Neighborhood News: It's Not a Chess Club. It's Club Chess.
New York magazine|August 28 - September 10, 2023
The game of kings has become an unlikely downtown craze.
Bindu Bansinath
Neighborhood News: It's Not a Chess Club. It's Club Chess.

ONE WEDNESDAY NIGHT in the dead of August, some 300 zillennials file into Manero’s in Little Italy to hit up the open bar for dirty martinis before heading to the chessboards out back. As Celtic music blares over the sound system, the players pair off and get down to business at the latest installment of a weekly gathering where chess aficionados play, drink, and occasionally dance. “This is what everyone fantasizes about in New York,” says Reggie James, 28, a regular. “You gotta find your little Seinfeld diner.”

This story is from the August 28 - September 10, 2023 edition of New York magazine.

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This story is from the August 28 - September 10, 2023 edition of New York magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

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