Interview with the man behind the Saint Louis Chess Club, Rex Sinquefield

A home for every chess lover!

I have heard October is a lovely time to travel to Saint Louis. So I did take a little trip, not by plane, but a virtual one! And even from behind a screen, it’s hard not to be awed by what you see. The first thing that comes to mind when I hear “Saint Louis” is the Saint Louis Chess Club! It’s a nonprofit organization that aims to make chess a part of everyday life in the city. This place welcomes everyone- from newcomers to the World Champions!

The club has evolved beautifully over the years. You can check out this video to take a tour of the Saint Louis Chess Club:

If you watch closely, you will notice that everything inside the club feels intentional. To me, it felt like a chess-club-cum-museum-cum-tournament-hall-cum-art-gallery! There is history, creativity, and competition, everything that makes chess, well, chess!

But what makes the Saint Louis Chess Club truly special isn’t just the beautiful space or the exhibits; it’s the people who brought it to life. During his recent visit, IM Sagar Shah had the chance to talk with Rex Sinquefield, the man whose vision and humility have shaped this chess haven. Rex was quick to credit the team behind the scenes.

“The secret is we have a tremendous staff. Don’t give credit to the guy who starts it, because he doesn’t do it. It’s everybody else that did it, the team!” he said.

The conversation between Sagar and Rex is full of insights, stories, and reflections on how the club came to be, the people who make it tick, and the incredible chess culture that has grown in St. Louis. Check out the transcript of the entire interview:

Sagar Shah (SS): This is my first time in Saint Louis. And I can't tell you how impressed I have been the last two days. I am staying at the Chess House here. Just everything, right from every single detail that I am seeing here: from the chess boards, the chairs, the sort of wall backdrops, everything is done so well! And I really wanted to speak to you about how you sort of built this up? It's taken quite some time to reach here. Can you tell us a bit about that? Because people back home in India are also so amazed by what has been created here.

Rex Sinquefield (RS): Well, the secret is we have a tremendous staff. So you can tell all the people in India, all of you have got to be great. Then you have a great chess club. And don't give credit to the guy who starts it, because he doesn't do it. It's everybody else that did it, the team. You have talked to a lot of them. You have seen them. They are marvellous! They are skilled beyond belief. And we are so delighted to have you here. I think you came all the way from India. And now I think of the times I was in India.

SS: Have you been there?

RS: I have been there. I have loved it.

SS: Where did you visit?

RS: I visited your financial capital. They have changed the name. What is it now?

SS: It's Mumbai.

RS: Mumbai!

SS: I actually live in Mumbai.

RS: Oh, do you?

SS: Yes. I am from Mumbai. You did mention the staff. And this is one thing that we were discussing yesterday, that every single person we speak to here is so respectful, looks so happy, joyous. I think that's kind of the vibe that is set here.

RS: I think that's right. They are very enthusiastic about what they do. They know they are part of something very big, not just in the United States, but throughout the world. And they know what they have created here. And this is a great gift to the entire world. They have done it. They should be very proud of it.

SS: Also, this new reconstruction of the chess club, it's looking incredible.

RS: Thank you very much! We have great contractors, too. Everybody - All of our staff, the people we contract with. I got to tell you, I think St. Louis is loaded with an excess of talent. Because everything here happens so well. If you look around the architecture, everything in all of St. Louis is just stunningly beautiful. And this has been going on for 250 years! That's pretty short compared to your country.

SS: I was told by someone that this structure itself is more than 100 years old.

RS: It probably is. The house I live in about two blocks away, is 125 years old. But so many of the houses around here were built around 1900, right before the St. Louis World's Fair and in preparation for that.

SS: Right. It's kind of historic. One more thing that we see is the World Chess Hall of Fame. That's right in there. Also, a beautiful museum inside. What was the idea behind making that over there, the World Chess Hall of Fame?

