Chess Museum

The museum was based on part of the collection of the famous Leningrad collector Vyacheslav Alexandrovich Dombrovsky ^[3] (1905-1966), acquired by the Central Chess Club from his widow. Subsequently, the collection grew at the expense of receipts from chess fans and famous chess players, gifts made by chess federations and clubs of different countries of the USSR Chess Federation and the Russian Chess Federation, and prizes received by the national teams of the USSR and the Russian Federation at the largest world competitions.

For the first 6 years, the museum worked on a voluntary basis and was open for visitors 2 days a week for 3 hours. In 1987-1991, the director of the museum was Natalya Viktorovna Panova, in 1991-1998 - Natalya Yurievna Ivanova, since 1998 - the director and curator of the museum Tatyana Mikhailovna Kolesnikovich.

In 1998 and from 2009 to 2014, the museum was closed due to the emergency condition of part of the building. September 25, 2014 the museum was reopened.

Tatyana Kolesnikovich: “The museum resumed work after a long break. Initially, back in the 80s, a visit was paid. A ticket then cost 30 cents. In the difficult 90s, many simply did not have money. People came and said: if for free, then let's go, for the money - alas. And then we made our museum and library free. The museum reopened on September 25 this year. The visit is free, while we are not planning to change anything ” ^[4] .

In 1980 - 2009 the exposition was located in a small room (30 m²) of the Central House of the Chess Player.

Since autumn 2014, the museum’s exposition has been located on a new, more spacious area (180 m²), in three rooms of the same mansion. The exhibition presents unique exhibits, among which the rarest chess sets. Among them are world-class artworks, some of which are not in the collections of large art museums. Next to the elegant masterpieces of ivory and ebony ( “moon chess” , Denmark , the beginning of the 19th century) there are strict cardboard chess of besieged Leningrad , bent wire of the “ GULAG chess”, “space” chess , which the first chess game was played in 1970 "Space is the Earth . " Posters of various chess competitions are displayed, starting with a rare poster of the Kuibyshev tournament of the military masters and grandmasters of 1942, including matches for the world championship, chess Olympiads , major tournaments, and the first White Rook chess competitions. A part of the prize cups won by Soviet and Russian chess players in competitions of the highest rank is presented. The oldest cup is the Lady Hamilton-Russell Cup, first awarded to the first world women's champion Vera Menchik in 1927 . In addition, the museum displays paintings on a chess theme, awards and personal belongings of famous chess players: Mikhail Chigorin , Alexander Alekhin , Mikhail Botvinnik , Tigran Petrosyan , Elizaveta Bykova , Alexandra Kosteniuk . At the place of honor, the “same” table of the legendary chess match Karpov – Kasparov 1984, always attracting visitors, the “same” clock, flags, letterheads, envelopes for postponing games ...

The museum exhibits rare and rare books: both from its own funds and from the collection of the library of the Central House of Chess Players. Among them are the first edition of Philidor ’s famous textbook “Analysis of a chess game” (1749), the treatise “An incomparable chess game” by Domenico Ponziani (1769), “Experience of a chess game” by Philip Stamma , the first Russian chess book “On a chess game” I. G. Butrimova (1821), “A chess game brought in a systematic order with the addition of Filidor’s games and notes” by the first chess master of Russia A. D. Petrov (1824), the world's first chess journal “Palamed” (1843), unique handwritten book written in memory of M. I. Chigorin by his student admirer Danyushevskii D. (1908), a French textbook chess Jean Preti autographed by Alexander Alekhine , the poem "Chess" E. Danko with Autolithograph Kupreyanova N. (1930), a brochure "Chess in hospitals", published in the years of the Great Patriotic War (1943), as well as autographed books by famous chess players.

The basis of the collection of paintings, drawings and engravings was the collection of Dombrowski. Among the exhibits: a late painting, "Himself, or A Game of Chess," by the traveling artist Grigory Myasoedov (1907), possibly depicting a chess player A. D. Petrov, a watercolor by V. Meshkov, depicting Leo Tolstoy playing chess with M. Sukhotin , drawing by G. Buckmanson, dedicated to the touring party of Mikhail Chigorin with Dmitry Yanovsky (1900).

