How Chess Inspires Art, Culture, Music: Chess Hall of Fame Two New Exhibitions May 8
Hello Chess Blog friends, Here is more chess news about the Chess Hall of Fame in Saint Louis. Two new chess exhibitions will open at the Hall on May 8 which are meant "to bring life to the role of chess in art, music and culture."
The new exhibitions at the World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) will explore how chess inspires art, culture and music. Opening May 8, Strategy by Design: Games by Michael Graves and Cage and Kaino: Pieces and Performances offer WCHOF visitors a rare glimpse into the important yet often unknown influence the 1500-year old game of chess has on modern society. Exhibition highlights include:
Strategy by Design: Games by Michael Graves (May 8 – Sept. 28, 2014)
Design, function and fun come together in this interesting installment featuring work by renowned American architect and designer Michael Graves. Graves is known for combining modern style with a playful functionality in his buildings and the products he creates through collaborations with retailers like JCPenney and Target. His product lines, at once sophisticated and affordable, prove high-end doesn't necessarily mean high-priced. This philosophy now comes to life in Strategy by Design, which features the chess set Graves has called one of his favorite and most challenging projects. The exhibition also showcases the rare materials on loan from the Michael Graves Design Group that were used to design and create this chess set.
The show will also present a range of other games created by the Michael Graves Design Group–from classic standards such as card games, cribbage, and backgammon to more recent family favorites like Scrabble, Yahtzee, Monopoly, and Stratego. Video elements and an educational center will provide additional context for Graves' work and career.
"Just as Graves, through his work with Target and now JCPenney, has brought the Democratization of Design, the World Chess Hall of Fame has sought to expand the general public's awareness of chess and its many cultural interactions across the globe," said Bradley Bailey, guest curator for Strategy by Design: Games by Michael Graves. Bailey is associate professor of art history at Saint Louis University and co-author of the book, Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess.
Cage & Kaino: Pieces and Performances is an exhibition accompanied by rare live performances of the work of 20th-century composer John Cage and contemporary multimedia artist Glenn Kaino.
Cage and Kaino: Pieces and Performances (May 8 – Sept. 21, 2014)
Intelligence will ignite when the masterworks of two creative geniuses are presented together for the first time in this unique exhibition. Pieces and Performances showcases the work of John Cage and Glenn Kaino, two artists and inventors who used chess as inspiration for their globally-acclaimed work.
"Even though Cage and Kaino were born 60 years apart and never met, they produced incredible art that shares many commonalities. Together, they highlight how a game that is often a metaphor for war and battle can also be used to build relationships and community," said Larry List, guest curator for the exhibition.
The exhibition will include the electronic chess/musical composing board used by John Cage, Marcel Duchamp, and Alexina "Teeny" Duchamp to perform Cage's famous 1968 Reunion concert; Glenn Kaino's 80" x 80" piece called Learn to Win or You Will Take Losing for Granted, a life-sized chess set that includes pieces made of the artist's hands cast in bronze; and Kaino's One Hour Paintings depicting chess grandmasters.
"One of the highlights of this exhibition will be the performance art associated with it. Cage's Reunion will be performed at the beginning of the show on May 15 and Kaino's Burning Boards piece will provide a memorable event later in the exhibition's run," List said.
Reunion is a musical performance created by Cage that debuted in 1968 in Toronto, Canada. The single "instrument" in the concert is a chess board wired to play different selections of music according to individual squares. Music is spontaneously composed according to the moves that the players choose: the performance begins quietly as only a few pieces are in play, crescendos in the center of the game, and then slowly fades as more and more pieces are captured. One final note signifies checkmate.
Visitors can explore Strategy by Design and Pieces and Performances at the World Chess Hall of Fame located at 4652 Maryland Avenue (Saint. Louis, 63108). For more information, including exhibition hours, call (314) 367-WCHF or visit www.worldchesshof.org.
About the World Chess Hall of Fame
4652 Maryland Avenue, Saint Louis, MO, 63108 (314) 367-WCHF www.worldchesshof.org
The World Chess Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organization committed to building awareness for the cultural and artistic significance of chess. It opened on Sept. 9, 2011, in the Central West End after moving from previous locations in New York and Miami.
The WCHOF is housed in an historic 15,900 square-foot residence-turned-business and features the U.S. and World Chess Halls of Fame, displays of artifacts from the permanent collection, and temporary exhibitions highlighting the great players, historic games, and rich cultural history of chess.
