2014 was an exciting year for the World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF), featuring many different popular exhibitions and events. The WCHOF experienced its highest visitor attendance, with guests numbering 13,344. The October opening of the exhibition Living Like Kings drew 550 visitors and featured special guest and speaker RZA of The Wu-Tang Clan. Since 2011 when the Hall of Fame opened, attendance has topped 35,000. Enjoy a year remixed; compiled by gallery attendant and blog contributor Sarah Weinman.
Exhibitions in 2014:
A Queen Within: Adorned Archetypes, Fashion, and Chess explored archetypes of the queen through fashion created by 32 innovative designers. An accompanying lecture, titled A Tear in the Veil: Beauty and Shadow in the Art of Alexander McQueen, and presented by Jungian Psychoanalyst Mary Wells Barron examined archetypal symbolism in the fashion of designer Alexander McQueen.
Jacqueline Piatigorsky: Patron, Player, Pioneer focused on the extraordinary life of this chess player and philanthropist who created the Piatigorsky Cup and promoted youth chess. Piatigorsky was also a 2014 inductee into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.
Cage & Kaino: Pieces and Performances brought together the work of 20th-century composer John Cage and contemporary multimedia artist Glenn Kaino, two seminal American artists who combined their love of chess with the concept of performance art.
The WCHOF presented two events in conjunction with the exhibition. The sold-out event Reunion was a contemporary presentation of Cage’s 1968 performance of the same name. Musicians for the spring 2014 performance at the WCHOF included Nathan Cook, Greg Farough, Adaron “Pops” Jackson, and Mark Sarich. Chess players in the performance included GM Maurice Ashley, GM Ben Finegold, GM Yasser Seirawan, and WGM Jennifer Shahade. Artists William Anastasi and Dove Bradshaw also participated.
The Burning Boards, the second event, was conceived by Kaino and brought together 32 expert and novice chess players who contended with burning candles for chess pieces. This event took place during the Sinquefield Cup in fall 2014.
Strategy by Design: Games by Michael Graves exhibited some of the games designed by the Michael Graves Design Group. The chess set was one of Graves’ most challenging and rewarding projects. By the time he turned his attention to games and domestic products, Graves was already a well-known international architect.
A Memorable Life: A Glimpse into the Complex Mind of Bobby Fischer, which closes in 2015, presents an overview of the chess genius’ life and career, beginning with Fischer’s becoming U.S. Chess Champion at the age of 14 and continuing through his victory over Boris Spassky in the 1972 tournament in Iceland.
Living Like Kings, which also closes in 2015, explores the intersection of chess and hip hop culture with regard to music, art, and education. The exhibition is comprised of two parts: the first is an immersive multimedia video experience created by Saint Louis artist Benjamin Kaplan and featuring archival and original video, music and photography, custom-designed type and illustration, and a series of interviews. Two of the video gallery’s walls are filled floor-to-ceiling with custom-designed stencils by Saint Louis artist Peat “EYEZ” Wollaeger. Wollaeger designed boombox and chess-clock stencils and integrated his signature eyes into the pieces.
The second part of the exhibition is the Learning Lab, a rotating space that has displayed different content including chess sets available for play, music apps, and a variety of reading material. Pieces and Placement, an ongoing series of six murals created by different artists, depicts the artists’ concepts of different chess pieces. The Learning Lab also exhibited Adrian O. Walker’s photographs of local graffiti in Street Beautification.
Family Programs
The WCHOF offers regularly scheduled Family Programs which consist of Breakfasts with Baby, ROOKie Readers, and Family Days. All of these programs began in spring 2014 and we’re excited about presenting them for years to come! Breakfasts with Baby is a weekly session designed for parents and children from birth to two years old. Families enjoy light refreshments, socializing, and activities. ROOKie Readers, an early literacy program designed for children ages two to five, features stories, related games, and activities. Family Days are weekly Saturday events for families with kids ages five to twelve and involve tours and art-related projects.
Monthly Music Series
The Monthly Music Series is comprised of concerts held at the WCHOF which range from classical, folk, and pop to soul and bluegrass. Musical groups include: Community Music School at Webster University–Strings Serenade: Lush Chamber Music; Alarm Will Sound, which incorporates jazz, improvisation, world music, and composition; The 442’s, an acoustic instrumental quartet; Edo Sadikovic and Bosona Band, who play traditional Bosnian folk music; soul singer Brian Owens; and Henhouse Prowlers, who take elements of bluegrass to produce ballads and original material.
2014 Sinquefield Cup
Beginning on August 27, the second annual Sinquefield Cup was the strongest tournament in the history of chess. Six of the top nine players in the world arrived at the St. Louis Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Sainr Louis to compete for the $100,000 prize. Players included GM Magnus Carlsen from Norway (ranked #1 in the world), GM Fabiano Caruana from Italy (#2), GM Veselin Topalov from Bulgaria (#5), GM Hikaru Nakamura from the U.S. (#7), GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave from France (#10), and GM Levon Aronian from Armenia (#11). Caruana won seven games and drew three for a score of 8.5/10, thereby winning the Sinquefield Cup.
2014 Chess Hall of Fame Inductees
The U.S. Chess Hall of Fame inductees included Abraham Kupchik, one of the strongest American players from 1914–1940; and Jacqueline Piatigorsky, an organizer, philanthropist, and chess player who was a great supporter and promoter of youth chess.
The World Chess Hall of Fame inductees included Maya Chiburdanidze, who became Women’s World Chess Champion at age 17 in 1978, and Paul Keres, who won the 1963 Piatigorsky Cup and wrote a multi-volume series of books about his games.
