Turkmenistan, Twitter & Travel: A Q&A with Lennart Ootes
Interviewed by: Cabanne Howard This week, before the Day 2 rounds of Rapid & Blitz began, I had the pleasure of sitting down for a few minutes with Lennart Ootes, a very talented, jet-setting photographer of the chess stars. Lennart Ootes Age: 29 Birthplace: Hoorn*, the Netherlands Profession: Photographer What did you study in school? […]
Chess Inducted Into the National Toy Hall of Fame
“One toy stretches our gray matter; the other expands our sense of childhood wonder.” On November 7th, the National Toy Hall of Fame announced that the ancient game of chess will join the rubber duck as its 2013 inductees. We think it’s about time!
Shakespeare and Chess
On May 22nd, the World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) featured a unique event – the grand finale of SHAKE38, a 38-play marathon of Shakespeare’s works leading up to the opening of Shakespeare Festival St. Louis – which kicked off with a preview of Othello on May 23rd. This event featured chess-themed readings from plays […]
Chess in Fashion
Chess in Fashion Chess permeates popular culture in a variety of ways, including fashion. Whether the game is referenced for its connotations of intelligence or is simply provides a geometric backdrop to showcase a garment, chess has graced publications such as Vogue and inspired designers like Alexander McQueen. McQueen staged his Spring/Summer 2005 fashion show […]
Chess in Advertising
References to chess permeate our culture in many ways. Terms such as “pawn” and “stalemate,” for instance, have connotations outside of the game. Chess references have similarly been employed by advertising companies to sell everything from alcoholic beverages to denim. Often alluding to intelligence and strategic thinking, chess indicates that consumers are making a smart, […]
Saint Louis Premiere of Bobby Fischer Against the World
On June 6, 2011, the world premiere of Bobby Fischer Against the World aired on the highly-acclaimed HBO network. Bobby Fischer Against the World, directed by Liz Garbus first premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival, in the beautiful Park City, Utah, where it received rave reviews. The World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) […]
Bobby Fischer Against the World – NYC Premiere
Liz Garbus’ documentary Bobby Fischer Against the World premiered in New York City on May 25th with a slew of celebrities in attendance. Sophia Coppola, Henry Kissinger, Rufus Wainwright, Clive Davis and Lauren Hutton joined more than 200 VIPs at HBO’s theatre in midtown New York. The World Chess Hall of Fame co-hosted the event […]
Bobby Fischer Against the World
Bobby Fischer, undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest chess players, became a Cold War icon as he defeated Soviet-born Boris Spassky in the 1972 World Championship chess match in Iceland. Garbus’ film, detailing the rise of Fischer’s fame from child prodigy to cultural phenomenon, premiered a the Sundance Film Festival in 2011. Fischer encapsulated the […]
