Exhibition Archives - Page 2 of 10 - World Chess Hall of Fame & Galleries

Featured Chess Sets 2023

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.

1972 Fischer/Spassky: The Match, Its Origin, and Influence

1972 Fischer/Spassky: The Match, its Origin, and Influence celebrates the 50th anniversary of the American Robert “Bobby” Fischer’s historic win over the Russian Boris Spassky in the legendary 1972 World Chess Championship, ending 24 years of Soviet dominance in the sport. The show features more than 500 artifacts, including chess pieces used in pivotal game three of the “Match of the Century,” a replica of the tournament table created by the makers of the original and never-before-exhibited books from the personal library of Bobby Fischer. The exhibition also highlights pieces from the World Chess Hall of Fame collection, loans from the Fischer Library of U.S. Chess Hall of Fame Inductees Dr. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield & Rex Sinquefield and from photojournalist and Fischer confidant Harry Benson CBE and recently-donated artwork by the LeRoy Neiman & Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation.

Exhibit Overview

A chess prodigy, Fischer began playing the game of chess at the age of 6 and by the age of 16 was the youngest player ever to win a U.S. Junior Championship; win a U.S. Championship (record still stands today); become a grandmaster ever at the time; become an international player at that time, and qualify for the Candidates Tournament. In addition, he won the U.S. Open in 1958, was the first non-Sovet to win an Interzonal in 1962, and authored My 60 Memorable Games in 1969, which is widely considered to be one of the greatest pieces of chess literature. Fischer won all eight of the U.S. Chess Championships that he participated in and won all 11 games in the 1964 U.S. Championship—a record that still stands today. He appeared on the pages of LIFE Magazine and Sports Illustrated and on numerous television programs, bringing the game of chess to a wider audience in the United States. Prior to qualifying for the World Championship match, Fischer won 20 consecutive games in 1970-71 against the world’s top players.

The 1972 World Chess Championship, with Fischer facing off against Soviet world chess champion Boris Spassky, embodied the Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. In addition, the tales of the World Chess Championship in Reykjavík, Iceland, in the summer of 1972 are numerous and fantastic. Fischer arrived late to the first game, forfeited game two, inspected television cameras and lights, insisting that they were making too much noise or contained devices that were intended to distract him, and had special chessboards created for the match. It was debated if this was “normal” Fischer conduct or if he was intentionally attempting to cause a psychological breakdown of his opponent.

The match was organized as the best of 24 games. Fischer won the match 12 ½-8 ½, becoming the 11th World Chess Champion and the first American-born player to do so—ending 24 years of Soviet domination of the World Chess Championship. Fischer was welcomed back home in New York City as an American hero. He would not go on to defend his title in 1975.

Though Fischer’s later years were marred by controversy and involved little chess play, his legacy on American chess is indelible. His thrilling rise to the top of the world of chess and his landmark victory in what became known as the “Match of the Century” greatly increased the popularity of chess in the United States. In 1972, the year that he clinched the world chess championship title, membership in US Chess was 30,844. In just one year, that total nearly doubled, rising to 59,250 members. Many of these new chess players would go on to become future U.S. Champions, authors, inductees into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame, and major supporters of the game. Films such as Searching for Bobby Fischer, Bobby Fischer Against the World, Pawn Sacrifice, and the Broadway Play Chess the Musical would continue to bring Bobby and his accomplishments into the mainstream even past his death in 2008.

Fischer’s victory in the 1972 World Chess Championship inspired Saint Louis Chess Campus co-founder Rex Sinquefield’s love of chess. He and his wife Dr. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield founded the Saint Louis Chess Club in 2008. Additionally, Dr. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield launched the Scouts BSA chess merit badge in 2011, which has now been awarded to 250,000 Scouts. Their prestigious named international tournaments the Sinquefield Cup and the Cairns Cup have brought numerous top international players to the U.S. and their efforts have made the United States a global chess capital, attracting more grandmasters to the United States and encouraging many people to take up the game in what is now known as the “Sinquefield Effect.”

Highlights

A table and accessories designed by Icelandic furniture designer Gunnar Magnússon and produced by cabinetmaker Ragnar Haraldsson. In addition to making the actual table that Fischer and Spassky played the WCC Tournament on, two extra and identical tables were made after the famous chess match as gifts to Iceland. One of the replica tables will be exhibited. The original remains on permanent display in Iceland.

