The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis is a contender for poshest Chess Club in the US, according to several sources.

Plasma TV sets play in the lobby’s huge display window overlooking Maryland Avenue. The basement is equipped with a lounge and classroom, where even the hard-backed chairs get a touch of class: mahogany-color hardwood with a contrasting motif of a king’s piece on their backs. Another plasma TV monitor will relay the moves being made by tournament players on the second floor. There, a cluster of freshly matted and framed photographs of famous chess players, mid-think, adorn one wall. A door opens into an even more lavish setting, the board room. Here the chess tables and pieces are handmade by St. James craftsman Nate Cohen. The chairs are high wingbacks, set on zebra-striped and fur rugs. Six plasma screens show close-ups of disembodied hands moving pieces through historic chess matches. It’s the work of video installation artist Diana Thater. (source)

The Club opened its doors on July 17. Seven stone chess tables and chairs are available for outside sidewalk play where you can also watch the inside play on the TV. Membership is $80 a year.

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