The WCHOF partners with the Chess Club and Scholastic Center to provide innovative programming and outreach to local, national, and international audiences.
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Labels: chess exhibition, chess hall of fame, glenn kaino, john cage, saint louis chess
Unique Chess Exhibition at Chess Hall of Fame: A Queen Within: Adorned Archetypes, Fashion and Chess October 19, 2013 - April 18, 2014
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
A Queen Within: Adorned Archetypes, Fashion and Chess
October 19, 2013 - April 18, 2014
“This is an absolutely new take on fashion and fashion exhibitions.”
— Sofia Hedman, Curator, A Queen Within
In the game of chess, the queen is considered the most powerful, and often, the most unpredictable piece. A queen, both in chess and as an archetype, embodies tradition, yet possesses the creative freedom to redefine the rules established by a patriarchal system. In the fall of 2013, the World Chess Hall of Fame will present A Queen Within: Adorned Archetypes, Fashion and Chess, an exhibition exploring the archetypes of a queen. Works from radical and experimental designers will be used to highlight the queen archetypes in fashion and identify relationships with the cultural collective unconscious and traditions of storytelling.
Evolving from the weakest to the strongest piece, the queen wields exceptional power in chess. It is thought that this privileging of the queen on the board is an indication of her increasingly powerful status in medieval and early modern European society. In A Queen Within, Jungian archetypes and archetypal patterns in literature, film, fashion photography and folktales will be used to examine the relationships between power, risk-taking, as well as feminine roles in queen archetypes and the representations of those roles in the designers’ works.
Produced by an international team of thought-leaders, curators, fashion insiders, and chess players, the exhibition focuses on the how storytelling as well as the various archetypes of the queen have captured the imagination of innovative fashion designers.
Tours
For information about group tours of the exhibition, please contact Program Manager Claire Grothe at claire.grothe@worldchesshof.org or (314) 367-9243 x 105.
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Labels: chess exhibition, chess hall of fame, claire grothe, sofia hedman
Heady Mix of Art, Fashion and Chess in St. Louis
12th Women's World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Latest Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013
Hi everyone,
Dress from Korean-born designer Rejina Pyo coming to the World Chess Hall of Fame exhibit, "A Queen Within."
For a game based on the strict caste system of feudalism, chess is surprisingly democratic. Though popular with the mathematically inclined, artists also have an affinity for chess. The chessboard manifests the art of strategy. There is a beauty to chess that even non-players appreciate.
That beauty will be central to the World Chess Hall of Fame’s upcoming exhibit showcasing an array of fashion by top internationally recognized designers.
The exhibition is titled, “A Queen Within: Adorned Archetypes, Fashion & Chess.”
The exhibition will also involve a host of events and educational programs aimed at getting more women to play and benefit from chess.
Chessmaster Jennifer Shahade author of 'Play Like a Girl' and 'Chess Bitch' will participate in multiple events and workshops for girls and women during the exhibition.
"I really think learning chess is great for adults, but it can be like learning a language," Shahade said. "But adults can appreciate it on an aesthetic level. They tend to appreciate it on a majestic level.
"Adults get more excited about how the pieces move. They have a better feel for how the pieces should harmonize and where to position the pieces than children do, especially people who appreciate art. It's like music, an appreciation for chess can really enrich their lives."
And though at first blush, fashion and chess seem disparate, the thesis of the exhibit will probably change your mind.
It’s not the first time the World Chess Hall of Fame has featured clothing on its exhibition floor, but this ambitious presentation seeks to rival the top-tier conceptual offering of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
And as if to put an exclamation mark on that statement, the World Chess Hall of Fame and a group of St. Louis supporters hosted a preview of the exhibition at Christie’s New York on June 4. It was attended by 400 guests, including a bevy of New York press who have been singing their praises about the novelty, creativity and aspirations of the exhibit being curated by Sofia Hedman, who helped catalog “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty,” the blockbuster exhibition at the Met in 2011.
The full exhibition of “A Queen Within” will open at the World Chess Hall of Fame on Oct. 19. Select pieces will later be auctioned off by Christie’s when the show closes next year.
The exhibit will revolve around nine queen archetypes based on Carl Jung’s theory: mother figure, heroine, magician, sage, enchantress, explorer, ruler, Mother Earth and orphan. The story of each persona will be told through examples of fashion, photography, film and art.