The show will also include materials once owned by Bobby Fischer, from his study materials for the 1971 Candidates Matches to the “red book” of games by Boris Spassky that was his constant companion as he prepared for the 1972 World Chess Championship, on loan from the Fischer Library of Dr. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield and Rex Sinquefield.

1972 Fischer/Spassky will also include intimate photography by renowned photojournalist Harry Benson CBE, who became a close confidant of Fischer. These photos tell the intimate story of Fischer both as a chess player and as sympathetic person as they show him interacting with children and animals and enjoying time at a carnival. They also show him prepping for the game at Grossingers Resort in upstate New York both studying the games of Spassky but training athletically.

The exhibition will also include the actual chess pieces used in game three of the World Chess Championship, the first game in which Fischer defeated Spassky in his entire career.

Additionally, sketches of the 1972 World Chess Championship created by noted artist LeRoy Neiman donated by the LeRoy Neiman & Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation show the exciting events of the 1972 match from an artistic perspective.

Newly-donated materials from Irena Kavalek, wife of Grandmaster Lubomir Kavalek, and International Master and author John Donaldson offer insight into important events from Fischer’s life.

The show also includes artifacts related to Bobby Fischer’s early training and achievements, including the furniture from the Hawthorne Chess Club, where Fischer spent his formative years.

Programming

Programming for the Fischer exhibition includes historical talks about Fischer and his influence with the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame inductee Frank Brady, IM John Donaldson, and more; a commissioned musical performance by our music director, Brian Owens, film screenings of Searching for Bobby Fischer, Pawn Sacrifice, and additional Fischer video content in a fun mini-movie theater atmosphere; morning movement sessions on our patio to explore the mind and body connection, figure drawing classes inspired by works in the exhibit, cocktail hours celebrating the music and culture of 1972, lessons on Fischer Random by Grandmasters, and curator tours. We will also have a Bobby Fischer and 1972 inspired playlist to be used throughout the exhibition. For children and families we will provide a monthly scavenger hunt to be completed throughout the galleries, coloring sheets inspired by the exhibition, and a 1972 words search. We will periodically offer the attic space to families who wish to complete these activities in the museum.

1972 Fischer/Spassky: Exclusive Interview with Boris Spassky, Jr.

Watch this exclusive, first-time interview with Boris Spassky Jr., son of legendary World Chess Champion Boris Spassky. After touring “1972 Fischer/Spassky: The Match, its Origin, and Influence,” Spassky Jr. sat down with World Chess Hall of Fame’s Marketing Manager Brian Flowers to share his perspective on his father, his relationship with Bobby Fischer, what happened after the 1972 World Chess Championship, and explores some of the myths and misconceptions surrounding the “Match of the Century” competitors.

Media Requests

For more information, to schedule an interview, or request a media kit, please click here.

Press

08/04/2022: World Chess Hall of Fame – “1972 Fischer/Spassky” Press Release

Missouri Bicentennial Chessboard

Golf the Galleries 2022

Exhibit Overview

1972 Fischer/Spassky: The Match, Its Origin, and Influence celebrates the 50th anniversary of Robert “Bobby” Fischer’s historical win over Boris Spassky in the 1972 World Chess Championship. Fischer’s thrilling rise to the top of the world of chess and his landmark victory in the “Match of the Century” greatly increased the popularity of chess in the United States. The first non-Soviet player to earn the title in 24 years, Fischer won the championship after 21 games at the age of 29. In 1972, the year that he clinched the world chess championship title, membership in US Chess was 30,844. In just one year, that total nearly doubled, rising to 59,250 members. Photography and images of artifacts related to Fischer’s accomplishments surround this hole. It features a position from Game 1 of the 1972 World Chess Championship where Spassky defeated Fischer. Fischer forfeited the following game by not appearing for it. Game 3 was the turning point of the match. Fischer defeated Spassky for the first time in both the match and his career, and he would go on to win the entire championship 12 1/2-8 ½ on September 1, 1972.

A full exhibition documenting the influence of Bobby Fischer will open at the World Chess Hall of Fame in the Central West End on August 18, 2022, and will feature highlights from the collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame as well as the Fischer Library of Dr. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield and Rex Sinquefield and loans from the Amon Carter Museum of Art among others. Visitors can follow Bobby Fischer on the road to the 1972 World Chess Championship, from the Candidates Matches to Fischer’s training for the championship at Grossinger’s Resort, the historic match, and the following explosion of popularity of chess in the United States, also known as the “Fischer Boom.” Though Fischer left a complex legacy, his performance in the 1972 World Chess Championship encouraged many players in the United States and around the world to play chess.

