It's a relatively easy thing to learn, and nearly impossible to master. Like golf, one can pick up the rules and the general thrust of the game in a matter of hours, then spend a whole lifetime honing one's skills, trying to get better. Because there are a seemingly infinite combination of moves one can strategize at any given moment, each contest is like the proverbial snowflake-unique, self-contained, crystalline in construct and utterly compelling.
For these reasons, among others, chess has been called the perfect game-as old as civilization and immaculately unimprovable. And now, thanks to a new restorative program co-sponsored by the city's Parks Department, the perfect game may have found its perfect setting.
No, it's not a Leningrad tea house curling with pipe smoke as two bearded savants sit facing each other over a checkered board, chins in hand and eyes riveted to the next move.
Believe it or not, it's outside in the sun, out among the baseball games and flying Frisbees and picnicking people. Every Wednesday since the beginning of April, from 7 to 9 in the evening, Cal Anderson Park plays host to Drop-In Chess Night, an informal-ish gathering of chess players that is part of the new look of the renovated neighborhood park. The evening event-which takes place at the indoor/outdoor site of the newly built Shelterhouse just north of the ball fields-draws players of all ages and skill levels. For a suggested $2 fee, chess sets are provided and, in the event of unpartnered visitors, event staff will help match players in terms of experience.
According to program coordinator Randy Wiger, the drop-in chess night is part of the city's attempt to "step up and be more proactive" in revamping parks that have a history of public-safety issues. Up until its renovation a couple years back, Cal Anderson Park was a rather notorious nexus of undesirable activity; its sprawling grounds-full of sheltering vegetation, poor sight-lines and various nooks and crannies-attracted a very family-unfriendly mixture of drug use and transient loitering. It was often referred to as "Needle Park."
But no more. "Fortunately, we have not seen a re-establishment of those problems," Wiger said of Cal Anderson's status since renovation. "My program is part of that effort." The idea, he explained, is to create high-visibility situations and events, such as folks playing chess, that let everyone know the park is a place where people come to enjoy themselves in pastimes the community not only sanctions but gets behind.
"It's a fairly well-established crime prevention strategy," said Wiger, who explained the formula as "displacing negative activities with positive activities."
So why chess? Simple, Wiger said.
"There's an interest in chess in the local community," he pointed out. "There's been quite a strong chess community over the decades on Capitol Hill." During last year's Independence Day celebration at the park, neighbors noticed a number of people playing the game, and they collected the names and numbers of anyone who might be interested in setting up something more organized.
One of those people was Mark Ryan, head of the Washington Chess Federation which, along with Parks and Ryan's company translation.net, sponsors the Wednesday event. "I noticed there was a lacking of places for people to play chess," Ryan said, adding that he also noticed that the park's shelterhouse wasn't being used. It was at this point that he contacted Wiger with the idea of a weekly chess night in the park.
Wiger said they plan on holding the event year round; during winter, things will move inside the Shelterhouse, which was opened about three years ago and is equipped with a gas stove. "It's going to be really comfortable in there," Wiger said of the winter months in the Shelterhouse.
So far, organizers have relied mostly on word-of-mouth in getting the news out about Wednesday nights.
"Within a month or so it started to come to the attention of chess players in the area," Wiger said, noting that some parents are driving in from as far away as Bellevue, Lynnwood and even Tacoma. Chess night has been discovered by several parents of kindergarten chess champs and, according to Ryan, some of the kids that show up are state champs. "With school out we've really seen an increase in kids," he said. State chess champ Ignacio Perez also is involved in Wednesday meetings, and is scheduled to present a seminar for players of all experience levels on July 11.
One of the most exciting aspects of Drop-In Chess Night, Ryan said, is that people are using the large cement chessboard located on the west side of the park (just north of the ball fields), as well as the cap on the reservoir which is designed with checkerboard patterns suitable for matches. "That chess board has a rich history," he said, noting that it was installed some time in the 1930s. Oversized plastic chess pieces are available to anyone wanting to play on the large, built-in board, Ryan added.
The drop-in crew has big plans for the future, he said, including sponsoring non-rated tournaments. "We hope to expand it," Ryan said, perhaps to three nights a week. For now, several special, chess-centric events are scheduled for the summer, including tournaments slated for today and Sept. 12, and seminars; on July 25, Nat Koons will share his experience of traveling and playing chess in Hungary.
For now, Wiger and Ryan are just enjoying the growing popularity of this neighborhood phenomenon. "It's just been great," said Wiger, who added that one of the perks of his position as coordinator is that he's able to create pilot programs the whole community can enjoy. "Chess really appeals to all ages," he said.
Ryan said he couldn't be happier about the community's response to having chess matches in Cal Anderson. "Chess fits into a city like this," he said.
For more information about Drop-In Chess Night at Cal Anderson Park, 1635 11th Ave., contact Park's Randy Wiger at 684-0775 or randy.wiger@seattle.gov. For a full schedule of events, visit the Web site at www.calandersonpark.org.
Rick Levin is a Pacific Publishing Inc. associate editor. Reach him at editor@capitolhilltimes.com.
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