World Chess Hall of Fame and Museum

In the news, from stlouis.cbslocal.com:

World Chess Hall Of Fame To Open In St. Louis
August 31, 2011 3:12 PM

ST. LOUIS, MO. (KMOX) — Some may have scratched their heads at first when the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis opened its doors in the Central West End in 2008. But with the grand opening of the World Chess Hall of Fame next week makes it official, St. Louis is a major player in the world of chess.

“People have really come to recognize St. Louis as the emerging Chess Capital of the country,” said Mike Willmering with the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis. As just recently the US Chess foundation named St. Louis “Chess city of the year.”

The World Chess Hall of fame is moving to St. Louis from Miami and officially opens September 9th with chess related events taking place through the weekend.

On September 10th, Boy Scouts will act out the roles of rooks, bishops and knights in a giant human chess game. Also NASA astronaut Greg Chamitoff will present a chess board he took into space. That board will be displayed in the Hall of Fame.

Visitors there also will be able to see chess sets from around the world.

Willmering said, “the main focus of the Hall of Fame is to discover the cultural and historical impact of the world’s most popular game.” And then across the street the Chess Club and Scholastic Center focuses on the benefits chess players get out of playing.

Admission to the World Chess Hall of Fame is free year-round.

Click here for more information on the upcoming Grand Opening.

Copyright KMOX Radio

Meet Me In St. Louis!

Hola Darlings!

I apologize for not posting as much as I normally do.  I'm still busy shopping.  Cannot put my hands on a perfect black dress to save my life, arrrgggghhhhh!

Anyway, I am going shopping yet one more time - tomorrow - will be dodging thunderstorms but I a desperate.  After deciding to send the beautiful Dillards dresses back that arrived today (one almost fit, one absolutely did not fit at all, could not even get it zipped!), I decided to sew my own.  Then I had second thoughts, so one last desperate gambit - I will try to assemble a suitable look out of off-the-rack separates.  We'll see if a certain sheer chiffon top with embellished neckline and fluttery long sleeves is still on sale and available in my size.  I've had my eye on that top since I first saw it a few weeks ago, but I couldn't imagine ever wearing such a top!  It is so out of my fashion vision!  But now I see myself teetering along on strappy black high heels, a black pencil skirt that ends just below the knee, a lace-trimmed cami and the chiffon overblouse --  who knows, it could work...

Meanwhile, I just saw this over at Facebook, where I was posting today -- I am an irregular poster at best but made an effort today because I had off for my birthday -- that the National Boy Scouts will be instituting a new merit badge - for CHESS!  That is just wonderful news!!!!! 

More information.  Big doings to launch the new merit badge will be held on September 10, 2011, in conjunction with the Chess Collectors International meeting, the grand opening of the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame and Museum, and the Kings v. Queens Tournament with international superstar chess players hosted at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis!!!! 

Isis and I are going to be very busy in St. Louis!

USCF Names St. Louis, Missouri Chess City of the Year

Meet us in St. Louis September 9 - 11, 2011!  Chess Collectors International continental meeting at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel, Grand Opening of the relocated World Chess Hall of Fame and Museum, and the Kings v. Queens Chess Tournament featuring Judit Polgar, Kateryna Lahno, Hikaru Nakamura and more chess starts at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis - all at the same time!!!

From the riverfronttimes.com (blogs)

Checkmate: St. Louis Named "Chess City of the Year"
By Kelsey Whipple
Fri., Aug. 5 2011 at 1:20 PM

If you read our recent feature story on the St. Louis Chess Club and Scholastic Center and the country's number one player, you likely won't be surprised to hear the latest accolade the club has earned for its home city. In the years since its 2008 opening, the Central West End chess hangout has been named "Chess Club of the Year," its executive director, Tony Rich, has been named "Organizer of the Year," and its star player, Hikaru Nakamura, has fallen comfortably into a role as the top player in the country.

Tomorrow, however, St. Louis will be honored by the United States Chess Federation as the Chess City of the Year. We think this might mean checkmate.

To support the club and the city, Mayor Francis Slay has traveled to Orlando, where he will accept the award at the US Open Championship tomorrow. This is not St. Louis' first time to grab the title: The city was also named Chess Club of the Year in 2009, only one year after its opening.

"Being named Chess City of the Year is a great thing for St. Louis," Slay tells Daily RFT. "St. Louis is attracting and producing current and future chess champs, and I hope to soon celebrate a St. Louisian winning the World Chess Championships."

Kings v. Queens Chess Tournament

Further information on the uncoming event at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis - play begins September 10th! The remaining members of the "Kings'" Team have been announced along with the prize structure.

Meet me in St. Louis, darlings!  Isis and I will be there.

From our friends at Chessdom:

The players, including FIDE ratings and the federation each represents, are as follows:

Queens
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.

Kings
GM Hikaru Nakamura (2770) - U.S.
GM Timur Gareyev (2613) - Uzbekistan
GM Ben Finegold (2488) - U.S.
IM Jacek Stopa (2474) - Poland
IM Marc Arnold (2445) - U.S.

The average team rating of the Queens is 2548 FIDE and the King’s average rating is 2558 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.

Tony Rich, executive director of the CCSCSL, said it was only fitting to bring out the world’s best for the grand opening of the World Chess Hall of Fame.

“This tournament, the first of its kind, creates an even playing field for the top men and women in chess to do battle,” Rich said. “The format is fitting for the celebratory environment surrounding the opening of the Hall of Fame, and we’re happy to put on a unique event that will be enjoyable for spectators.”

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:

1st: $5,500
2nd: $5,000
3rd: $4,500
4th: $4,000
5th: $3,500
6th: $3,000
7th: $2,500
8th: $2,000
9th: $1,500
10th: $1,000

Individual prizes total $32,500 and, when coupled with the team prize, the total prize fund for this event is $52,500.

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.

Visit www.saintlouischessclub.org for more information.

Um, Hikaru Nakamura the Next Bobby Fischer?

Well, it is from a St. Louis newspaper :) Let's hope Nakamura is NOT the next Fischer -- he has some maturing to do (personality wise, I cannot speak to his chess maturity) but I would not want to see him end up pulling out his fillings because of paranoid fantasies.

But what has been put together in a concerted effort in St. Louis, Missouri, which if not the exact geographic center of the United States is pretty darn close to it in my book, is exciting and worthy of the kind of attention paid to it in this article. Yes, Virginia, there is a pretty cool life to be had in the Midwest!

Hikaru Nakamura is the next Bobby Fischer -- and the reason St. Louis is suddenly the epicenter of American chess
By Kelsey Whipple Thursday, Jul 21 2011

U.S. Chess School Begins - Girls Only!

All right. The new chess guy at the Examiner.com is bringing it! I've enjoyed each of his columns since he took over. Good job, Steve Goldberg. All Girls Chess Camp session set to begin - girls only August 10, 11:07 PM Chess Examiner, Steve Goldberg The U.S. Chess School, which is sponsored by Dr. Jim Roberts in conjunction with AF4C (America's Foundation for Chess), is devoted to developing the strongest young players in the country. Started in 2006, this 10th edition is the first exclusively for female players. Previous camps have been held in Kentucky, New York, Arizona, New Jersey and California. From press release by Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis: Each session is attended by eight to 12 players. The St. Louis edition includes eight players ranging in age from 12 to 19, who will be tutored by coordinator Elizabeth Vicary, Chess School president Gregory Shahade and grandmaster chess player Gregory Kaidanov, who was one of the 25 competitors at the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship in May. "We are delighted to host this 10th United States Chess School and the first one held exclusively for girls," said Tony Rich, executive director of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. "This is the type of activity envisioned by Rex Sinquefield when he founded our club. While our staff has seen club membership grow to more than 500 members in our first year of operation, we are especially delighted with the interest shown by young women and men in this ancient game of discipline and skill. Fostering the development of young players is a significant component of our mission." The participants for the 10th U.S. Chess School in St. Louis, Missouri have been named. They are: Abby Marshall: 2161 USCF, 17 years old, VA Darrian Robinson: 2011 USCF, 14 years old, NY Amanda Mateer: 2002 USCF, 19 years old, AZ Sarah Chiang: 2000 USCF, 12 years old, TX Megan Lee: 1972 USCF, 12 years old, WA Eve Litvak: 1963 USCF, 15 years old, NJ Rochelle Ballantyne, 1918 USCF, 13 years old, NY Linda Diaz, 1882 USCF, 14 years old, NY