Featured Chess Sets 2022

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

December

December’s Featured Chess Set is part of the collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF). Since its creation in 1986, the 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. This set is part of the museum’s permanent collection.

December’s Christmas chess set was created by Turkish artist Engin Calisir. A chess player himself, Calisir wanted to create a set perfect for the holiday season. The board is decorated in classic holiday colors with the back square pieces slightly raised. Santa Claus is the king and the queen is not Mrs. Claus but rather the Snow Princess. The rook resembles Santa stuck in the chimney flue. The knight is a jolly snowman and the bishop a snow covered pine tree. Lastly, pawns are adorable reindeer, waiting for Santa.

November

November’s Featured Chess Set is part of the collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF). Since its creation in 1986, the 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. This set is part of the museum’s permanent collection.

This month’s chess set is a 3D printed alcohol bottle themed chess set. 3D printing allows makers to create sets with varied and imaginative themes, from characters from television and movies to festive holiday sets. Both sides of the chess set depict the pawns as beer cans, rooks as whisky, knights as brandy, bishops as vodka, the queen as champagne, and the king as the shape of a whiskey bottle. The face of each bottle has the inscription of the designated chess piece while the knight, bishop, and king states the type of alcohol. The printed bottles rest on coasters that are the same color as the chess piece.

KING: Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Whiskey

QUEEN: Moët & Chandon, Champagne

BISHOP: Gray Goose, Vodka

ROOK: Jack Daniel’s, Tennessee Whiskey

KNIGHT: Pinch, Scotch Whiskey

PAWN: Heineken, Beer

Mind, Art, Experience: 10 Years of Chess & Culture in Saint Louis

Exhibit Overview

Mind, Art, Experience: 10 Years of Chess & Culture in Saint Louis celebrates the best chess, art and culture from all 50 exhibitions held at the World Chess Hall of Fame since its 2011 relocation to Saint Louis, Missouri. The three-floor show features more than 120 artworks and artifacts, including pieces related to legendary World Champions Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov, and Boris Spassky; works by renowned photojournalist Harry Benson CBE and internationally-acclaimed artists M.C. Escher, Tom Friedman, Barbara Kruger and Yoko Ono; chess-inspired pieces by Saint Louis-based creatives Michael Drummond, Peter Manion and Audra Danielle Noyes; and loans from notable collectors and institutions, including Jon Crumiller, Dr. George and Vivian Dean, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Luhring Augustine Gallery and David Zwirner Gallery.

The exhibition is on view from January 27, 2022, through July 17, 2022.

A reception celebrating the exhibition along with our 10-year anniversary in Saint Louis will be on Thursday, April 14, 2022.

Golf the Galleries 2021

Exhibit Overview

For its fourth collaboration with The Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries’ Golf the Galleries, the World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) presents Check, Please! an off-site experience of our current exhibition Check, Please! Chess Dining & Decor. Food, like the game of chess, brings people together. Check, Please! includes food and drink-themed chess sets and chess-inspired home decor from the collection of the WCHOF. With a mission to promote the cultural aspects of the game of chess, the WCHOF seeks to demonstrate that chess is everywhere! Though chess is often seen as a competitive sport and a game of war, there is also a very fun and whimsical side of the ancient game. Check, Please! is an immersive exhibition designed to invite visitors into fun, familiar environments decorated by food and drink-themed decor inspired by chess.

The WCHOF celebrates one of the world’s oldest and best-loved games through vibrant, engaging exhibitions and creative programming. A non-profit, collecting Institution, the WCHOF houses both the U.S. and World Chess Halls of Fame, which honor the accomplishments of the game’s finest players. Our mission is to educate visitors, fans, players and scholars by collecting, preserving, exhibiting and interpreting the game of chess and its continuing cultural and artistic significance. Unique shows and programs are designed to appeal to both the chess novice and expert, defying expectations and enhancing knowledge of the game. Along with those of its sister organization, the Saint Louis Chess Club, the WCHOF’s activities have distinguished Saint Louis as a national and international chess destination.

