Traveling Exhibition: POW! Capturing Superheroes, Chess & Comics!
The World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) opened its doors in Saint Louis, Missouri, in September 2011 and has welcomed over 200,000 visitors. With exhibitions that focus on the historical and cultural significance of the game, the WCHOF seeks to celebrate the wide range of the game from the incredible players and contributors to the game and note how chess is intertwined with art, music, design, and pop culture. The exhibitions and related programming are geared towards visitors of all who are interested in the game, from experts to those interested in beginning to learn, and most importantly to children and families. This year, the WCHOF is taking one of their most family-friendly shows out to thousands of chess-playing students who attend US Chess National Scholastic Events.
The World Chess Hall of Fame is proud to announce its first major collaboration with US Chess taking place outside of Saint Louis. A selection from the 2017 exhibition POW! Capturing Superheroes, including original comic books, superhero-related chess sets, and a take-away activity book, will be available to all visitors and the estimated 10,000 participants in the 2024 National K-12 Grade Championships in National Harbor, MD, from December 6-8, 2024, and the 2025 SuperNationals VIII from May 9 to 11, 2025, in Orlando, FL.
The Exhibition
Nearly every comic character has taken a turn on the chessboard, from Archie Andrews to the Avengers, from the Mighty Thor to Mickey Mouse. It might be because chess provides a potent metaphor for the struggle between good and evil—or perhaps it is because 64-square grids and tiny sculpted pieces are so much fun to draw. Whatever their reasons, cartoonists have been offering their twists on chess ever since the dawn of cartooning.
The ancient game of chess was created in the 6th century, and the pieces immediately became a way to tell stories, especially about battles between good and evil. As the game moved through Asia and then to Europe, the pieces were transformed to reflect current political moods, historical heroes, as well as legendary figures. Similarly, the stories and characters in comics and later comic books would do the same thing.
A game of war, battle, strategic thinking, and artistic moves, chess lent itself well to the nature of comics and their characters. From 1940 to the present day, chess has graced the cover or stories of comics, including the superhero genres, as well as horror, crime, science fiction, teen, and even Walt Disney characters. With hundreds of chess-related comic book covers, stories, and original characters, Pow! Capturing Superheroes, Chess & Comics celebrates another remarkable intersection of chess, art, and popular culture.
