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Summer in the city: street chess

Posted June 25th, 2009 by Sheila Scarborough

Chicago street chess players on Michigan Ave. (photo by Sheila Scarborough)I’m not a chess player but I am rather a city kid, and I love seeing the intellectual challenge of chess combined with urban street swagger and diversity.

The two guys in my photo were studying the board very intently, oblivious to Chicago‘s busy Michigan Avenue right behind them or the lovely Art Institute of Chicago directly in front of them.

I’m sure money changed hands, but I missed the moment.

Washington Square Park in New York City is another urban chess hot spot, as is Market Street in San Francisco….although one aficionado says it should be named after him since he dominates local players….:)

It looks like there’s street chess action this summer in Bath, England as well.

You can also play with giant chess pieces (although your brain won’t necessarily expand to scale) and you can “fight to promote your inner pawn” on the Goddess Chess blog.

Do any PT blog readers have their own favorite places to play?

Related posts:

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  3. A Last Look at Summer 2011 from Vancouver’s Stanley Park
  4. This just in: Las Vegas is a surprising city. Duh.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 25th, 2009 at 6:02 am and is filed under City or urban travel, Sheila projects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 Responses to “Summer in the city: street chess”

  1. Antonia Malchik Says:
    June 25th, 2009 at 6:57 am

    I love this! I don’t play, either, but it’s one of my favorite sights in any city. And have you ever seen the outdoor dominoes in Little Havana in Miami? The racket is unbelievable, they play so fast and the pieces are so noisy, but nobody talks.

  2. Sheila Says:
    June 25th, 2009 at 9:11 am

    No, on our one trip to Miami we only had time to drive through Little Havana – I was bummed!

  3. Robert Says:
    December 14th, 2009 at 2:32 am

    The place in the picture IS my favorite place to play. That’s Cecil’s Touch n’ Go Chess stand. The busy noise of traffic at your back combined with golden oldies blowing out the speakers create a one-of-a-kind chess experience.

  4. Sheila Says:
    December 14th, 2009 at 6:54 am

    Hi Robert,

    Thanks very much for your comment; it’s always so much better when a local can fill us in a little bit about a photo or post. I’ll have to go back to Cecil’s on my next Chicago trip!

  5. Mary Says:
    December 8th, 2010 at 8:10 am

    There was a movie out some years ago that featured some speed street chess in Washington Square – the movie was called Searching for Bobby Fisher – quite good actually.
    Mary at Food Processors

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