The mansion in which the museum is located has a long and dramatic history. Initially, these were two separate houses of the estate of A.I. and E.I. Vasilchikovs, built shortly after 1822 on a site that burned out during the Moscow fire of 1812. In the early 1830s, the estate was sold to Countess E. A. Zubova, who was married to the great-grandson of A. V. Suvorov . Under the Zubovs, manor buildings were rebuilt outside and inside. At the turn of the 1850s and 60s, both buildings were combined into one. Since 1865, the estate belonged to the wealthy merchant family of the Alekseevs (the famous director K.S. Stanislavsky was the owner of his nephew and was in this house). In 1885, it was acquired by V.K. von Meck - the son of the philanthropist N.F. von Meck . In 1895, the estate was transferred to representatives of the famous family of entrepreneurs of German origin, Falz-Fein. At this time, a balcony was attached to the house, electricity was supplied ^[5] .

Since 1899, the owner of the estate was the sister of the famous philanthropist and creator of the private opera house S. I. Zimin . She was married to the then famous opera singer N. G. Paradise. The house was visited by many famous artists and musicians, including composers A.K. Glazunov , S.I. Taneev , S.V. Rakhmaninov , the famous singer F.I. Chaliapin . After the revolution of 1917, the house was nationalized and adapted for apartments, one of which (No. 4) was given to the former owners. In 1923, the Supreme Court of the RSFSR was located in the building. Since the late 1920s, political emigrants have lived here. In the late 1940s, the house was occupied by the services of the Dalstroy state trust. Since 1956, the Central Chess Club of the USSR was housed in the building. With him, in 1980, the then only chess museum in the world was created. Now there are the Russian Chess Federation , the Central House of Chess Player named after M. M. Botvinnik , the editorial board of the magazine “64 - Chess Review” . The nice mansion on Gogolevsky Boulevard was completely restored by the RCF President, wealthy businessman Andrei Filatov in 2014 ^[6] .

Museum exhibits are displayed at all major exhibitions related to chess and chess, including artists N. B. and V. B. Kostin, artist V. B. Lasunsky, artist-designer Yu. N. Garanin, exhibitions to 100 the anniversary of the Kolomna Association of Chess Game Lovers, exhibitions at the All-Russian Museum of Art Crafts and the Moscow House of Photography. From September 23 to November 23, 2014 rare copies of the collection were presented at the Tsar's Game exhibition, which was held at the Astrakhan Museum of Local Lore ^[7] . Prior to this, the exhibition worked in Moscow, at the Museum of Decorative, Applied and Folk Art, from September 11 to December 1, 2013 ^[8] .

An exhibition dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the 9th world champion Tigran Vartanovich Petrosyan has been launched at the Chess Museum on Gogolevsky Boulevard.

As part of the development of the “Chess in Museums” program, employees are promoting chess, the museum is involved in establishing and developing cultural and sports ties between Russia and France. On March 2, 2016, His Excellency the Ambassador of France to Russia, Mr. Jean-Maurice Rieper, paid an official visit to the Chess Museum and held an awarding ceremony for the Legion of Honor. ^[9] In 2017, during a two-day visit to Moscow, the museum was visited by French Minister of Economics and Finance Bruno Le Mer, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich of the Russian Federation. ^[ten]

The chairman of the Museum’s Public Council is the oldest grandmaster of the planet and chess historian Yuri Lvovich Averbakh ^[11] .

The Public Council deals with the planning and coordination of the museum, issues of evaluation and acquisition of exhibits, the organization of temporary and traveling exhibitions.

The opening of the first Russian Chess Museum took place on September 25, 2014 in Moscow in the building of the Russian Chess Federation (RCF) on Gogolevsky Boulevard (Gogolevsky Boulevard, d. 14, p. 1). Earlier in the world there were only two such museums - in Holland and Switzerland ^[12] . The first tour of the museum for media representatives was conducted by the legendary chess player, grandmaster Yuri Averbakh and the president of the Russian Chess Federation Andrei Filatov.

