WORLD CHESS MUSEUM INC

Financials

From the e-filed returns the IRS publishes as XML (latest three processing years; amended returns replace the original). PDF copies at the IRS.

Officers, directors and key employees

As listed on the 990 for the year ended December 31, 2024, highest compensation first.

Address and contacts

Address (IRS master file)

4652 MARYLAND AVE, SAINT LOUIS, MO 63108-1913

In care of

% LINDA DAVIS

Principal officer (990 for 2024)

SHEILA MANION, 4652 MARYLAND AVENUE, ST LOUIS, MO 63108

Signed the 990

CELESTE VOSSMEYER, SECRETARY

Phone

(314) 367-9243

Website

WWW.WORLDCHESSHOF.ORG

990-N for 2009 filed under this EIN

Most likely by a chapter, club or affiliate (it says receipts are normally $50,000 or less). Officer: Susan Marie Barrett, PO Box 4797, St Louis MO 63108. Mailing address: PO Box 4797, St Louis MO 63108.

Return prepared by

RUBINBROWN LLP

Mission

THE MISSION AND PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES OF THE WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME AND GALLERIES IS TO EDUCATE VISITORS, FANS, PLAYERS, AND SCHOLARS BY COLLECTING, PRESERVING, EXHIBITING, AND INTERPRETING THE GAME OF CHESS AND ITS CONTINUING CULTURAL AND ARTISTIC SIGNIFICANCE.

