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 | FEATURED CHESS SET

January’s featured chess set is on loan to the WCHOF from Ken H. Murer, a friend of the museum. His chess set is a heartwarming gift made for him by members of his family. He states:

My maternal Grandfather Hadley K. Irwin became a master woodshop furniture maker after his retirement. I spent countless summers in his woodshop learning from him. Forty years ago, he decided to surprise me on my 18th birthday and presented me with this masterpiece of a chess board. He used all Missouri woods—sugar maple and black walnut for the squares and mahogany burl for the edges and back. My mother owned a ceramics shop here in Saint Louis and hand crafted and painted all 32 chess pieces. I have been enjoying this set for the last 40 years.

 

Hadley K. Irwin and Linda Irwin Murer
Hand-crafted Medieval Chess Set and Chess Board

1982
King size: 6 in.
Board: 1 x 21 x 21 ¼ in.
Ceramic, white oak, sugar maple, mahogany burl, and black walnut
Collection of Ken H. Murer

FEBRUARY | FEATURED CHESS SET

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 the museum’s permanent collection.

 

Misty Hill
Candy Crushin’

2023
King size: 2 1/2 in.
Board: 12 x 12 in.
Plastic
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

Artist Misty Hill loves creating in a number of different craft categories—most recently including resin art. While living in her home state of Texas, she enjoyed a thriving business decorating cakes. After moving to South Florida six years ago, Hill began learning to work with resin and mostly left the cake world behind. Chess sets quickly became her biggest seller on Etsy with almost 60 sets sold. When creating, she draws inspiration from nature and her favorite things.  This chess set, named Candy Crushin’, was inspired by games like Candy Crush and Candyland.

MARCH | FEATURED CHESS SET

Bernice and Floyd Sarisohn donated March’s featured set to the World Chess Hall of Fame. The Sarisohns share a passion for collecting chess sets, which began when Bernice gave one to Floyd as an engagement gift. In the years since, their devotion led them to become active members of Chess Collectors International, an organization founded in 1984 that brings together lovers of artistic chess sets and chess memorabilia. Their generous loans and donations have allowed the World Chess Hall of Fame to share a variety of wonderful sets with our patrons.

Matchbooks have long been used for advertising, often leaning into eye-catching artwork. This chess set, with 32 usable matchbooks as the pieces, follows in this tradition of distinct matchbook designs, the stark black and white design on this set making for a striking image. Imagine using the various pieces as matchbooks, to light a candle or incense, and as chess pieces.

 

Fosforos Del Pirineo, S.A.
Chess Matches

Date unknown
King size: 2 in.
Board: 16 ¼ x 16 ¼ in.
Box: 8 ⅜ x 11 ⅞ x ¾ in.
Cardboard, wood, and sulfur
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of Bernice and Floyd Sarisohn

APRIL | FEATURED CHESS SET

Khaan Chess LLC donated April’s featured set to the World Chess Hall of Fame during the opening ceremony of the American Cup chess tournament in Saint Louis. The company, established in 2015, makes elegant and elaborate chess sets that promote the rich Mongolian culture. This set has been gifted to many prominent figures and institutions, including the National Museum of Mongolia.

Friendship Chess represents the complicated relationship between Ghengis Khan and Gur-Khan Jamukh, whom the makers of this set describe as three times friends and three times at war, and how that influenced Mongolian history. The name, Friendship Chess, also refers to the value of the men’s friendship. The board itself represents Mongolian history and culture, decorated with a traditional pattern along the border and in each square. Even the turtles molded around each corner are based on a turtle figure found in the ruins of the 13th-century Mongolian capital Kharkhorin.

 

Khaan Chess LLC
Friendship Chess, edition A65/99

2017
Gold king: 3 ½ in.
Silver king: 3 ¾ in.
Board: 21 ½ x 21 ½ in.
Pine wood, iron, and zinc alloy
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of Khaan Chess LLC

MAY | FEATURED CHESS SET

May’s Featured Chess Set is on loan to the World Chess Hall of Fame from Fine Line Studios. Fine Line Studios is an arts-based day program supporting adults with developmental disabilities located in the Bridgeton neighborhood of Saint Louis, Missouri. They are part of Resources for Human Development (RHD), a national human services non-profit dedicated to supporting thousands of people of all abilities every year with effective, innovative, and person-centered programs. Fine Line Studios offers adults with disabilities an outlet for unbridled creativity and self-expression through visual arts, music, and community involvement.

