Man you do not want to see any of the Eastside St Louis  Hilltop Gang. Hey if you walk to fast around there the cops pick you up and if you walk to slow ......well you figure it out.

Well it is a sad fact of life that almost any major city on this planet has dangerous areas that one should avoid visiting. However I gather that the Chess HOF is in a reasonably secure area. 

The neighborhood where the chess hof is located is very nice.

The east side is across the Mississippi river, which is roughly a mile wide. So you really don't need to worry about it if you are visiting the area.

Thanks for the info Corrijean, glad to hear that they picked a good spot.

Unless now the gangs have a navy.

Or riverboats.

Thanks for the posts.

Let us hope that the HOF has found a long term home, at last.

Recently I received a copy of the Feb 2013 issue of " Chess Life ". This magazine mentions that at this time and going thru to late April the HOF is featuring a display relating to Chess and the American Presidents. Included is a beautiful Ivory Chess set that belonged to George Washington ( on loan to the HOF by a descendant of Martha Washington ). 

The 2013 Inductees for the Chess Hall Of Fame have been announced:

1) Elizaveta Bykova                         2)Mikhail Chigorin

3)Nona Gaprindashvili                      4) Gregory Kiandanov

5) Mona May Karff

Hm...am I the only one who looks at that list and goes, "HUH?"

I mean, here's the way I rank the 5 inductees:

1 Chigorin

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2 Gaprindashvili

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Everybody else

Not the most exciting list ever drawn up ?

Gaprindashvili and Bykova were both Womens World Champs so I guess they are automatic. Chigorin confused me because his name is also spelled as Tchigorin and he is better known in Russia. Karff and Kiandanov I don't know anything about.

A shame that Tchigorin died at a rather early age in 1908, had he lived a few more years the Tsar might have given him a GM title at that well known ceremony in St.Petersburg.

Well no, Bykova (whoever she is/was) can't possibly compare with Gaprindashvili, who was like the greatest female player pre-Polgar.  How are the two of them getting in on the same ticket?  Dunno.

But the main question is:  what in the world is Tchigorin doing still out in the wilderness?!  Did he throw games?  Did he steal somebody else's prize money?  Are these people all high?  Are they playing checkers?

(Btw cab I think that name is Kaidanov...if it's the same guy I'm thinking of.)

AndyC: Thanks for the info on Kaidanov, my spelling is often quite bad.

Bykova is listed as WWC from 1953 to 1956 and from 1958 to 1962.  I thought that maybe it's like the Baseall HOF, that is to say 3,000 hits and you're in period.

So Chigorin was Musial (and rather close to Cobb)...and Gaprindashvili was actually a male GM (voted one by whatever board votes on such things).

All I can say is that I'm very confused now ( happens quite often ). Karff is a nice simple name but the other 4 names make my head spin, I guess that I need a nap soon ( however why couldn't they pick a nice simple name like Larry Evans ? ).  

Everybody else means I'm in !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Finally!  Mucho gracias everyone :)

You can also take a side trip down the Mississippi river to Hannibal where Mark Twain grew up. There you can see the actual location of places mentioned in America's greatest novel Huck Finn, and other sites of Samuel Clemens youth. 

I don't think it's America's greatest novel...