Cause, you know, a bunch of people playing chess on folding chairs on the sidewalks of Fifth and Market, well, that didn’t do you any good at all, did it, former Mayor Gavin Newsom?
This is the current iteration, as seen these days betwixt 6th and 7th on Market:
Not as big a scene, oh well.
But what’s this? Unlicensed open-air chess-playing in Lower Market? Yes, in Justin Herman Plaza right at Market and Stuart:
Will somebody call 911 on these guys?
Yes, eventually…
First, it was all like this, with only a solitary person to play, night after night.
But now, it’s all like this:
Click to expand
An actual late-night chess scene on the west side running way past the time when the east side chess players on the 1000 block of Market in the crime-ridden Uptown Tenderloin have packed up and gone home?
Hurray!
West si-iiiide!
Western A!
[UPDATE: The Tenderloin Geographic Society takes note - dude's still at it...]
This guy sets his table up out there some knights. Not sure if he’s doing street chess the likes of which you’ll learn about in this bit from Chris Roberts.
You ought to head over to Garden Alley (the driver’s friend, seriously) some evening and see if he’s up for a match.
Never seen him actually playing anyone else tho….
Reminds me of Omega Man, playing chess and looking out for the zombies…
[UPDATE: I can now say that I've seen somebody playing with him, once anyway.]