At this hole, play through the chess pieces that are lined up like candy canes! Then, to continue to enjoy chess and food and drink, scan the in-person QR code for a free coffee when you visit Kingside Diner on the Saint Louis Chess Campus!

Golf the Galleries is on view for a limited time, July 2 – September 6, 2021

Check Please!

Pawns & Passports: Chess Sets from Around the Globe

Exhibits Overview

In September of 2021, the WCHOF will celebrate our tenth anniversary in Saint Louis. When the institution moved from Miami to Saint Louis, it already boasted a collection of over 163 chess sets. However, through the generosity of numerous donors as well as some purchases, it has increased to include over 1200 sets from over 65 countries. Since our opening, we have hosted numerous exhibitions blending chess with art, history, and popular culture. Among these have been many shows featuring chess sets from our collection and those from lenders around the United States and the world. Pawns & Passports: Chess Sets from Around the Globe includes highlights from the diverse chess set collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF). Through this display, we hope to give visitors the opportunity to “travel” around the world from our gal-lery. We also would like to highlight the stories these sets tell, both through their imagery and the stories of how they traveled from their places of origin to our location in Saint Louis.

Chess History

Since chess’s creation, people of different regions have transformed the pieces to reflect their own cultures and history. While the pieces originally reflected units in the Indian military, replete with chariots, cavalry, elephants, and military advisors, European chess set creators later included pieces like bishops and queens, reflective of their own political structures. In 1849, the Staunton-style chess set was introduced to the public. Though it has since become the standard set for tournament play around the world, people still create sets with unique imagery. Some are meant more for display rather than for play and their appearances draw from stories, history, or local artistic traditions. The sets on view in Pawns & Passports have diverse stories. Many are local variations on playing sets, while others are pieces produced as souvenirs. We invite you to learn more about them through this selection of activities.

Connection to WCHOF Mission

The WCHOF is dedicated to interpreting the game of chess and its continuing cultural and artistic significance. Chess, with its opposing sides and rich history, has proven an attractive arena for artists and creators to explore different imagery and stories. As chess has spread around the world, it has attracted the attention of artists and creators who have made sets that incorporate themes and stories from their own cultures.

Keith Haring: Radiant Gambit

Keith Haring: Radiant Gambit features artwork by Haring, a world-renowned pop artist known for his art that proliferated in the New York subway system during the early 1980s. The exhibition includes a never-before-seen private collection of Haring’s works and photographs of the artist, bespoke street art chess sets from Purling London and newly-commissioned pieces by Saint Louis artists, all paying homage to the late pop culture icon.

Keith Haring (1958-1990) emerged as the shooting star of the New York art scene in the 1980s. Becoming world famous almost overnight, his simply drawn figures were soon to be found on watches and cars, T-shirts, and shopping bags, turning Haring into one of the best- known artists of his generation.

He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, on May 4, 1958, and was raised in nearby Kutztown. As a child, Haring developed a love for drawing. He was fascinated by the cartoon art of Walt Disney and Charles Schultz and the illustrations of Dr. Seuss. He graduated from high school in 1976 and studied at the Ivy School of Art in Pittsburgh, a commercial arts school. After dropping out, after two semesters, he continued to create art and had a solo exhibition at the Pittsburgh Arts and Crafts Center in 1978.

In 1978, Haring moved to New York City to attend the School of Visual Arts. He then discovered a thriving alternative art community that was developing outside of the formal museum and gallery setting but rather in the streets of downtown New York, clubs, and the subways. He became friends with fellow artists Kenny Scharf and Jean-Michel Basquiat, musicians such as Madonna, and other performance and graffiti artists who comprised the burgeoning art community. Haring thrived with this crowd and energy and began exhibiting in and organizing exhibitions and performances in alternative spaces.

In addition to being impressed by the innovation and energy of his contemporaries, Haring was also inspired by the work of Jean Dubuffet, Pierre Alechinsky, William Burroughs, Brion Gysin, and Robert Henri’s manifesto The Art Spirit, which asserted the fundamental independence of the artist. With these influences Haring was able to push his own youthful impulses toward a singular kind of graphic expression based on the primacy of the line. Also drawn to the public and participatory nature of Christo’s work, in particular Running Fence, and by Andy Warhol’s unique fusion of art and life, Haring was determined to devote his career to creating a truly public art.

