Hustling the NYC Chess Hustlers!! feat. Nh5
An enjoyable position out of the opening for white against Hustler 1

Hustling the NYC Chess Hustlers!! feat. Nh5

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It's on every chess player's bucket list, especially for those in the US - playing a chess hustler in New York City's Washington Square Park. 

I was visiting NYC for my birthday last week, and visited Washington Square Park on a sunny Tuesday afternoon, on my birthday! I played three games: two with one player, and a third with a different player.

I only remember the opening bits of each game, but enjoy the bits I can recall for you!

Hustler 1 (looks like I remember chess moves better than names): $5 for 2 games, $3 for just 1 game. If I win the game, the game is free. Wasn't clarified what would happen for a draw. Time control is G/5, no increments/delay. 

I went on to win a nice attacking game, with black deciding to put his king into the fire by castling queenside. It was discovery-galore for white, and the white rooks had a field day on this one. 

The second game also produced an odd opening, although I have seen this one before on chess.com blitz, with good results for black. 

This was a game where I had a nice advantage as black and stretched it, eventually getting something like a 3 or 4 pawn advantage and a winning position, but I ran down the clock quite a bit. Although he may not have been playing the best moves, he was FAST! I jokingly offered a draw with 6 sec on the clock, and my opponent accepted. Two things I got out of his playing style: SPEED, and sketchy positional ideas.

After it was all said and done, I didn't really lose a game, but I decided to donate $3 since I DID draw one game. GGs! Result against Hustler 1: 1.5/2

Another player badgered me for a game when I was about to leave, and who am I to stand there and look like a coward??? He said he believed he played me before, but he must have mistaken me for someone else; this was my first time here! 

Hustler 2: no money, just playing for donations! No time control

I thought this game would be fun to show in a cute tactics puzzle! Can you find the best move here?

I went on to win a game with a piece advantage, eventually with a checkmate on the board. GG! Result against Hustler 2: 1/1
I think the lesson with the Hustler 2 game is to be careful with premature Nh5 invasions with black to clip the white bishop in many QG positions... I punished my friend for the same kind of idea in a Tuesday Night Marathon game I played not too long ago, but instead the king was the linchpin of the tactic. A nice game, finally an OTB game I can say I'm proud about!
 
All in all, a fun, great experience playing in Washington Square Park! I recommend all to visit, especially chess players. Beautiful park, beautiful chess scene.  
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I'm a 23-year old chess player in Boston, MA who is on the journey to becoming a National Master. Chess isn't my full time job, but I do take it seriously when I can. Follow my chess journey and life!

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