Two well-known New York hustlers were the Soviet IM V. Zilberstein (beat Tal in a Soviet championship) and GM Roman Dzindzichashvili. Zilberstein was known as the "sheriff" because he wore a cowboy hat and a funny vest with lots of flair, including a tin sheriff’s badge. He was so good that all the other hustlers reserved the top board in the park for him. The table would remain open until he arrived and took his usual place. In fact, he was unbeatable until the day Dzindzichashvil showed up. After losing to Roman several times, Valeri disappeared from the park and was never seen there again.
Originally posted by kmac27no he doesnt, i tried to get him to, but he doesnt do correspondance, maybe one day ill be able to convince him though, he does get most his money from chess tho, not hustling but teaching, he make a fair amount when he goes to the parks tho
nice. honestly if you had a fide rating of that high you could pretty much make a living playing chess if you could find enough people to woop on. lol ur friend play on rhp?
Originally posted by BriscoeWe have one of those too in our food court. I never seen anyone play a game with them though. Pieces are bigger though, 2 ft and up. Maybe once a year or something they do play a game but I'm never there to watch. Or maybe it's just for show now days.
a shopping mall in Cambridge, ON has a life-sized chess board (where the pieces are about 1 or 2 feet tall), and in the food court, players play all day long...ALWAYS about 10 games going on
Originally posted by RahimKYes, that's why when I reached 1600+ with the Lev Alburt course (strong enough to destroy those handheld Radioshack computers every time) I started to realize what the next step was, and I didn't think the amount of time and energy was worth it to shoot for 2000. 1800, sure, but - for me - not 2000. Anyway, I can see why these guys are poor. It's sad to dedicate your every second to something and never have it pay off. I guess that's why monks no longer play chess. Who was that monk who was really good at chess and quit? There's an opening named after him.
Gm's hustling people for money. Chess isn't a rich sport. Lots of top players are very poor. They have great stories in this chess book. I can't remember the name but I was waiting for someone at our club and started reading it. It's mostly chess stories and less chess. You feel sorry for some of these people barely getting by. Sometimes, it's just not worth it. Better to get a real job then make a living of chess.
You can go to alot of different parks in New York City (Central Park and Bryant Park are too nice parks where you can watch and feel safe. It is sort of like the barber shop scene in Coming to America. It is all about hustling people and talking trash. I would never play but I enjoy watching people play
Originally posted by powershakerI think that only the first 20-25 top chess players can make their living as full time chess players
... Anyway, I can see why these guys are poor. It's sad to dedicate your every second to something and never have it pay off. I guess that's why monks no longer play chess. Who was that monk who was really good at chess and quit? There's an opening named after him.
that is only the players above 2650 elo might be able to get a good living by playing chess
I may be wrong, I don't know