St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay will travel to the Sunshine State (that's Florida) this weekend to accept the United States Chess Federation's "Chess City of the Year" award for our own Mound City.
This is the second time St. Louis has received the designation - the city also won the award in 2009.
The award, according to the the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, "recognizes the U.S. city that has done the most to promote and further the game of chess, both locally and nationally."
"The skills one uses playing chess – patience, foresight, and problem-solving – are skills I want to see in our citizens," Slay said in a statement.
For the third year in a row, St. Louis was the host city to the U.S. and U.S. Women's National Chess Championships.
St. Louis is also home to Hikaru Nakamura, who is currently the highest rated chess player in the United States and rated among the top-ten worldwide.