Not coincidentally, nine is the total number of queens that a player can technically possess at once if all eight pawns are elevated to queen status.
Another democratic and poetic element of chess is that a lowly pawn can be elevated to queen, which is considered the most powerful piece in the game. Despite reflecting a rigid social hierarchy of a royal caste, the queen is the most liberated chess piece. She can move and capture, traveling the length of the board in any direction.
“The queen gets to break the rules,” said Susan Barrett, the director of the World Chess Hall of Fame at one of the many presentations she’s been giving about the exhibition and its nearly sold-out gala.
Sure, the game is over when someone captures the king, but the queen is the heart of the game, Barret said. “She’s powerful. She’s fabulous.”
Those attributes are surely what many designers attempt to present when they subtly or explicitly use iconic queenly imagery within their work, or at least that's what “A Queen Within” explores.
Highlights of the exhibition will include an Alexander McQueen cocktail dress emblazoned with an image of muse and provocateur Isabella Blow; Hussein Chalayan’s iconic bubble dress from Spring 2007; Maison Martin Margiela’s Spring 2001 vest made entirely from baseball gloves; and Iris van Herpen’s snake dress from her Capriole Haute Couture collection.
Select works from famed photographer Anne Deniau’s recent book, "Love Looks Not With the Eyes," which contains more than 400 never-before-seen photos of Alexander McQueen shot during his working process and fashion shows, will be highlighted in conjunction with an exhibition at Phillip Slein Gallery.
“A Queen Within” plans to explores the relationship of power, risk-taking, and the queen’s inherent femininity.
So it was not without irony that the exhibition committee took note that despite the value and dominance of this prized female game piece, the ranks of female chess players are relatively few.
There are statistics that girls and boys start playing chess in equal numbers as young children, but something happens around the age of 11.
"We have started chess classes and lo and behold there's not one lady in that room," said Mary Beth McGivern, head of Metro East Montessori School. "It just boggled my mind. It sort of got me upset. It's a magnificent mind game, and I want them in there."
She suspected that some girls were intimidated.
Peggy Meyer, principal of Woerner Elementary in St. Louis, explained that they have had a chess program at the school for a few years, but it wasn't until they adopted single-gender classes that the girls started playing chess.
"They love it. I haven't heard one complaint," said Meyer. "Now I'm wondering if not having the boys in class really made that much of a difference. I never thought of it before."
But, Meyer said, "We do know that more girls are likely to step up into leadership roles when boys are out of the equation."
Meyer said that around fifth grade, the age of their chess program, "girls start to become young ladies and are a little bit more worried about their appearance and how girly they look. So it's kind of a challenge to get them interested in something like chess ... but if you pull boys out of the equation, it works."
Shahade who had the benefit of a chessmaster father said there's a Catch-22. The ranks of women playing chess is getting better, "but I think the deterrent is that more women don't already play."
"What's funny is that those who do (play) tend to dress very feminine. I do. Maybe it's because we are constantly surrounded by men and want to assert ourselves. It's interesting."
Sounds like something a queen would do. ( By Debra D. Bass Post-Dispatch Fashion Editor dbass@post-dispatch.com)
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal chess blog
at www.chessqueen.com
Don't miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel
Labels: chess exhibition, chess hall of fame, st louis chess lub
Wow chess photo of the week!
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hello everyone,
Talking of chess stuff on the Internet, whenever we find a lovely chess photo, it just makes our day... week! Here is the wow chess photo for the Christmas week!
Chess Masterpieces: Highlights from the Dr. George and Vivian Dean Collection
World Chess Hall of Fame, St Louis, 9 September 2011 — 12 February 2012
Chess Masterpieces: Highlights from the Dr. George and Vivian Dean Collection celebrates the Deans’ 50th year of collecting together and uses outstanding selected works to trace the development of the game of chess and the design of fine chess sets from the tenth to the early twentieth century. Sets come from Austria, Cambodia, China, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Kashmir, Morocco, Persia, Russia, Syria, and Turkey. Among the works on display are ones owned or commissioned by Catherine the Great, Napoleon, Czar Nicolas II, and the British royal family.
You can read all about this and other fantastic chess sets here.
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Labels: chess blog, chess hall of fame, chess photo, St Louis
Inaugural Lecture at World Chess Hall of Fame on Thursday
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011Hello everyone,
The World Chess Hall of Fame presents its inaugural lecture on Thursday, October 6 at 6 p.m. Renowned collector Dr. George Dean will give a lecture on his unparalleled collection of chess memorabilia.
