Chess Exhibitions During Covid-19 | Vlog
Competitive chess events like the World Chess Championship, Sinquefield Cup and many national championships are postponed or cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic also had a huge impact on one of my favorite activities, the chess exhibitions at the World Chess Hall of Fame where I would go and learn interesting things about chess, expose myself to art and have fun chatting with people. It has been a while since Saint Louis Chess Campus has been reopened but I preferred staying at home because of the potential impact of the virus on my persona.
When I saw the email invitation from the World Chess Hall of Fame for Drawn Games, Dare to Know and Power in Check exhibitions and promised precautions taken (ehm did anybody mention cocktails?), I immediately made a reservation and calmed myself down: if I feel like it is not safe enough, I can always leave.
When I first arrived to the vicinity, I was greeted with a table outside the World Chess Hall of Fame, right next to the famous giant chess piece and confirmed my reservation slot. I was told that I could get complimentary cocktails from the bar, which was also outside. I picked up my pineapple cocktail and waited for my time slot.
Only 10 people were allowed at a time but I was in a group of 6, two kids and their parents and another lady, we all went inside separately on different times. At first, they measured my temperature and asked me a few questions about the symptoms, if I had contacted with someone with the virus etc. After that, I was told that I could take a bottle of hand sanitizer and then I got successfully admitted to the building.
I am not going to go into details about the exhibition itself as my vlog down below shows the details, rather I will stick with the precautions.
It was a timed tour, meaning that each group could stay in the room dedicated for each exhibition for a certain about of time. It was enough time to view the displays but certainly wasn't enough time to film everything. There were social distancing reminders on the floor, in the entrance etc. but, unfortunately, kids do not pay attention to the warnings they came really close when I was filming (their parents and the other lady paid little attention too). I had to keep isolating myself from the group. Wearing masks were compulsory and for handling chess pieces and interactive touch screens gloves were required.
If you want to see some visual highlights from the exhibitions, I filmed my entire tour and boiled it down to 8 minutes! Enjoy!
If you want to see similar chess content, make sure to post a comment and like the video! It really keeps me going. 💖
