Exploring how the game of chess has inspired centuries of storytelling, from Lewis Carroll to Walter Tevis and beyond

The World Chess Hall of Fame & Galleries (WCHOF), the leading chess cultural center in the country, is proud to announce the upcoming opening of its newest exhibition, Reading Between the Lines: Chess & Literature, which explores the powerful role chess has played in shaping stories of adventure, morality, imagination, and struggle across centuries. Featuring rare books, artwork, artifacts and literary-themed chess sets from the 18th century to the present, the exhibition opens on September 18, 2025, and will be on view through April 12, 2026.

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Step into the world where kings and pawns shape tales of adventure, imagination and struggle—Reading Between the Lines: Chess & Literature opens September 18 at the World Chess Hall of Fame & Galleries.

“Kings and pawns, struggles for power, and tales of transformation—chess has always been more than a game. It is a language for telling human stories,” said Emily Allred, Curator, WCHOF. “This show highlights how authors, poets, and artists have drawn upon chess to explore themes of fate, identity and imagination.”

From Lewis Carroll’s fantastical Through the Looking-Glass to Vladimir Nabokov’s haunting The Defense and Walter Tevis’s modern classic The Queen’s Gambit, the exhibition reveals how authors have used chess as a means of exploring diverse themes. Visitors will discover:

• Personal Connections: Treasured artifacts once owned by renowned writers, including a chess set that once belonged to Henry Ware Eliot, the father of T. S. Eliot, and was later inherited by the Saint Louis poet and loans from the family of Walter Tevis, including photos, a proof of The Queen’s Gambit, an inscribed copy of the book and a chess table that once belonged to the writer.
• Iconic Literary Worlds: Rare illustrated editions of Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass from the collections of the Saint Louis Public Library and the Julian Edison Department of Special Collections, Washington University Libraries include artwork by renowned illustrators, including Barry Moser and Angel Domínguez.
• Life and Death Games: Paintings from the Vinson Collection by J. Allen St. John show scenes from Edgar Rice Burroughs’s pulp classic The Chessmen of Mars. Elsewhere, other artists interpret Ambrose Bierce’s “Moxon’s Master,” and Kurt Vonnegut’s All the King’s Men, where the stakes on the board are survival itself.
• Players and Prodigies: Works such as Vladimir Nabokov’s The Defense, Tevis’s The Queen’s Gambit, and German artist Elke Rehder’s woodcuts inspired by Stefan Zweig’s Chess Story illuminate the struggles of players against both opponents and inner turmoil. The exhibition also includes artifacts related to Kyla Zhao’s book, May the Best Player Win, which explores the story of a young female chess player.
• Literary Chess Artwork: Alessandro Gallo’s Animal Farm, Jessica DeStefano’s Moby-Dick, and a set of Wedgwood Flaxman chessmen inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth show how artists have interpreted classic stories through the lens of chess.

The exhibition also highlights modern works, including N.K. Jemisin’s Far Sector, Nkosi Nkululeko’s “Square Poem: The Bishop,” and Oz Hukalowicz’s Psychosphere, showing how contemporary writers and artists continue to weave chess into narratives of identity, struggle, and connection.

“Since its invention in the 6th century, chess has been a mirror of human experience,” said Allred. “Reading Between the Lines invites visitors to see how stories across time—from medieval sermons to modern science fiction—have used the game to grapple with power, morality, and imagination.”

Reading Between the Lines: Chess & Literature will be accompanied by a reading area where people can explore more books as well as public programs, family activities, and special events designed to connect visitors of all ages with the literary legacy of the world’s most enduring game.

The Saint Louis community is invited to celebrate the grand opening of Reading Between the Lines: Chess & Literature on Thursday, September 18, 2025, from 5–8 p.m. for an unforgettable evening with complimentary admission, valet service, and special guests—the family of acclaimed author Walter Tevis. Don’t miss this chance to be part of a unique cultural moment. RSVP today at events@worldchesshof.org.

Financial assistance for this project has been provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

About the World Chess Hall of Fame & Galleries

The World Chess Hall of Fame & Galleries (WCHOF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to building awareness of the cultural and artistic significance of chess. It opened on September 9, 2011, in the Central West End after moving from previous locations in New York, Washington, D.C., and Miami. Housed in a historic 15,900 square-foot residence-turned-business in Saint Louis' Central West End neighborhood, the WCHOF features World Chess Hall of Fame inductees, the United States Chess Hall of Fame inductees selected by the U.S. Chess Trust, artifacts from the permanent collection and exhibitions highlighting the great players, historic games and rich cultural history of chess. The WCHOF partners with the Saint Louis Chess Club to provide innovative programming and outreach to local, national, and international audiences. For more information, visit worldchesshof.org and on social: Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube channels.

The World Chess Hall of Fame & Galleries acknowledges Dr. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield and Rex Sinquefield, whose generous support makes our exhibitions possible.

The mission of the World Chess Hall of Fame & Galleries is to educate visitors, fans, players, and scholars by preserving, exhibiting and interpreting the game of chess and its continuing cultural and artistic significance.

The World Chess Hall of Fame & Galleries admits people of any gender, race, color, nationality and ethnic origin. The World Chess Hall of Fame & Galleries complies with the Internal Revenue Service’s guidelines regarding publication of its non-discrimination policy in its brochures, catalogs, advertisements and otherwise making it known to the general community.

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