U.S. Chess Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame Now In Miami

The U.S. Chess Hall of Fame's collection of physical memorabilia is now part of the World Chess Hall of Fame and Sidney Samole Chess Museum in Miami.

Excalibur Electronics is a major sponsor. Other contributors are welcome. The owner of the museum, the US Chess Trust, is a 501(3) charitable organization, so contributions are tax-deductible.

The new museum is in Miami, Florida at Southwest 140th Street and 119th Avenue, on the Florida Turnpike. One hundred thousand or more visitors a year are expected.

There is an excellent web site, with brief biographies of some of the Hall of Fame inductees.

The Hall of Fame contains some fascinating chess art work, rare photographs, trophies, books and other memorabilia, such as one of Sammy Reshevsky's famous hats. One prize of the collection is the coin silver beverage set awarded Paul Morphy for winning the First American Chess Congress in New York in 1857, the first U.S. tournament nationwide in scope. Legend has it that the beverage set was specially manufactured with the aristocratic Morphy in mind, because the young Louisiana genius had made it known he would consider it vulgar to accept a cash prize.