hardcore pawnography

so i got an email from a local st louis chess player, i checked online, and i spent my friday night at the st louis bread company (panera everywhere else) getting my ass kicked in chess by various people.

thing is, as i’m reletively new to the whole chess scene, and i can only assume there are local customs and such and this is my first time in st louis, i didn’t know how to go about getting a game. do i set up and wait for someone? do i ask to play? what’s the protocol for public chess?

i asked if someone wanted to play, they said no. then i asked a guy going through a game, he said ok and we played two games. that was roger, a cool guy. he beat me, we went over one of his games, then we settled on a draw, but i think he had me. playing him was fun, no clock, we talked about the game or whatever while we played. first game i blundered my queen like a kid who never played chess before, i wasn’t paying attention and he destroyed me. second game we were down to a rook and pawn each, he offered the draw, i took it. i think he had me though. i really enjoyed playing him, and later that night, as he left, he stopped by to say good night. cool guy.

then i tried to get in on a game with these college kids, they were stonewalling me a bit. i am an outsider, i asked if i could play, they didn’t say no, but they didn’t let me in either. was i breaking some kind of unspoken chess rule? i didn’t know, so i moved on and watched some other guys play, hoping to get in on a game. finally, watching some other guys play, i asked a dude if he wanted to play and he said yes and we played. his name was iman (not sure of the spelling) and he blitzed the shit out of me. i technically won, because he made an illegal move, but really, i lost. he was super freindly and played a great game. while we were playing, an old guy watched and he had next game. he was russian, named marko. i could tell by his russian accent i had a better chance of being the first black japanese woman on the moon than coming close to beating him. first game he was easy on me and i lasted almost the full 5 minutes. second game he was on me like a white tiger on roy in las vegas. i know every time you lose you learn, by those standards, i should be the smartest guy in the universe. while watching a game between iman and marko, a kid came up to me and asked if i wanted to play. we played two games, he openend with e4 and i lost, then i opened with d4 and won.

overall i had a great time, the chess scene in st louis ROCKS. i am quite envious. turns out they play at that place almost every night. and there is some serious no fucking around chess going on. some beautiful chess. i could have stayed there all night playing, i had such a great time. i’m going tomorrow night, i’m hoping to get my ass kicked by marko some more. i should pay him for the “lessons” he is “teaching” me.

if you are ever ever ever anywhere near st louis, go to university city on delmar avenue and play some chess. it’s the place to be.

oh, i see i’ve been tagged.  answers coming soon.