World's Largest Chess Piece

St. Louis, Missouri, United States

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

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A hand-carved sapele mahogany Staunton king, 20 feet tall and weighing 10,860 pounds, stands at the entrance to the World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis. The museum says Guinness World Records certified it in 2018 as the largest chess piece.

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World's Largest Chess Piece

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Site-level location · 38.6358° N, 90.2599° W

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Outside the World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis stands a hand-carved wooden Staunton king, 20 feet tall, that the museum says Guinness World Records certified as the world's largest chess piece.

It is an exact scale replica of the black Staunton king used at the first Sinquefield Cup, held at the Saint Louis Chess Club annually since 2013, according to the museum's 2018 announcement. The museum's website says it is 53 times the size of the Championship Staunton king that The House of Staunton designed for that tournament. The piece measures 9 feet 2 inches across at the base and weighs 10,860 pounds. It was hand-carved and sculpted by R.G. Ross Construction of St. Louis from African sapele mahogany and finished with a tung oil sealant.

The museum gives the Guinness certification date as 6 April 2018. The unveiling was announced on 13 April, in time for the 2018 U.S. and U.S. Women's Chess Championships, held at the Saint Louis Chess Club from 17 to 30 April.

The record had local history. According to the announcement, St. Louis held the title from 2012 to 2014 with a 14-foot king, until a 16-foot piece in Belgium surpassed it. The new king topped the 2014 record by nearly four feet, and chief curator Shannon Bailey said it would "return the title of Largest Chess Piece to its rightful home in Saint Louis". The older 14-foot king was to be relocated elsewhere in the St. Louis area.

The museum stands on Maryland Avenue in the Central West End, in a historic residence that opened as the museum in 2011. The king sits at its entrance, and the museum's website invites visitors to take photographs with it, free, at any time.

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An outdoor sculpture at the entrance to the World Chess Hall of Fame. The museum's website invites visitors to photograph it free at any time. The museum itself, with its chess exhibitions, is a separate indoor visit.

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At the entrance to the World Chess Hall of Fame, 4652 Maryland Avenue, St. Louis, in the Central West End. The museum's website says it can be visited and photographed at any time.

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