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The Gökyay Foundation Chess Museum (Gökyay Vakfı Satranç Müzesi) was one of the nicest surprises we found when visiting Ankara, Turkey. It’s a hidden gem that’s well worth visiting.
Introduction to the Gökyay Foundation Chess Museum
The Gökyay Foundation Chess Museum is housed in a restored Ottoman mansion. It’s the first and only chess museum in Turkey and contains the world’s largest chess collection. Over 700 chess sets from 110 countries are displayed in four main themes in the museum’s galleries.
The collection belongs to Akın Gökyay, who started collecting chess sets in 1975. On January 31, 2012, he made it to the Guinness Book of World Records with 412 sets. It has been growing ever since.
In addition to the museum, there’s the Chaturanga Café in the courtyard as well as a gift shop selling chess sets from all over the world. The foundation plans to organize chess training courses for people of all ages as well as a chess club for children.
Visiting the Gökyay Foundation Chess Museum
The Gökyay Foundation Chess Museum is open daily except Mondays from 10am to 6pm. Adult admission is 60₺ (as of March 2024). It’s located just downhill from the Samanpazarı neighborhood and Ankara Castle. We spent a good hour admiring the collection.
Chess Sets
The chess sets sit behind glass displays and are labeled in Turkish and English. Labels contain the theme and subject of the chess set as well as the material it was made from and its country of origin. Each set is also numbered. Below are photos of several of my favorite chess sets:
