Chess Museum, Museum in Chess City, Elista, Russia

The Chess Museum occupies part of the Chess Palace in Chess City, Elista, and is named after Mikhail Tal, the eighth world chess champion. Its two departments hold tournament exhibits, most donated by Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, and Tal's awards, souvenirs and personal effects from his Riga apartment.

The museum building opened in 2001 and is part of a large project that emerged in the late 1990s. It was developed to host an international chess tournament and establish the city as a chess center.

The museum displays chess sets and personal items belonging to renowned players that visitors can see in the exhibitions. This collection tells the story of how chess became central to this city and shaped life here.

Plan to spend enough time to view the collections carefully and read the labels. The location is easy to reach and staff can answer questions if you want more details about specific items.

The museum bears the name of Mikhail Tal, the eighth world chess champion, and about 3,000 of its roughly 3,500 stored items come from his Riga apartment. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov bought Tal's entire archive after his death and gave it to the museum. Among the exhibits is a gold statuette from the 2006 "Man versus Machine" championship.