One of the significant landmarks of Moscow was the Vasilchikova estate, which now houses the chess museum. The history of this building begins in the 1820s, when Moscow was recovering from Napoleon's invasion. In 1822, Ekaterina Ivanovna Vasilchikova purchased two large plots of land on what is now Gogolevsky Boulevard and began constructing her new estate. Being a wealthy woman from an ancient noble family, she spared no expense, and the result was impressive.

However, Ekaterina Ivanovna did not live in this house for long, and in the 1830s it was bought by the Zubov-Obolensky family. The new owners decided to reconstruct the estate, merging two large mansions. The changes affected not only the exterior but also the interiors, which became even more luxurious. Nevertheless, the house did not become the ancestral home for the Zubov-Obolenskys, and in 1865 it was acquired by merchant Alexeev, the uncle of director Stanislavsky, turning the noble estate into a merchant's.

After Alexeev's death in 1884, one of his houses was sold to Vladimir Karlovich von Meck, the son of Tchaikovsky's patroness and chairman of the Libavo-Romenskaya Railway. At the turn of the century, the mansion frequently changed owners until it came into the possession of Lyubov Zimina. She was friends with notable figures such as Shalyapin, Rachmaninoff, and Glazunov, who often visited her home.

With the advent of Soviet power, the usual life of the estate came to an end. The house lost a significant part of its stucco and other decorative elements. Various institutions were located in the former estate, and only in 1956 did the federation of chess players move in, followed by the opening of the chess museum. Today, the house has been restored, but it is almost impossible to fully return it to its original appearance due to the losses incurred during the Soviet era.