LA Attractions: Santa Monica Chess Park

If you are a chess player you’ll want to put the Santa Monica Chess Park on your things to do in Los Angeles bucket list.  I believe it is also referred to at the International Chess Park.

Nestled off to the south side of the Santa Monica Pier the chess park features fourteen tables with 4 chess boards per table and 10 smaller tables with one chess board per table.  There is also a very large chess board on the ground where life sized chess piece are used.

The life sized chess pieces are available for public use.  You just need to get the key from the police substation on the pier.  You will have to sign a form and leave your license until the pieces are returned.  You will also be required to pay should the pieces be damaged.

No one was actually playing chess in the park when we dropped by, they were simply enjoying the shady benches to sit for a while.  But it can draw crowds and large chess competitions.

Directly across from the International Chess Park is the Original Muscle Beach before the majority of activities moved to Muscle Beach in Venice just down the beach.  The Chess Park is just one of the many amazing things to do in Santa Monica.  Be sure to check them all out.

Of note, this is the section of Santa Monica Beach where the television series Baywatch was filmed.

The address of the Chess Park is 652 Ocean Park.  It is directly south of the world famous Santa Monica Pier.

More photos after the break…