They have been providing individuals with the tools and materials to create art and the support to define themselves as artists since 2010. Through classes in drawing and illustration, painting, printmaking, ceramics and sculpture, jewelry, fibers, filmmaking, creative writing, and original music production, they allow their clients to explore their creative desires and develop their artistic skills. They help their clients gain access to the local community through volunteering and leisure activities, by visiting local art museums and galleries and showcasing their artwork in exhibitions. The staff members who support their artists have varied backgrounds in the arts, allowing them to create a vibrant, diverse, and unique culture.

MAY ARTIST STATEMENT

Four adult artists from Fine Line Studios, RHD (a day program for adults with disabilities) created May’s Featured Chess Set from donated and upcycled materials. Embracing May as Disability Awareness Month, our team of artists considered different processes for creating our very own chess board. In Our Chess Set, we take a game of varying levels of power and shift the focus to empowerment! Collaborating with leadership and insight from FLS Artist Katie Paquette—a creator with a visual impairment, we creatively addressed ways to meet specific adaptive needs, fostering the most inclusive and independent play possible.

We differentiated our chess pieces by size and texture, stacking beads in discernable heights—three beads for the pawn, four beads for the rook, five beads for the bishop, six beads for the knight, seven beads for the queen, and eight beads for the king. The board coordinates on this set are also labeled with hand-embossed braille, allowing for additional opportunities for Katie to share her knowledge with peers and staff!

 

Christa Euans, David Ellis, DW, and Katie Paquette
Our Chess Set, Fine Line Studios, RHD

2024
King size: Green 7 in.; Purple: 7 ½ in.
Board: 24 x 31 in.
Beads, pipe cleaners, bottle caps, polymer clay, washers, hot glue, mat board, acrylic paint, and MDF board
Courtesy of Fine Line Studios, RHD

JUNE | FEATURED CHESS SET

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.

Adorable teddy bears dressed as kings, queens, and scholars are pieces in this whimsical chess set. The family of Harvey and Teddi Robbins donated this set to the WCHOF along with over 200 others. The two shared a passion for collecting chess sets—some they obtained during their travels, others Harvey created from found objects, and some, like this one, were ceramic sets they painted.

 

Teddi Robbins
Teddy Bear Chess Set

1996
King size: 4 ¾ in.
Ceramic
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of Harvey and Teddi Robbins

JULY | FEATURED CHESS SET

Bernice and Floyd Sarisohn donated July’s featured set to the World Chess Hall of Fame. The Sarisohns shared a passion for collecting chess sets, which began when Bernice gave one to Floyd as an engagement gift. In the years since, their devotion led them to become active members of Chess Collectors International, an organization founded in 1984 that brings together lovers of artistic chess sets and chess memorabilia. Their generous loans and donations have allowed the World Chess Hall of Fame to share various wonderful sets with our patrons. Bernice passed away in 2019, and Floyd passed away in May 2024, but their legacy of generosity, both with donating sets like these to the museum as well as with sharing their deep knowledge of chess collecting, will be warmly remembered.

This charming ceramic chess set commemorates Chess Collectors International. In 2024, Chess Collectors International is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The WCHOF is commemorating this event by exhibiting chess sets lent and donated by the organization’s members in the exhibition Donna Dodson: Match of the Matriarchs and Other Amazonomachies.

 

Artist unknown
Chess Collectors International Commemorative Chess Set

1986
King size: 4 in.
Glazed terracotta
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of Bernice and Floyd Sarisohn

AUGUST | FEATURED CHESS SET

The famed Isle of Lewis chess pieces inspired artist Douglas Ash to create August’s Featured Chess Set, which is part of the collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame. The pieces are named for the location in Scotland where they were found with other game pieces and are believed to have been made in Norway around the late 12th-early 13th centuries. Ash has a strong interest in history and chess, and he learned about the Isle of Lewis chess pieces from an online talk by a curator for the British Museum.