RS: I would love to tell you that it was a brilliant idea I came up with. But the truth was, I got a call from the U.S. Chess Trust, who is in charge of the World Chess Hall of Fame. They have the authority to put it wherever they want it. And they said, the people who are taking care of it in Florida are no longer able to do that. Would you like to have it in St. Louis? And I said, in a heartbeat! We sent people down, we looked at it, we moved everything here. We have made it five times or 10 times what it was originally. We have added a lot of space, a lot of exhibits, and we have added a lot to the permanent collection as well. And again, the staff did all this. They kept up with these incredible ideas. We have these exhibits, like recently, we had one on T.S. Eliot, who is probably the most famous English poet other than William Shakespeare. I am happy to tell you that T.S. Eliot was born and raised two blocks from right here. I have always wanted to do that exhibit because of this connection to St. Louis. In fact, in the exhibit, he has a page there on the wall and said, it should be plain to the casual observer that the single most important influence in my life was living in St. Louis near the two big rivers. I think that's a remarkable statement for a guy to make, given that he spent most of his life in London.

SS: That's so nice. I think in general, you kind of look at talent and you are able to sort of identify it, like you spoke about T.S. Eliot. Of course, he is a great person. But I also saw in one of the halls up there, pictures by Harry Benson. He is a legendary photographer who has shot The Beatles, Bobby Fischer, and other incredible work. And now, there are such nice pictures in one of those halls up there.

RS: Harry Benson is truly remarkable, an amazing photographer for decades now. And he has photographed at great length every president since Eisenhower. And I asked him who was the most fun to be with? You are with him for two or three days. Who do you enjoy being with? And he shocked me. He said, "You are not going to believe it, but it was Richard Nixon." He said, Richard Nixon was a barrel of laughs. He was just so much fun. I said, well, who was next best? He goes, Reagan. I said, "Who was the worst?" "Jimmy Carter." (Laughs) But Harry is remarkable, too, and thank you for mentioning that!

SS: Also, his pictures of Fischer are so beautiful. He also went to the Magnus vs Fabiano World Championship match in 2018.

RS: Yeah. He was in London. You know, Benson was the one who went to see Boris Spassky the morning after their last game. Boris told him, “I am going to resign from this position. You can tell Bobby he is the new champ. And so, Harry went to Bobby's room and said, "Congratulations, you are the World Champion!" That's how it happened.

SS: That's amazing! Tell us a bit about Garry and how he has contributed to the chess club and the overall growth of chess here. Because I see that Garry has been an integral part of this development.

RS: Garry has been a very important advisor to us all along the way. He came up with the idea for the Grand Chess Tour, which covers the entire world. We go around, we have a series of matches every year. It just finished…

SS: …10 years now!

RS: Yeah! It just finished down in São Paulo, where Fabiano Caruana won the Grand Chess Tour this year. But it's a real long call for any player. But that was Garry's idea. He has come up with so many good ideas. His presence here is so important. He has been available to the fans, has signed tons of autographs. So it's impossible to measure the contributions that he has made. And having Vishy here again, it's such a wonderful thing. Years ago, we had tournaments, and Vishy would show up. And there was a period of time where I had breakfast with Vishy, like 10 days in a row. I would show up at the restaurant, and there he was and we would get together and we would start talking politics. So cool. Vishy is just a remarkable guy! Remarkable! Indians said they got one of the greatest heroes ever in Vishy Anand.

SS: Yeah, I think he is the single biggest reason why Indian chess has reached where it is right now.

RS: I think so. But you got some good young champions coming along, so there won't be a shortage of them. You don't have to worry about that.

SS: Absolutely! And this matchup (Clutch Chess Legends 2025), which has been put together, everyone is like it's been three decades since they played their World Championship match, and now they are playing against each other. What are you feeling about it? I had goosebumps when I saw both of them sitting opposite each other.

RS: Well, I was surprised! This last game is a shocker, of course. No words to use to describe what happened to Vishy. I think Vishy was shocked. It was like he zoned out, didn't know where he was or what he was. And boom, the clock drops. That's hard to explain. I hope they don't ask him about it because he is not going to have a good explanation for it.