The opening ceremony was also attended by ^[13] President of the Russian Olympic Committee Alexander Zhukov , and. about. Nikolai Gulyaev , Head of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the City of Moscow , Arkady Dvorkovich , Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation , Kirsan Ilyumzhinov , FIDE President ^[14] , Dmitry Peskov , Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Chess Federation , Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky ^[15] , as well as many other famous people. The host of the event was hosted by TV presenter Vladimir Pozner .

The Chess Museum is one of the projects of the Russian Chess Federation aimed at popularizing this art. The head of the Russian Chess Federation Andrei Filatov, on the eve of the opening ceremony, spoke about special exhibits: “These are chess made on cardboard in the besieged Leningrad, GULAG chess made of barbed wire, and also a poster dedicated to competitions during the war. Imagine the year 1942, summer, and a chess tournament is taking place. During the Battle of Stalingrad, find resources, funds, gather outstanding chess players. This is unique, this poster just shakes me ” ^[16] . “Through chess, the history and greatness of our country is shown,” Filatov told the R-Sport agency. - Chess of besieged Leningrad, historical chess of Nicholas I, space chess - unique exhibits. We show how the country has developed. And chess was always nearby - a great game, a great country ” ^[17] .

The Chess Museum will receive as a gift from FIDE a set of chess from each country that is part of the Federation. This was announced at the opening ceremony by the head of the International Chess Federation Kirsan Ilyumzhinov . “They don’t go to such holidays empty-handed,” Ilyumzhinov said. - We consulted and decided: “What can be presented to chess players? Of course, chess! “All federations from countries from A to Z will present the museum with a chess set. This is our gift, ”Ilyumzhinov said. The head of FIDE believes that the museum is part of the Russian and Soviet history of the sport. “And the paintings, and cups, and chess - you see all this and plunge at that time. I think that for our young chess players this will be a good example, ” Ilyumzhinov added ^[18] .

Arkady Dvorkovich, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, member of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Chess Federation, Arkady Dvorkovich, gave a unique gift to the new museum’s collection: the rarest edition of the first quarter of the 19th century, the composition “On the Chess Game” by Ivan Butrimov is a bibliographic rarity and will become one of the iconic items on display. The leader of the Russian women's chess team, three-time winner of the World Chess Olympiad, Alexandra Kostenyuk, presented the museum with her children's chess bag with the inscription “Sasha, future world champion”, which was presented to her five-year-old father, Konstantin Kostenyuk.

Chess is essentially an Olympic sport. This point of view at the opening ceremony of the Museum of Chess in Moscow was expressed by the head of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Alexander Zhukov . “In essence, chess is an Olympic sport - after all, sometimes more countries play at the Chess Olympiads than at the Olympic Games. Of course, this is our dream - to make chess a part of the big Olympics. But if this does not happen ... I think there are so many chess fans in the world and in Russia that it is not crucial , ”said Zhukov ^[18] .

• Anzikeev Vladimir . The Central House of Chess Player named after M.M. Botvinnik is 50 years old. M., b. M., 2006. Anzikeev V.I., 48 p.
• Shaburov Yu. N. Gogolevsky Boulevard, 14. M.: Moscow Worker, 1989. - (Biography of the Moscow House). 78 p. ISBN 5-239-00175-8
• Dombrovsky V. A. How the museum was created. // Chess in the USSR, 1960. No. 6. P. 182.

• The plot of the First channel "Chess Museum has opened in Moscow", September 25, 2014
• TV spot on Channel Five “The first chess museum in the history of Russia was opened in Moscow,” September 26, 2014
• TV story of the TVC channel “Chess Museum has opened in Moscow”
• The plot of the TV channel Russia-24 "Chess Museum has opened in Moscow"
• The Chess Museum, Vesti, has opened in Moscow. RU, Ivan Belyaev, September 26, 2014
• Television story of OTR television channel “Chess Museum has opened in Moscow”, September 26, 2014
• The first chess museum in the history of the country has opened on Gogolevsky Boulevard (NEWSTUBE.RU)
• The plot of the TV channel Culture "Chess Museum appeared in Russia", September 25, 2014