Tuesday, May 8, 2012

When it comes to big chess pieces, St. Louis has a message for the rest of the world: Checkmate.

The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis on Monday unveiled a king piece that stands 14 feet, 6 inches tall — officially the largest in the world, according to Guinness.

For perspective, a match played entirely with pieces of similar size would require a chess board measuring 72 feet on each side.

The plywood king weighs more than 2,200 pounds and took 18 days to build. It was unveiled at the start of the 2012 U.S. and Women's Chess Championships, which take place Tuesday through May 20 in St. Louis.