Please sign my petition to have chess tables placed in my city

Hi everyone! 

Please could you take a moment to sign my petition to have chess tables placed in my city's parks- there are few places for us to play and it really would do wonders for the community.

Thank you!

Here's the link

http://chng.it/WSjQSHBFnT

We could sign it but I think you need to get  signatures from the people who live and pay taxes in your city, not from random people around the world.

Those tables you have pictures of actually cost a fair amount. 

They come from the Chess and Checkers House in NY's Central Park and probably cost thousands each.

Have you shopped online for any chess tables? You should know how much they cost.

I see that you live in Cardiff. You say there are some tables in Penylan. Are those often busy? Could you get pictures with people playing?

 Chess tables in Cardiff.

Do they still get put out and used (since the virus). 

Maybe it's time to get them out out again?

Maybe they just need someone like you to put them out every Sunday (or whenever).

If you did, you could find out whether people would actually use them.

https://www.meetup.com/Alexandria-Pints-Pawns-Chess-Club/

I inherited a chess Meetup. I don't know how it got started. We play in a restaurant/bar (pub). Ask a restaurant if they would would host a game night. It's good for their business. Then play chess in pub-lic, the way it was done old school.

That bar also shows UFC pay-per-view events. That's what a bar should be, old school.

Actually a really cool idea for people who don't have that in their parks. I mean you'll probably have regular wooden tables and benches there though, right? You could very easily print out chess boards, laminate them and just attach them to the tables.

yeah, but people might steal those because they are a bit fancy, don't you think?

True! I am in talks with my council rep about the tables. The MiR was only a short stint and never gained traction. I started playing chess a year or so after that.  The reason I posted on here is that the city gets tourists from all over- something that the council and gov want to encourage, it can give clout to the idea that not only do these tables and chair arrangements add to aesthetics of the city centre and its parks-but also that it can encourage more people to play-from anywhere. If by showing them that players the world over have seen and experienced the benefits of playing outdoors, especially with respects to the wellbeing and social cohesion aspects then the council may be more convinced. Sometimes they need to see what is happening elsewhere, and how successful it is before they can provide funding.  

We have very few wooden tables. There are a few benches that are spread out far apart. I envision something like a cluster of tables, or line of tables and chairs, that families, friends or locals can turn up with their pieces, catch up and play a good game.  My father once told me he was in Budapest and passed by  a chess table, with an elderly man sat there on his own. My father, not speaking the local language, gestured if he could play. They both sat there and played for hours. It was great.  He never forgot that. 

I'd like that for this city. God knows we need to reconnect after this pandemic, and watch out for those who have been isolated, or very vulnerable. 

I'lll try and ask local bars and coffee shops but I'd ideally like to bring the game outdoors  

I think you have a great idea & wish you much success!

Damn Nice Stuff

lol, but it's still a good idea to just equip your local park with simple chess boards. These Chess Hustlers and older folks who play at parks are some of the best people you will ever meet. Here in Central Park that's a whole scene. I love watching them on Youtube

Here is a good example of a GM playing one of them haha:

Outdoors is not a good idea.

At Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., (the capital of the United States, leader of the world, blah, blah, blah) only homeless guys gather there around the chess tables.

You said here in Central Park as if you were living there. Do you live there or was it just phrased badly and you live in Germany.

No I live in a tent about 50 feet from where that video was shot. They keep me up at night with their trash talk.

Here is another funny one:

I saw a video where somebody played a NYC hustler and Carlsen was hiding a few feet away telling the guy (via a hidden headset) what to play against the hustler. 

that sounds hilarious, please find and post that? xD

 I found it.

Yeah that’s it. Pretty funny

Well they told the hustler in the end

Yeah I think it's kind of weird too, because those chess hustlers are mostly homeless and the fact that they can beat regular people at chess is pretty much what they got. I hope they payed him at least in the end.