Program accomplishments

• SEE SCHEDULE O.THE WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME AND GALLERIES (WCHOFG) CREATES ENGAGING EXHIBITIONS CELEBRATING THE GAME OF CHESS, ITS HISTORY, AND ITS IMPACT ON ART AND CULTURE. THROUGH THESE EXHIBITIONS AND INNOVATIVE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING, THE WCHOFG HOPES TO POPULARIZE CHESS AMONG A NEW AND DIVERSE AUDIENCE. THE WCHOFG ALSO SEEKS TO SERVE AS A REPOSITORY FOR ARTIFACTS RELATED TO THE RICH HISTORY OF THE GAME OF CHESS. SOUND MOVES: WHERE MUSIC MEETS CHESSMAY 17, 2023 - JANUARY 28, 2024WITH EXTRAORDINARILY RICH HISTORIES IN COMMON, IT IS NO WONDER THAT THERE ARE INNUMERABLE POINTS OF INTERSECTION BETWEEN THE RESPECTIVE STORIES OF CHESS AND MUSIC. FROM MASTER CHESS PLAYERS WHO ARE DEEPLY PASSIONATE ABOUT WRITING, PLAYING, AND EXPERIENCING MUSIC TO WORLD-RENOWNED MUSICIANS WITH INSATIABLE APPETITES FOR BOTH THE COMPETITIVE AND COLLABORATIVE ASPECTS OF CHESS, THE ART OF MUSIC AND THE SPORT OF CHESS HAVE ENJOYED AN ENORMOUSLY PRODUCTIVE AND MUTUALLY INFLUENTIAL PARTNERSHIP OVER THE CENTURIES. BUT THE PLAYERS OF CHESS AND THE PERFORMERS AND PRODUCERS OF MUSIC WHO SHARE AN INTEREST IN EACH OTHER'S DISCIPLINE ARE ONLY ONE FACET OF THE MANY DIMENSIONS THAT COMPRISE THE LARGER PICTURE OF THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ART AND CHESS.WITH COMPELLING, EYE-CATCHING OBJECTS, A DIVERSE SOUND PALETTE, AND VIDEOS THAT WILL ENTERTAIN AND INFORM, SOUND MOVES WILL APPEAL TO CHESS ENTHUSIASTS OF ALL LEVELS, WRITERS, PERFORMERS, AND LOVERS OF DIVERSE GENRES OF MUSIC, AND NOVICES OF BOTH ACTIVITIES WITH AN INTEREST IN POPULAR CULTURE AND A DESIRE TO BE EXPOSED TO A FASCINATING STORY FEATURING A THOUGHTFUL AND DYNAMIC PRESENTATION.T.S. ELIOT: A GAME OF CHESSMAY 17, 2023 - MARCH 24, 2024T. S. ELIOT: A GAME OF CHESS EXPLORES ELIOT'S FAMOUS POEM, THE WASTE LAND, THROUGH THE THEME OF CHESS. AFTER WORLD WAR I, THE SPANISH FLU, AND HIS FATHER'S DEATH, ELIOT WROTE THE WASTE LAND, A POEM EXPRESSING GRIEF AND FEELINGS OF ALIENATION IN A RAPIDLY MODERNIZING SOCIETY. SITUATED JUST STEPS FROM HIS PARENT'S HOME IN SAINT LOUIS' CENTRAL WEST END, THIS EXHIBIT FEATURES ARTIFACTS AND MULTIMEDIA DISPLAYS RELATING TO ELIOT'S POEM, HIS CHESS METAPHORS, AND THE MANY STRANDS OF HIS LIFE THAT HE WOVE INTO HIS WRITING.BORN IN MIDTOWN SAINT LOUIS IN 1888, T. S. ELIOT WENT ON TO BECOME AN INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED POET, BRITISH CITIZEN, AND NOBEL PRIZE WINNER. IN 1922, HE PUBLISHED WHAT BECAME HIS MOST FAMOUS POEM, THE WASTE LAND, INCLUDING A SECTION ENTITLED "A GAME OF CHESS." THIS EXHIBIT WILL CENTER ON ELIOT'S USE OF CHESS IN THIS POEM AND CIRCLE OUTWARD TO WAYS IN WHICH THE WASTE LAND REFLECTS HIS SAINT LOUIS CHILDHOOD, HIS PERSONAL AND FAMILIAL RELATIONSHIPS, THE CULTURAL WOUND OF WORLD WAR I, AND THE POET'S DEEP READING IN LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY.CHESS WAS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE POET'S LIFE AS A FORM OF CONNECTION TO HIS FATHER, WITH WHOM HE PLAYED TRANSATLANTIC CHESS BY LETTER BEFORE HIS DEATH IN 1919, AND AS A PASTIME WITH HIS WIFE WHEN COMMUNICATION FAILED. ELIOT WORKED CHESS INTO THE WASTE LAND THROUGH THE THEME OF ROYALTY, SPECIFICALLY THE FISHER KING WHOSE ILLNESS PARALLELS THE "WASTING" OF THE LAND, ECHOED BY REFERENCES TO OTHER KINGS AND QUEENS FROM SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS, AND THROUGH CHESS AS A METAPHOR FOR SEXUAL INTRIGUE, DRAWING ON TWO RENAISSANCE PLAYS BY THOMAS MIDDLETON, A GAME AT CHESS AND WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN. IN ELIOT'S POEM, AN UNHAPPY COUPLE SPARS VERBALLY, THE WIFE REPRESENTED AS A QUEEN ON "A BURNISHED THRONE." THEY MAKE CONVERSATIONAL MOVES BUT DO NOT CONNECT WITH ONE ANOTHER. ULTIMATELY, THE HUSBAND SILENTLY ENVISIONS THE ENDGAME OF THEIR DAY: AND WE SHALL PLAY A GAME OF CHESS, / PRESSING LIDLESS EYES AND WAITING FOR A KNOCK UPON THE DOOR." IN A POEM CONCERNED WITH CONNECTION AND DISCONNECTION ("I CAN CONNECT / NOTHING WITH NOTHING"), HIS CHESS IMAGERY SUGGESTS PEOPLE SEEKING UNION AND UNDERSTANDING BUT INSTEAD BETRAYING AND DISAPPOINTING ONE ANOTHER. WOVEN INTO THE THEME OF ROYALTY ARE GESTURES OF GRIEF FOR THE PASSING OF HIS FATHER, WHO WAS A KIND OF "KING" IN SAINT LOUIS AS THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE HYDRAULIC PRESS BRICK COMPANY.DONNA DODSON: MATCH OF THE MATRIARCHS AND OTHER AMAZONOMACHIESFEBRUARY 15, 2024 - SEPTEMBER 15, 2024DONNA DODSON: MATCH OF THE MATRIARCHS AND OTHER AMAZONOMACHIES IS THE FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION BY A FEMALE ARTIST HOSTED BY THE WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME AND GALLERIES. THE SHOW, WHICH CENTERS ON WOMEN'S STORIES, WOMEN'S LIVES, AND THEIR PLACE IN THE HISTORY OF CHESS, INCLUDES DODSON'S MONUMENTAL, LIFE-SIZED CHESS SET MATCH OF THE MATRIARCHS, WHICH CONTAINS 32-LARGE SCALE WOODEN SCULPTURES REPRESENTING ALL-FEMALE REPRESENTATIONS