“Chess Masterpieces: One Thousand Years of Extraordinary Chess Sets,” will explore the history and significance of Dr. Dean’s extensive collection.
Neresheimer French vs. Germans Set and Castle Board. 1905 – 10. Hanau, Germany. Silver and gilded silver, ivory, diamonds, sapphires, pearls, amethysts, rubies and marble.
For more than 50 years, Dr. Dean and his wife Vivian have traveled the world acquiring rare, beautiful and culturally significant chess sets, including those currently on view in the World Chess Hall of Fame’s second floor exhibition, Chess Masterpieces: Highlights from the Dr. George and Vivian Dean Collection.
Dr. Dean will give attendees a rare inside look at his spectacular collection, highlighting special pieces and sharing his experiences as a collector. Following the lecture and an exhibit walk-through, Dr. Dean will sign copies of his book Chess Masterpieces: One Thousand Years of Extraordinary Chess Sets, which will be available for purchase in The Store at the World Chess Hall of Fame.
Light refreshments will be served. There is no charge; however, seating is limited. Please RSVP to Claire Grothe at claire.grothe@worldchesshof.org or call 314-367-9243 ext. 105 to reserve your place. Generous support for Chess Masterpieces: Highlights from the Dr. George and Vivian Dean Collection was provided by Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield.
For more information, please visit www.worldchesshof.org.
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Labels: chess hall of fame, World chess hall of fame
Nice chess interview with Chess Hall of Fame inductee GM Andrew Soltis
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hello everyone,
Here is a nice chess interview with GM Andrew (Andy) Soltis Interview by Jim Eade (U.S. Chess Trust president). GM Soltis was the new inductee - along with GM Boris Gulko - at the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame that (re)opened in Saint Louis recently.
"I don’t know when I was hooked, or why for that matter. Maybe it was for the reason Botvinnik gave: Some people like to think and chess is the best way to satisfy the urge." - GM Andy Soltis
Jim Eade: You were born in Hazelton, PA. in 1947. How did you learn to play chess?
GM Andrew (Andy) Soltis: I learned the moves from a book. I’ve forgotten the name but I had taken it out of the children’s section of the public library in the Astoria, Queens section of New York, where my family was living. I didn’t know anyone who played, much less anyone who could teach me, so for about four years chess remained one of many games I knew how to play but didn’t take seriously.
JE: How old were you, and who were your biggest influences?
AS: I must have been about 10 when I learned. Today that would put me about four years behind the curve for aspiring players. I never had a chess lesson, a teacher, coach or trainer. I remember when I read a Paul Keres column in Chess Life, in 1972, in which he said the way to become a strong player is to work with a strong instructor. He added that this must have been the way young masters of the day got strong. He named Karpov, Tukmakov, Huebner and several others _ including Soltis. I just smiled.
JE: When you first started, where could you play?
AS: I finally got to play around 1961 when there was a meeting, at the same Astoria library, of amateurs who wanted to start a chess club. They eventually rented quarters at a local church but the club only lasted a year or so. I also discovered that chess moves could be recorded and they appeared regularly in the New York Times, thanks to Hermann (cq) Helms. But I didn’t know what to make of, say, the opening moves of the Botvinnik-Tal world championship rematch. After all, why would anyone play 1 c4 to start a game? And what would possess his opponent to reply 1…g6 ?
JE: What was the organized chess scene like back when you first got involved?
AS: There wasn’t much of anything that could be called “organized.” The biggest events, by far, were the annual U.S. Championship, usually held around Christmastime at a midtown hotel, and the final Met League match, which was almost always a showdown between the Marshall and Manhattan clubs. I was a wallboard boy for a few games of one U.S. Championship and played regularly in the Met League, starting in the B division. My first big thrill was announcing a mate in eight moves, beginning with a rook sacrifice, against Bill Fredericks on first board in a Jamaica Chess Club-Marshall B team match. A few weeks later when Fischer spoke at the Marshall club, Carrie Marshall introduced me to Bobby and mentioned that game. “Eight moves?” he said. How could I give up chess after that?