Artist Douglas Ash has been creating wood carvings for ten years. He began by creating gunstocks, but has since created many sculptures like the pieces in this set. Ash initially tried carving the pieces from deer antler to imitate the walrus ivory and whale tooth of the original pieces, but later determined to create them from red cedar and white pine. He first cut the wood into blocks with a chainsaw, and then hand carved each piece with a pocket knife. Each of the kings and queens took about two days to create. The board is made from American chestnut salvaged from a barn that was built in 1840 but was later torn down. Ash also created a map to accompany the set by reusing material from a vintage leather coat.

 

Douglas Ash
Isle of Lewis-Inspired Chess Set

2023
King size: 3 in.
Board: 13 ¼ x 13 ¾ in.
Map: 12 ½ x 24 in.
Red cedar, white pine, and leather
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of Douglas and Erica Ash

SEPTEMBER | FEATURED CHESS SET

The estate of Edwin and Ann Munger donated September’s Featured Set to the World Chess Hall of Fame. It is part of a donation of hundreds of sets from around the world. Edwin Munger was a professor of geography who specialized in Africa at the California Institute of Technology. He was also passionate about collecting chess sets from around the world, and he wrote three books about sets from different countries.

This set originates from Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea which has become a fairly popular tourist destination over the years. The island has its own dialect of Swedish influenced by their language, Gutnish, which has been classified as an endangered language since 2010. The word bishop can be translated to Swedish as either biskop or löpare, the latter also meaning runner, which may be referenced by the positioning of the bishops in this set. On many of the light pieces the bases have also been engraved with a set of runes.

Maker unknown
Chess Set from Gotland, Sweden
c. late 20th century-early 21st century
King size: 6 ¾ in.
Metal
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame, gift of Edwin and Ann Munger

OCTOBER | FEATURED CHESS SET

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 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, and 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.

October, Halloween, and ghosts have become increasingly linked through media and changing traditions over the last century. These ghosts’ soft lines and simple shapes evoke the nostalgia of cartoons and video games. Add the wide eyes of each piece, and the image is complete. The balance of cute and eerie adds charm to the set. What do these pieces remind you of?

 

20garden
Ghost Chess Set
2022
King size: 3 3/4 in.
Board: 13 7/8 x 13 7/8 in.
3D printed plastic
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

NOVEMBER | FEATURED CHESS SET

November’s Featured Set is on loan to the World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) from artist Laura Sturtz. Based in Austin, Texas, she became interested in creating chess sets after seeing an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Sturtz then purchased a book about the museum’s chess collection titled Chess: East and West, Past and Present: A Selection from the Gustavus A. Pfeiffer Collection (1968) that inspired her to create her own sets.

Sturtz has created chess sets from varied materials and with imaginative subjects, like this one featuring spheres and cubes painted red, black, and white. The shapes are arranged dynamically, reflecting the action of the game. She strongly promotes peace and believes that all wars should play out on a chess board. Two of Sturtz’s other sets, featuring bugs and sea life, will be on view in the WCHOF’s upcoming exhibition Paws and Pawns: Exploring Animal Chess Sets, which opens on January 30.

 

Laura Sturtz
Red, Black, and White Chess Set
2006
King size: 4 ½ in.
Board: 1 ½ x 19 ⅛ x 19 ⅛ in.
Wood
Courtesy of Laura Sturtz

DECEMBER | FEATURED CHESS SET

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, and chess computers. Through these artifacts, the WCHOF illustrates how chess has evolved over its 1500-year history. This month’s set is part of the museum’s permanent collection.

 

Chess Craft Trade House
Not a Creature Was Stirring, Not Even a Mouse
2021
King size: 2 in.
Board: 1 x 9 x 9 in.
Wood and lacquer
Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

Clement Clarke Moore’s 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas inspires this festive set. Its title comes from a line in the poem, “Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.” Nevertheless, the mice painted on the board are very active, eating cheese and peeping out of stockings. Chess Craft Trade House, which has been producing chess sets for nearly 90 years, created this set. The company, which began as a small cooperative of artists, today makes various games, including chess, backgammon, and checkers. Some are decorated in traditional folk motifs, while others, like this set, feature themes drawn from popular culture.