OF CEPHALOPODS BATTLING CETACEANS.THE EXHIBITION ALSO SHOWCASES EIGHT ADDITIONAL "AMAZON" SCULPTURES DEPICTING HISTORICAL, LITERARY, AND MYTHOLOGICAL FEMALE HEROES, INCLUDING FIGURES FROM MULAN AND BLACK PANTHER; A MINOTAUR; TOMYRIS, A QUEEN OF TURKEY; REFERENCES TO AN AUNT; CYBELE; AND LAKSHMIBAI, A QUEEN OF INDIA.DEBUTING IN THE EXHIBITION IS THE MADWOMAN OF CHESS OR AUTONOMOUS WAS A WOMAN, COMMISSIONED BY THE WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME AND GALLERIES. SHE WILL BE PART OF THE MUSEUM'S PERMANENT COLLECTION. THIS DYNAMIC AND POWERFUL SCULPTURE HARKENS BACK TO THE BACKLASH RECEIVED WHEN THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE TO THE RULES OF CHESS THE QUEEN TRANSFORMED FROM A PIECE WITH LIMITED MOVEMENT TO ONE THAT COMBINED THE POWERS OF THE BISHOP AND THE ROOK. SOME CALLED THIS NEW VERSION OF THE ANCIENT GAME "MADWOMAN'S CHESS."DONNA DODSON, A BOSTON AREA SCULPTOR, HAS BEEN CARVING IMAGES OUT OF WOOD FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS. HER SCULPTURES EXPLORE FEMININE BEAUTY AND EVOKE HUMOR, PLAYFULNESS, GRACE, POWER, AND EMOTIONAL STRENGTH. HER UNIQUE VISION RESPONDS TO THE RELATIONSHIPS OF ANIMALS TO THE HUMAN SPIRIT THAT HAVE EXISTED SINCE ANCIENT TIMES. HER FIGURES ARE ALMOST ALWAYS FEMALE AND RANGE IN SIZE FROM THE INTIMATE TO THE MONUMENTAL.THE EXHIBITION CENTERS ON WOMEN'S STORIES AND LIVES AND WOMEN'S HISTORY IN CHESS. SUPPLEMENTING THE DISPLAYS OF DODSON'S ARTWORK ARE MARINE-RELATED CHESS SETS FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION OF THE WCHOFG AND LOANS FROM THE DISTINGUISHED GROUP CHESS COLLECTORS INTERNATIONAL, WHICH IS CELEBRATING ITS 40TH ANNIVERSARY AS AN ORGANIZATION IN 2024. ALSO INCLUDED ARE VIDEOS OF UNDERWATER SEA CREATURES AND PLACES TO PLAY CHESS WHILE LEARNING ABOUT VARIANTS OF THE GAME OF CHESS RELATED TO MARINE LIFE AND AMAZONS.CLASH FOR THE CROWN: CELEBRATING CHESS CHAMPIONSAPRIL 11, 2024 - JANUARY 12, 2025CLASH FOR THE CROWN: CELEBRATING CHESS CHAMPIONS EXPLORES THE HISTORIES OF THE WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP AND WOMEN'S WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP THROUGH A DISPLAY OF ARTIFACTS FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME AND GALLERIES, THE INTERNATIONAL CHESS FEDERATION (FIDE); AND LOANS FROM WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONS AND PRIVATE LENDERS. THE EXHIBITION WILL BEGIN WITH THE 1886 WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP, HELD IN NEW YORK CITY, SAINT LOUIS, AND NEW ORLEANS, WON BY WILHELM STEINITZ, AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE PRESENT WORLD CHESS CHAMPION, DING LIREN. IT WILL ALSO TRACK THE HISTORY OF THE WOMEN'S WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP FROM ITS FIRST WINNER, THE LEGENDARY VERA MENCHIK, TO JU WENJUN, THE REIGNING WOMEN'S WORLD CHESS CHAMPION. THIS EXHIBITION IS BEING HELD IN CONNECTION WITH THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF FIDE.DISPLAYS IN THE EXHIBITION WILL INCLUDE AN AREA WHERE VISITORS CAN VIEW VIDEOS OF MANY OF THE PAST WORLD CHAMPIONS AND WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONS AND INTERACTIVE STATIONS WHERE PEOPLE CAN LEARN ABOUT PAST CHAMPIONS. PROGRAMMING WILL INCLUDE LECTURES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP, COLLABORATIONS WITH FIDE CELEBRATING THEIR GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY, AND POSSIBLE COLLABORATIONS WITH CURRENT AND PAST CHAMPIONS.CROWN JEWELS: DONATION HIGHLIGHTSOCTOBER 4, 2024 - APRIL 20, 2025CROWN JEWELS: DONATION HIGHLIGHTS SHOWCASES 75 STUNNING CHESS SETS, ARTWORKS, MEMORABILIA, AND MORE, GIFTED FROM 50 DONORS TO THE WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME AND GALLERIES. BENEFACTORS INCLUDE CHESS COLLECTORS INTERNATIONAL MEMBERS FRANK CAMARATTA, JON CRUMILLER, DR. GEORGE AND VIVIAN DEAN, AND THE LATE BERNICE AND FLOYD SARISOHN. SEE THE INTRICATE METALWORK ON A HUNGARIAN CHESS SET, A BESPOKE CHESS SET CREATED FOR THE SHAH OF IRAN, AND MANY NEVER-BEFORE-EXHIBITED ARTIFACTS.
  Expenses $1,861,711 · revenue $7,057
• EDUCATION AND ADULT PROGRAMMING: IN KEEPING WITH ITS MISSION OF INTERPRETING THE GAME OF CHESS AND ITS CONTINUING CULTURAL AND ARTISTIC SIGNIFICANCE, THE WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME AND GALLERIES OFFERS LOW-COST EDUCATIONAL AND MUSICAL PROGRAMMING. IN THE EVENING, THE ORGANIZATION HELD PROGRAMMING EVENTS WITH VISITING ARTISTS, COMPOSERS, MUSICIANS, SCHOLARS, CURATORS, AND CHESS PROFESSIONALS.
  Expenses $787,122 · grants $51,000 · revenue $28,724
• RETAIL STORE:SUPPORTS THE MISSION OF THE WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME AND GALLERIES BY OFFERING CHESS AND CHESS RELATED MERCHANDISE AND MERCHANDISE RELATED TO OR SUPPORTING THE ITEMS ON DISPLAY IN THE HALL OF FAME AND IN THE EXHIBITION HALLS AS WELL AS MERCHANDISE INTENDED TO ATTRACT VISITORS TO THE WORLD CHESS HALL OF FAME AND GALLERIES.
  Expenses $430,020 · revenue $84,433

