Join us for the first ever street legends chess cup

MoH celebrates the great tradition of chess that happens in shelters, the streets and homeless settings

what is it?

we are organising two themed chess days on 17th and 18th July and a new chess social - the abolitionist chess club.

About the Cup:

If you are interested in learning more about the game, brushing up on your chess hustling technique or simply hanging out we encourage you to come along. At the heart of the days will be the Street Legends Chess Cup with a team tournament on 17th July and an open tournament for individuals on the 18th.

We hope that these two days celebrate and honour the great tradition of chess that happens in shelters and homeless settings, whilst also being a lot of fun.

About the Abolitionist Chess Club:

New for our open season, we are hosting a new abolitionist chess club to tie in with the themes of our exhibition Criminal: An Untold History of Homelessness, Resistance & Survival. Come and enjoy a game, hang out and check out the show. It’s on each Friday during our open hours (12.30pm - 4.30pm) and boards are setup in our garden. All are welcome!

What’s on offer for the Street Legends Chess Cup?

We’ll be open as usual on both 17th and 18th July, but will have boards and spaces set aside for people who want to get involved. The museum will be open from 11am to 5.30pm on both days.

Hang out and play: Not into competition? That’s totally fine, we’ll have boards, free drinks and spaces where you can hang out.

Street Legends Chess Tournament: Wanna compete in the first ever Street Legends Chess Cup? Find out more here. We even have cash prizes and hope that this will be an extra special part of the day.

Special activities: Including sessions on how to play the game and more!

Wanna play but can’t come on the day?: We now have a chess social in our garden space each Friday running during our open season (see info above)

What’s the deal with chess and homelessness?

Chess in prisons, shelters and in hostels has a long history. John Healy’s searing account of being street homeless in the East End in the 70s and 80s ends with chess – and how chess helped him. The book (The Grass Arena) became a penguin classic. He also became a seriously strong player publishing Coffeehouse Chess Tactics later in life. 10 years ago Slide Martin became a feature of local news in Cambridge for thrashing university students on the streets and challenging passersby’s to a game, with his dogs Check and Mate watching on. There are many others and chess has became a feature of museum life as well, with games regularly played on our community days. Quite a few people enjoy a game and so we’ve even included a regular chess club as part of our current exhibition Criminal: An Untold History of Homelessness, Resistance & Survival.