homeless chess king

[alocispepraluger102]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...7092501981.html

[AndrewHill]

Love chess. When I was in college, I used to skip most of my classes and hang out at the college coffee shop and play chess all day with my friends on a travel board I bought at a cigar shop for $30. I eventually became president of the chess club and finished in the quarters in a state-wide championship competition. Since grad school, wife, kids, I have no time to continue to devote the time to the game like I used to.

[connoisseur series500]

Just another chess bum. There are quite a few of them. The game attracts people of independent spirit; those who like to think for themselves and who have trouble holding down jobs. Murphy is quite articulate. Every major city has their celebrity chess hustler. They are by no means the best players in the city, but they hustle chess for a living. Murphy is one of those.

[Alexander]

When I was a freshman in high school, playing chess became an unexpected fad. One day a kid brought in a portable set, and suddenly EVERYONE had one. The school didn't have a chess club, so we started one. The best player in my circle of friends had a grandfather who taught him how to play. The grandfather was a chess hustler. He hung out in the park and played people for money. The story goes that he once beat a grandmaster who was in town for a tournement and stopped for a game. The grandfather apparently didn't know who he had beaten until afterwards...

[T.D.]

Interesting article. I had already read it, because the link had been posted on various chess sites.

I like chess a lot. Played as a kid/teen, then picked it up again just before age of 40. But it's a tough game in the sense that mastery requires a great deal of obsession, and many chess players are rather, er, unbalanced...I haven't been playing as much, or keeping up with "theory" (studying openings is really boring), the past couple of years.

[connoisseur series500]

The story goes that he once beat a grandmaster who was in town for a tournement and stopped for a game. The grandfather apparently didn't know who he had beaten until afterwards...

Likely fallacious, Alex. Such stories get started and embroidered. Although it is possible if the grandmaster seriously overlooks the opponent, it really isn't likely. Most of the best chess hustlers are 1800-2200 strength, which is significantly lower than grandmaster level. My own rating is 2000, but I'm not good at blitz. Urban legends develop around how the local hustler was once able to beat a grandmaster, etc. It's likely bogus. Chess requires years of study to understand some of the technical aspects of the game. You just aren't born with such knowledge. The best geniuses were also well trained. Too many urban legends exist about these street hustlers. They are hustlers and hucksters; and they are definitely big talkers too.

[catesta]

The story goes that he once beat a grandmaster who was in town for a tournement and stopped for a game. The grandfather apparently didn't know who he had beaten until afterwards...

Likely fallacious, Alex. Such stories get started and embroidered. Although it is possible if the grandmaster seriously overlooks the opponent, it really isn't likely. Most of the best chess hustlers are 1800-2200 strength, which is significantly lower than grandmaster level. My own rating is 2000, but I'm not good at blitz. Urban legends develop around how the local hustler was once able to beat a grandmaster, etc. It's likely bogus. Chess requires years of study to understand some of the technical aspects of the game. You just aren't born with such knowledge. The best geniuses were also well trained. Too many urban legends exist about these street hustlers. They are hustlers and hucksters; and they are definitely big talkers too.

Hey Conn, which online sites do you play?

[Alexander]

The story goes that he once beat a grandmaster who was in town for a tournement and stopped for a game. The grandfather apparently didn't know who he had beaten until afterwards...

Likely fallacious, Alex. Such stories get started and embroidered. Although it is possible if the grandmaster seriously overlooks the opponent, it really isn't likely. Most of the best chess hustlers are 1800-2200 strength, which is significantly lower than grandmaster level. My own rating is 2000, but I'm not good at blitz. Urban legends develop around how the local hustler was once able to beat a grandmaster, etc. It's likely bogus. Chess requires years of study to understand some of the technical aspects of the game. You just aren't born with such knowledge. The best geniuses were also well trained. Too many urban legends exist about these street hustlers. They are hustlers and hucksters; and they are definitely big talkers too.

I didn't say I believed the story, I just repeated what I heard. I was just saying that there are good players on the street. I doubt that this guy was ever that good, though.

[connoisseur series500]

The story goes that he once beat a grandmaster who was in town for a tournement and stopped for a game. The grandfather apparently didn't know who he had beaten until afterwards...

Likely fallacious, Alex. Such stories get started and embroidered. Although it is possible if the grandmaster seriously overlooks the opponent, it really isn't likely. Most of the best chess hustlers are 1800-2200 strength, which is significantly lower than grandmaster level. My own rating is 2000, but I'm not good at blitz. Urban legends develop around how the local hustler was once able to beat a grandmaster, etc. It's likely bogus. Chess requires years of study to understand some of the technical aspects of the game. You just aren't born with such knowledge. The best geniuses were also well trained. Too many urban legends exist about these street hustlers. They are hustlers and hucksters; and they are definitely big talkers too.

Hey Conn, which online sites do you play?

I don't play many practice games whether online or otherwise. I save my game for tournaments!

However, I do play a few blitz games on chessbase.com as a guest. I don't pay to play. ICC is considered by chess professionals as the best site for playing.