What it must file and when

IRS records say it files Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N. Its accounting year ends in December, so each return is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after that.

IRS record

EIN

27-1280023

Tax-exempt status

501(c)(3): Charitable, religious, educational or scientific organization

Foundation status

Supporting organization, Type I

Donations deductible (Pub 78)

Supporting organization, 50% limit

Exempt since

2007

Accounting year ends

December

Files

Form 990 or 990-EZ

Category (NTEE)

Arts, culture and humanities (A11)

Assets (IRS master file)

$5,287,226

Income (IRS master file)

$3,673,724

Filing history

990-N: the IRS bulk file holds only the latest e-Postcard per organization; earlier years come from archived copies of that file since 2020 and can have gaps (the IRS e-Postcard search lists every one). 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-T: every e-filed return in the IRS e-file index since 2019; XML for the latest three processing years, amounts from the IRS Statistics of Income extracts before that. PDF copies and determination letters at the IRS (search EIN 27-1280023).

Questions about WORLD CHESS MUSEUM INC

What is the EIN of WORLD CHESS MUSEUM INC?

The employer identification number (EIN) of WORLD CHESS MUSEUM INC is 27-1280023.

Is WORLD CHESS MUSEUM INC tax-exempt?

Yes. The IRS lists it as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) since 2007.

Are donations to WORLD CHESS MUSEUM INC tax-deductible?

Yes. It is listed in IRS Publication 78 (Supporting organization, 50% limit).

Which annual return does WORLD CHESS MUSEUM INC file?

Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N.

When is the next return of WORLD CHESS MUSEUM INC due?

The return for tax year 2025 (the year ending December 31, 2025) is due May 15, 2026. Form 8868 extends it by six months; the 990-N cannot be extended.

When did WORLD CHESS MUSEUM INC last file with the IRS?

The latest return in the IRS public files is the 990 for the year ended December 2024.

Who is the principal officer of WORLD CHESS MUSEUM INC?

The 990 for the year ended December 31, 2024 names SHEILA MANION.

Who are the officers and directors of WORLD CHESS MUSEUM INC?

The 990 for the year ended December 31, 2024 lists 8 people; 2 received compensation from the organization, the highest $126,322 (SHANNON BAILEY, CHIEF CURATOR).

How much revenue does WORLD CHESS MUSEUM INC have?

On its 990 for the year ended December 31, 2024 it reported revenue of $3,465,278, expenses of $3,849,026 and total assets of $5,287,226 at year end.

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