Now featuring exciting speed chess video! See below.

One of the old guys told me that this alley helped turn out the World Chess Federation Grandmaster, five-time Peruvian national titleholder, reigning Pan-American chess champion Julio Granda. Of course, he added, that’s in addition to other recent Junior World Chess Champions. A couple other guys within earshot quickly piped in to either claim credit for playing against Julio or jokingly claiming to have been his teacher.

Nestled in a pedestrian-only side street off of Parque Kennedy in Lima lies the nightly gathering of about twenty men and the odd woman who come together to play chess for 10 cents a game. It gets started around 9:30 every night and goes till around 1:00 in the morning.

It’s an oasis of awesome and it’s only two blocks from the epicenter of gringo tourists and the unsavory people that try to sell them things in Miraflores. Though you can smell how close they are, the hookers and drug-dealers don’t even bother trolling this street.

There are a few Coke bottle bespectacled odd-balls with weird laughs, fashion-disaster attire, and skittish demeanors. However, the majority of the players are only slightly quirky regular guys who are over 40, just got off work, smoke like chimneys, and, as far as a less-than-casual player can tell, really, really good at chess.

I wish I’d found this weeks ago. It feels like an entirely different world; a random island of strategy and geekery amidst a sea of sin. I’ve been back every night since I randomly happened across it four nights ago during a late night walk.

An interesting mix of different regulars are there every night. I’ve spoken with a forty-something banker who hates his job, a guy that makes his money by drawing caricatures of tourists on the streets, an old German expat who plays “too slow” for most people, and the guy I call “El Jefe de Chess.” (The overweight, balding, Fu Manchu mustached “El Jefe” is the best, as reported by other players.) I’ve only seen two women actually playing; one is a snaggle-toothed Asian chick that everyone seems to like who laughs after every play she makes.

I’m the only American I’ve seen hanging out and I’ve been quite delighted to watch the games pass by. Everyone has also been very welcoming to me, surprised at my Spanish, and I’ve gotten multiple offers to take part in games. Thanks for asking, fellas, but there’s no way I’m gonna try to pretend to roll with you.

Some guys play with the timer and others don’t. The timer games are the most fun to watch. 3 minutes for each player. It’s absurd how quickly they play. The players that are really good have casual conversations with other people while they play timer games. I’ve even seen someone talking on a cell phone while he plays at break-neck speed. Here’s a quick example of one of the timer games.

Check it out:

So thanks, Peruvian chess culture. I’m glad I found you and it was fun to hang out for a few nights. I’m even inspired to brush up on my chess. For now, though, I’ve got an apartment to pack up and a flight to Bogotá to get ready for.

Barring any unexpected kidnappings, my next post should be coming to you from Colombia! Woot.

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