SS: I agree. And that gives Garry a three-point lead now. This Clutch Chess is a very interesting format.

RS: Yeah. Maurice Ashley, one of our commentators, came up with that idea. And we just have people always coming up with great ideas and innovations. Garry has done it. Maurice has done it. Yasser Seirawan has done it. All of our players, our staff, Courtney, our press angel here, have come up with wonderful things. It's just a remarkable experience. I think all the Indians have to do is say, "We can do this" and they can do it. India could do anything, I am sure. I mean, you built the Taj Mahal for God's sake.

SS: Yeah. I have this one question for you. For example, you said that the people here who are working have done an incredible job to build the chess club. I see that everyone who is here has been associated with it for years. Let's say Seirawan has been commentating for years. There is Maurice here. When we came here, Bobby gave us a tour and she said she is here from seven years. What is the secret here, according to you, that everyone is here and everyone is loving it? It's like you have the same people.

RS: I think it's something about St. Louis that makes people get infectious about what they are doing, and they get enthusiastic. The people that are here are really more than happy to be here. They really throw themselves into it with their energy and their ideas. And it just keeps spreading. You know, it's just a remarkable thing. I would love to take credit for all of it. Frankly, I had almost nothing to do with it.

SS: And that's also, I think, one of the reasons why this has reached where it is. You are so modest, so humble.

RS: I have got a lot to be modest about. (Laughs)

SS: But where do you see this heading? You have Fabiano here, you have Levon here. It's beautiful. You have almost all of them here.

RS: Today, it’s St. Louis, tomorrow, it’s the world. You know, I would love to answer your question and tell you where it's headed. But the truth is, I have no idea. What people come up with here, that's how things take shape. We hear great ideas, and we implement them.

SS: So you don't have a plan and you are not going after it, nothing like that.

RS: No. I didn't conceive of any of it. It was the staff who did the whole thing. Joy Bray, the leader of the club and of the Hall of Fame. She is just remarkable beyond belief. She is a nice person, too, on top of that. When you find somebody real and talented and they are very nice, that's very annoying because you don't get many people like that.

SS: Brilliant! Well, Rex, it's been an absolute pleasure talking to you, to understand how things build up. I myself am like an entrepreneur in India. I am learning, and with this conversation, I myself learned a lot. So thank you so much for your time!

RS: Thank you so much! While you are here, go see the arch. It's one of the greatest, maybe the greatest monument in the world. And I got to watch it being built as it came together in 1965.

Watched it from three miles away at St. Louis University. And there were cartoons in newspapers all over the world showing that when the Arch came together, they missed. Of course, they didn't miss. They were within one-eighth of an inch of being correct. And they got it. Then we have just two blocks down the street, one of the most magnificent Cathedral Basilica in the world, the St. Louis Basilica. I would say you have got what is obviously greater. I would have to give some concessions to St. Peter's in Rome. And after that, you know, it's pretty tough to come up with a clear number two because certainly St. Louis would be in that ranking. Then the architecture in the city is incredible. Throughout the entire city, you see these beautiful red brick buildings. And it's sort of an accident. We had a big fire here in St. Louis in 1849. And the city fathers declared, “All right, no more buildings made of wood. Everything must be brick and stone. That’s why if you drive anywhere throughout the city of St. Louis, you will find no wooden houses. It's all brick and stone. It has an immense beauty that carries with it. There are so many wonderful things about this place.

SS: Yeah. Someone told me that it has the biggest park in the USA.

RS: Yeah, we do. The Forest Park. It's huge. Two miles by four miles or something like that.

SS: A lot to see, a lot of chess! I will try to balance both of that!

RS: It's like India. There is a lot to see in India, a lot of places to go. So much is true. So much of that is happening here in St. Louis. It's a wonderful place. I am happy to be here. Finally back home after years away! Thank you so much for your time.

SS: Very kind of you. And thank you, Rex, for your time!

You can find the entire video interview here:

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