In 1980, Haring received public attention with his public art in subways. He had found a highly effective medium that allowed him to communicate his work with a wider audience, and he created white chalk drawings on the unused advertising panels covered with matte black paper in subway stations. He considered the subways to be his “laboratory.” Between 1980 and 1985, he produced hundreds of these “subway drawings.” His signature images included dancing figures, a “radiant baby” (a crawling infant emitting rays of light), a barking dog, a flying saucer, large hearts, and figures with televisions for heads. These graffiti drawings became familiar to New York commuters, who would often stop to engage with the artist. He also attracted the attention of the city authorities which arrested him for vandalism on numerous occasions.

Between 1980 and 1989, Haring achieved international recognition and participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions. His first solo exhibition in New York was held at the Westbeth Painters Space in 1981. In 1982, he made his Soho gallery debut with an immensely popular and highly acclaimed one-man exhibition at the Tony Shafrazi Gallery. During this period, he also participated in renowned international survey exhibitions such as Documenta 7 in Kassel, the Sao Paulo Biennial, and the Whitney Biennial. Haring completed numerous public projects in the first half of the 1980s as well, ranging from an animation for the Spectacolor billboard in Times Square, designing sets and backdrops for theaters and clubs, developing watch designs for Swatch and an advertising campaign for Absolut vodka; and creating murals worldwide.

In 1986, Haring opened a retail store called the Pop Shop in Soho, New York in order to provide people greater access to his art at a low price point. The shop sold T-shirts, posters, magnets, toys, and buttons bearing his images. Haring believed that the entire shop was a piece of his art and painted black and white murals throughout the entire space.

Throughout his career, Haring devoted much of his time to public works, which often carried social messages. He produced more than 50 public artworks between 1982 and 1989, in dozens of cities around the world, many of which were created for charities, hospitals, children’s day care centers and orphanages. The now famous Crack is Wack mural of 1986 has become a landmark along New York’s FDR Drive. Other projects include: a mural created for the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in 1986, on which Haring worked with 900 children; a mural on the exterior of Necker Children’s Hospital in Paris, France, in 1987; and a mural painted on the western side of the Berlin Wall three years before its fall. Haring also held drawing workshops for children in schools and museums in New York, Amsterdam, London, Tokyo, and Bordeaux, and produced imagery for many literacy programs and other public service campaigns.

Throughout his brief career, Haring was featured in more than a hundred solo and group exhibitions and produced more than 50 public artworks in cities around the world many of which were created for charities, orphanages, hospitals and children’s day care centers. He also designed around 85 posters. These included advertisements for exhibitions of his own work as well as cultural events or political issues. Haring’s drawings themselves incorporate the clear cut lines and reduced features needed for effective posters, which have to stand out and be understood at a glance. The uni-colored backgrounds help to make the outlined figures and drawings even clearer. The content of the advertisement is apparent in the illustration — the text being of secondary importance. Haring’s colorful posters, with their precise pictorial language, direct messages, and universal appeal, still exert an incomparable fascination on us to this day.

Haring was socially conscious, and his murals often reflected his position on social issues. He sought to raise awareness of AIDS and fought against the proliferation of illegal drugs.

In 1988, he was diagnosed with AIDS. The following year, he created the Keith Haring Foundation in order to raise awareness of AIDS and to provide funding to AIDS organizations and children’s programs, which is still in operation today. They continue to promote his artwork and his messages through the support of exhibitions, like this one at the World Chess Hall of Fame, various publications, and the licensing of his images.

Keith Haring died of AIDS-related complications on February 16, 1990, at the age of 31. During his very brief career his work was featured in over 100 solo and group exhibitions. In 1986 alone, he was the subject of more than 40 newspaper and magazine articles. He was highly sought after to participate in collaborative projects, and worked with artists and performers as diverse as Madonna, Grace Jones, Bill T. Jones, William Burroughs, Timothy Leary, Jenny Holzer, Yoko Ono, and Andy Warhol.

By expressing universal concepts of birth, death, love, sex, and war, using a primacy of line and directness of message, Haring was able to attract a wide audience and assure the accessibility and staying power of his imagery, which has become a universally recognized visual language of the 20th and 21st centuries. His work is part of significant private and public collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Musee Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Carnegie Museum of Art, The Andy Warhol Museum, and the Stedelijk. His murals still exist throughout the world.

By Shannon Bailey, Chief Curator.

Special thanks to the Keith Haring Foundation and Katharine Wright, PhD, for providing content for this biography.