to hold the chess pieces.
