Reb wrote:
Some of the most fun I ever had was playing blitz down by the river on River Walk in Augusta Ga. There was a gang of regulars that used to hang out there and we would always talk trash when playing blitz. Most of the trash talk was very funny and noone ever got mad/upset over it. I was not one of the "regulars" since I lived about 35 miles away but I would go by and play with them every chance I got, if I was lucky that was once a week at most.....
i think talking trash ruins the holiness of chess... it is a gentleman's game, that's why in tournaments talking trash is prohibited...
Are the chess tables still in Washington Sq park ? I would love to visit there someday and play some blitz in the park. How strong are the hustlers there and how much do they normally bet on the game ?
The hustlers are usually somewhere around "expert" strength. But I used to see Roman D there all the time and there was usually soe european IM holding forth at 1 or 2 tables that made a point of not playing each other. Quite a little scence. Stakes were variable from table to table, but the standard game witht he local hustlers was 2bucks per gamwith a 1dollar "clock rental" fee. Pretty good set up for the "owner" of the table. Games were 5 min, touch move. And, bring your ear plugs if you are easily distracted.
It's been 3 or 4 years since I've been there as I live in California now. I'd be surprised if the tables were gone. They were made of concrete and built into the concrete "ground". You bring your own sets and clocks. I think there are/were about 15 tables.