While scoping out the jam-packed neighborhood Saturday night, we spotted this stretch limo waiting for top competitors participating in the 3rd Annual Sinquefield Cup at The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, below. For those of you who are not familiar with the neighborhood, "the largest chess piece in the world" pictured in the background, stands in front of World Chess Hall of Fame which houses a museum, event space (monthly music series) and Q Boutique.
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Photo courtesy of Lauren Stewart, Chess Club & Scholastic Center
On Opening Day, Saturday, August 22, an autograph session was held at the Kingside Diner, located next door to the Chess Club and "food central" during this and all tournaments. Chef/Owner Aaron Teitelbaum reported that at least 350 people lined up to meet World Champion Magnus Carlsen and 9 other players including the world's Number 5 player Fabiano Caruana (STL Today article here) who recently moved to St. Louis and switched from the Italian Chess Club to the U.S. Chess Federation.
The Sinquefield Cup is the 2nd leg of the Grand Chess Tour which brings together the ten strongest players in the world in an international tournament. Norway Chess took place in June, and the Grand Chess Tour will conclude in London this December. You can join a gazillion chess enthusiasts from around the world who are watching live play streaming on the Chess Club and Scholastic Center's website here.
Since The Chase Park-Plaza Hotel is home to the chess players while they are in town, it's a natural that the Chase Cinema will be screening Pawn Sacrifice starring Tobey Maguire, Peter Sarsgaard, and Liev Schreiber which opens in September. An advance screening of the film for Sinquefield Cup participants and guests will take place next week. If you know someone who knows someone, perhaps you can wrangle a ticket.
Schedule and ticket information can be found here. The 3rd Annual Sinquefield Cup wraps up Wednesday, September 2.