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.
January
January’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.
Wood Expressions
Elvis Presley Chess Set
2007
King size: 2 ⁵⁄₈ in.,
Board: 14 ¹⁄₈ x 14 ¹⁄₈ in.
Plastic and cardboard
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
Born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis Presley is the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music. Often referred to as “the king of rock and roll,” Elvis Presley reigns in this chess set. The pawns and knights are references to two of his most famous songs—“Blue Suede Shoes” and “Hound Dog”—which were both released in 1956. The rooks are modeled after Graceland, Elvis’s home in Memphis, Tennessee, which he owned from 1957 until his death in 1977. In 1986, Elvis became part of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s first group of inductees.
February
February’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 a generous donation from Carol Ruth Silver to the collection of the WCHOF.
Carol Ruth Silver
Freedom Rider Replica Chess Set
2018-2019
King size: 1 in.; Board: 9 ½ x 9 ½ in.
Case: 9 ¾ x 9 ¾ x 9 ¾ in.
3D printed plastic and paper
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of Carol Ruth Silver
This 3d-printed chess set is a replica of a set created by Freedom Rider Carol Ruth Silver. The original, which she donated to the archives of Tougaloo College during the Freedom Riders’ 40th anniversary reunion, is now on view at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, Mississippi. In 1961, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) organized Freedom Rides, in which civil rights activists intended to test the enforcement of Boynton v. Virginia (1960), a Supreme Court ruling that stated that racial segregation in interstate bus and rail travel and stations was unconstitutional.
The Freedom Riders faced violence from mobs opposed to desegregation, who were often in collaboration with local police. Many, like Silver, were arrested when they attempted to enter segregated facilities. Silver and other Freedom Riders were sent to the Mississippi State Penitentiary (also known as Parchman Farm), where she served 40 days. She created a chess set from saliva and bread to help pass the time. The dark pieces were colored with blood, and the board was made from a page in a prison-issued Bible. In her book The Freedom Rider Diary: Smuggled Notes From Parchman Prison (2014), Silver described playing chess with an inmate in another cell by shouting the notation for their moves to each other.
March
March’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 a generous donation from Gregory Thompson.
Gregory Thompson
Zukunft Chess Set
2019
King size: 1 ½ in.
3D printed plastic
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of Gregory Thompson
In 1849, Nathaniel Cooke created the Staunton chess set, which is today the familiar standard for tournament play. Since the set was created, many designers have imagined alternatives to the set, including the 20th-century artist Man Ray, who created a chess set based upon geometric shapes. Gregory Thompson’s design is a response to both of these famous sets. Called the Zukunft (future) Chess Set, it blends the simplicity of Man Ray’s set with the Staunton set’s interest in historical iconography. The queen and king are geometric shapes which evoke the coronet and cross atop the queen and king in the Staunton style set, while the knight is topped by triangular shapes reminiscent of a horse’s ears. Thompson manufactured the set with a 3D printer at the University City Public Library.
April
April’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.
Maker unknown
William Lombardy’s Travel Chess Set and Case
Date unknown
King size: 1 ¹⁄₄ in.,
Case: ³⁄₈ x 2 ³⁄₈ x 5 ¹⁄₂ in.
Wood and metal
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
May
May’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. May’s Featured Set is a generous donation to the collection of the WCHOF from chess collectors Bill and Barbara Fordney.
Matthew Grant
Jeu d’Échecs de Paris Monumental Chess Set
1990
King size: 2 ⁷⁄₈ in.,
Board: 23 ³⁄₁₆ x 23 ³⁄₁₆ in.
Hard gloss paper and cardboard
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of Bill and Barbara Fordney
June
June’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.
Maker unknown
Napoleonic Chess Set
Date unknown
King size: Red: 4 ½ in.; Blue: 5 in.
Glazed and fired clay
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
July
July’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.
Maple Leaf
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Chess Set
Date unknown
King size: 3 ¼ in
Board: 15 ½ x 15 ½ in.
Plastic
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
August
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. August’s Featured Chess Set is on loan from fiber artist Kacey Cowdery.
Kacey Cowdery
Travel Chess Set, 2009
King size: 1 1⁄8 in
Board: 10 x 14 in.
Travel case: 11 x 16 in.
Cloth, embroidery floss, and sewing thread
Courtesy of Kacey Cowdery
September
September’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 month’s featured chess set is a new donation to the collection of the WCHOF.
Ayrton Robert Johnson
Hand-made Wire Chess Set
1955
King size: 5 ⅝ in.
Brass and silver wire
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of Cathy Spengler
October
October’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.
Maker unknown
Wizard of Oz Chess Set
Date unknown
King size: Cowardly Lion: 3 ⅞ in.; The Wizard of Oz: 4 in.
Plastic
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
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.
South Korea
Hand Carved Chess Set
c. 1960
King size: 4 ⅞ in.
Board: 2 ½ x 18 ½ x 18 ½ in.
Wood
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of Michael Buckley
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.
Eran Grebler
Hanukkah Chess Set
Date unknown
King size: 2 ½ in.
Glass, ceramic, and metal
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame
