Merit Badge & Hall of Fame Opening Mark Big Week for Chess in St. Louis
September 9, 2011
image-building-cwe.jpgHundreds attended the opening of the World Chess Hall of Fame in Saint Louis on September 8th, which relocated from Miami to Saint Louis. GMs Boris Gulko and Andy Soltis were inducted into the US Chess Hall of Fame while the legendary Women's World Champion Vera Menchik was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame. Chess and cultural luminaries travelled from all over the World to attend the event, including Grandmasters visiting to play in the K v. Q: A Battle of the Sexes event.

The action continues on Saturday, September 10th at Noon CST when the Boy Scouts Merit Badge will be unveiled outside the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. The event will feature area scouts receiving badges and performing in a human chess game. The game will complete the battle between special guest Astronaut Greg Chamitoff, who faced off against Earthlings in two Earth vs. Space matches. In the most recent match, Earth claimed victory after 22 moves. Chamitoff will also give a special presentation. 
 
BSAslide.jpgFurthering the September chess celebrations in Saint Louis is K v. Q: A Battle of the Sexes, a team event which pits five of the top female players in the World against male chess stars, including Saint Louis's own GM Hikaru Nakamura. For more details, see saintlouischessclub.org and stay tuned to livestream.com/uschess for live coverage.