STREET LEGENDS CHESS CUP: A RADICAL HISTORY OF CHESS
What happens when you follow the chessboard into prisons, hostels, streets, parks and workers' clubs rather than grand tournaments?
This July, Museum of Homelessness is celebrating the long and often overlooked history of chess in homeless settings, on the streets and in places of confinement with the first-ever Street Legends Chess Cup.
Chess is a game that can be traced back to around 1,500 years ago. Its earliest recognisable form is generally traced to India, before travelling through Persia and spreading across Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
But the history of chess isn't only a history of grandmasters and international tournaments.
Chess has long been played in prisons, shelters, hostels, workers' clubs and public spaces. It requires very little: a board, 32 pieces, another person and somewhere to play. Around chess boards, people have built their own cultures, rivalries, friendships and ways of passing time.
One of the most extraordinary accounts of chess and homelessness comes from writer and chess player John Healy.
Healy's memoir The Grass Arena documents his years sleeping rough and drinking on the streets of London. While in prison, another prisoner taught him chess. The game became an obsession, and Healy went on to become a formidable player and later published Coffeehouse Chess Tactics.
More recently, chess hustlers and street players have continued to build their own chess cultures in public spaces. Ten years ago, Slide Martin became a feature of local news in Cambridge for thrashing university students on the streets and challenging passers-by to games, with his dogs Check and Mate watching on.
Tani Adewumi and his family fled Boko Haram in Nigeria and wound up in the New York City shelter system. While in the shelter, Tani learned to play chess and won the New York State Championship at just 8 years old. He later became a National Chess Master at age 10. His success at chess and the resulting community support helped his family secure permanent housing.
These are just some of the histories we're interested in.
This summer, we're getting the boards out.
THE STREET LEGENDS CHESS CUP
On Friday, 17 and Saturday, 18 July, Museum of Homelessness will host two days of chess in our garden.
At the heart of the weekend is the first-ever Street Legends Chess Cup, organised for people with experience of homelessness, poverty or housing instability.
We're honouring the chess hustlers and homeless chess champs, past and present - and we're looking for players.
FRIDAY 17 JULY: TEAM TOURNAMENT
Get four players together and enter as a team.
Teams might represent a homelessness organisation, a hostel, a housing rights group, a campaign, a community project, or another kind of crew.
We're not organising teams ourselves, so you'll need to register as a group of four. Museum of Homelessness may be able to support with travel for teams coming from further away.
1st place: £50 per player + MoH goodie bag
2nd place: MoH goodie bag
SATURDAY 18 JULY: OPEN SINGLES TOURNAMENT
Coming alone? Enter our open tournament.
Players will take part in at least three rounds, with the top scorers moving into play-offs to determine the winner.
1st place: £200
2nd place: £50 + MoH goodie bag
HOW WILL THE TOURNAMENT WORK?
Players should arrive at Museum of Homelessness by 11.15 am.
Play will begin at 12 noon, with the first rounds taking place until approximately 3.30 pm before any play-offs.
Normal rules of chess apply, including touch-move, en passant and castling.
There are no initial time controls, but if a game is still running after 40 minutes, a clock may be introduced to keep the tournament moving.
Expect a hustling spirit, noise and friendly competition around the boards. We love a bit of barracking, but excessive interference with games or players won't fly!
WHO CAN ENTER?
The Street Legends Chess Cup is for people with experience of homelessness, poverty or housing instability.
We won't ask you to prove these experiences when you register. We simply ask everyone to respect the spirit and purpose of the tournament when deciding whether to take part.
You can enter the team tournament, the open singles tournament or both.
Registration closes at 5pm on Thursday 16 July.
Street Legends Chess cup is generously supported by the English Chess Federation (and with a little help from AlphaChess)
NOT INTO COMPETITIVE CHESS?
That's absolutely fine.
Museum of Homelessness will be open from 11am - 5.30pm on both days, with plenty of chess sets, free drinks and space in the garden to hang out and play casually.
You'll also be able to visit our current exhibition, Criminal: An Untold History of Homelessness, Resistance & Survival.
THE ABOLITIONIST CHESS CLUB
Can't make the Street Legends Chess Cup?
New for our open season, we've launched the Abolitionist Chess Club.
The club runs in the Museum of Homelessness garden every Friday during our open season from 12.30 pm - 4.30 pm.
Come and play a game, hang out and visit the exhibition. Boards are set up in the garden, and everyone is welcome.
The chessboard is out. Come and play.