Click Here to Read the Entire Interview >>
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Labels: andrew soltis, chess hall of fame, jim eade, US Chess Trust
Why US Chess Trust president finds World Chess Hall of Fame 'The Best'
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
Remember the recent opening of the World Chess Hall of Fame? The U.S. Chess Trust (USCT) has been contributing a lot to chess in America. Here is an interesting message from the US Chess Trust president Jim Eade who was right there at the opening of the Hall.
He writes: Growing up my younger brother had a habit of describing every new experience as 'The Best!' So, I tend to regard the use of superlatives with a healthy dose of suspicion. Yet, the only way I can describe my recent trip to Saint Louis is: "The Best!" I love the Marshall Chess Club in New York, and have a special fondness for the Mechanics' Institute in San Francisco, but the Saint Louis Chess Club is the best I've ever seen.
I should mention that Hall of Fame 2011 inductee Boris Gulko expressed a preference for the old Moscow Club, and perhaps a few others in the former Soviet Union, but I have never been to any of them. The Saint Louis Chess Club sets a standard for North America, that will be very difficult to match.
The reason for my visit to St. Louis was the grand opening of the World Chess Hall of Fame on September 9th, 2011. What a beautiful facility! The grand opening ceremony was the classiest chess event I have ever attended. (There I go with the superlatives again, but it really cannot be helped.)
U.S. Chess Trust Chairman Harold Winston handled the induction ceremonies with his usual competence and class. The 2011 inductees to the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame, GM Boris Gulko and GM Andy Soltis, were present, and GM Soltis gave a short, gracious acceptance speech. My wife, Sheri Anderson, had asked Boris, who we both first met in 1995, whether he was going to make a speech, and he indicated he would not. She told him to make it in Russian!
Boris laughed and said, "If I make it in English they will think it is Russian!"
The 2011 inductee to the World Hall of Fame was Vera Menchik. Harold Winston also handled that induction on behalf of fellow Trustee Beatriz Marinello, who proposed the induction of Vera Menchik in recognition of being the World's First Women's Chess Champion. Beatriz could not attend, because of a family emergency.
I encourage every chess enthusiast to schedule a trip to Saint Louis!
It's "The Best!"
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Labels: chess hall of fame, US Chess Trust
Special chess event as World Chess Hall of Fame opens in Saint Louis on Friday
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
A very interesting chess event is taking place as the World Chess Hall of Fame opens in Saint Louis. You just won't like to miss it!
Former World Champion Grandmaster Anatoly Karpov will join the King's team in the upcoming Kings vs. Queens tournament, scheduled to be held in Saint Louis September 9-16.
The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis is hosting the tournament to coincide with the grand opening of the World Chess Hall of Fame, which will open to the public on September 9 in Saint Louis. The event will feature some of the top chess players in the world in a 5-on-5 team event.
“The addition of Anatoly Karpov to this already impressive field will only serve to heighten the intensity of this battle,” said Tony Rich, the executive director of the CCSCSL. “It will be an honour to welcome Karpov to the club.”
GM Judit Polgar (2699) - Hungary
GM Kateryna Lahno (2536) - Ukraine
IM Anna Zatonskih (2522) - U.S.
GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (2497) - Russia
IM Irina Krush (2486) - U.S.
Versus
GM Hikaru Nakamura (2770) - U.S.
GM Anatoly Karpov (2617) - Russia
GM Ben Finegold (2488) - U.S.
IM Jacek Stopa (2474) - Poland
IM Marc Arnold (2445) - U.S.
The average team rating of the Queens team is 2548 FIDE and the Kings team average rating is 2559 FIDE. This will be a Scheveningen-paired tournament, in which each of the five team members will play each of the opposing team members twice: once in a Fischer Random (Chess 960) game with a time control of G/25 + 10-second increment and once in a rapid game with a time control of G/25 with a 5-second increment.
The Opening Ceremony for the tournament will take place on September 9, and the first round will begin at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, September 10.
The winning team of the event will win $20,000, divided equally between each member of that team. In addition, individual prizes will be awarded based on final standings and are are as follows:
Individual prizes total $32,500 and, when coupled with the team prize, the total prize fund for this event is $52,500.
Karpov replaces GM Timur Gareyev on board two for the Kings. IM Martha Fierro of Ecuador will serve as an alternate for the queens.
GM Yasser Seirawan and WGM Jennifer Shahade will provide live commentary of the event, which will be open to the public. The event also will be broadcast live via the CCSCSL’s Livestream web channel: www.livesteam.com/uschess.
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Labels: chess hall of fame, saint louis
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