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| May-13-15 | | grasser: Thank you! |
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| Aug-18-15 | | smurph: Roman's best days were behind him in the 80s |
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Aug-19-15
 | | perfidious: Maybe so, but he had more than enough for most any player even then. |
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Aug-19-15
 | | HeMateMe: I saw him playing blitz once on 42nd street, behind the large public library at 42nd/fifth avenue. In the 80s the chess hustlers would set up a row of about 5 tables there, they would sit with their backs against the brick wall, on 42nd street. On the other side of the wall was Bryant Park, which had yet to be yuppfied. It was still full of sleeping bums, overgrown weeds and drug dealers. People still play chess in Bryant Park, but from my observations they are all friendlies, no wagers are being made. It might be that the city simply banned the setting up of tables on the sidewalk outside of Bryant Park. Since the park got cleaned up, financed by private money, two upscale restaurants were built onto the back of the famous library, there. Those are two large restaurants, and they make a LOT of money. This is about 30 yards from where the chess hustlers used to set up, and I have a hunch that the restaurant owner group used their clout to block the hustlers from perhaps making the area look less attractive. Anyway, there are plenty of wicker tables inside the park and anyone is allowed to roll out a board and take on all comers. That is different than WSP, where every single cement chess table is staked out by a gambler, and there is never any room for people who want to play for fun. Zindzi had a nice little crowd around him when I was watching, people knew who he was. I can't remember how he was doing; I was in a bit of a hurry that day and couldn't' watch. I'd seen him sleeping on a park bench in WSP too, which I guess is not a flattering thing. That's the life of the chess hustler, beat the chess enthusiasts with money in their pockets, then have a free meal at the catholic church, just around the corner on West 4th street. good luck with those Roman Forum DVDs, Zindzi. |
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| May-05-16 | | Marmot PFL: Wish I had seen that park. I walked down 42nd (only once) and was accosted by about 10 prostitutes and almost that many drug dealers. I found it wasn't too hard to win money from hustlers in Detroit at Hart Plaza, but almost impossible to collect. Most hustlers (not the top ones) know one or two tricky tactical openings well, but once you find the positional flaws you can beat them game after game. |
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| Feb-06-17 | | ChessHigherCat: I remember walking through Washington Square park when I was just kid, about 7 AM, and there were some guys who looked liked bums and hadn't slept all night who were hunched around one of those table's with the built-in chessboard looking at some complex rook and pawn endgame. I suggested a move and this bearded guy looked straight at me and "So what?" I thought, My God, what an arrogant so-and-so. Then later that day in the park I saw him blitzing (he probably still hadn't slept) giving incredible odds and saying stuff like "You show me what square I have to mate you on. If I don't mate you on that square, you win!". He was obviously some kind of master and somebody told me it was RD. So when I thought about that morning, I knew he had every reason to be unimpressed by my suggestion. And now, with the wisdom acquired only through maturity, I remember that morning and think: "What an arrogant so and so!" |
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Sep-02-17
 | | Domdaniel: I am bemused by some of the comments made here about the so-called 'bums' in Washington Square, Bryant Park, etc. In Europe, they're called 'homeless people', and governments are very strongly criticized if they fail to attend to the problems of the homeless. |
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| Sep-02-17 | | Granny O Doul: Roman often played at those odds; mate on a particular square. The trick seemed to be to bring the game down to KQQQ vs. K. |
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| Sep-02-17 | | ChessHigherCat: <Domdaniel> I am bemused by some of the comments made here about the so-called 'bums' in Washington Square, Bryant Park, etc.> "Bum" wasn't such a pejorative term to me because I grew up on the tail end of the counterculture/tune in-turn on-drop out generation. I just meant they obviously weren't working people because they looked like they hadn't shaven or slept for days and their raincoats were all crumpled up (back when working people were supposed to be impeccably dressed). When I was a kid, I used to enjoy shocking my parents' friends and relatives when they asked me: - What do you want to do when you grow up? Do you want to be a physicist like your Daddy? - No way, I exclaimed gleefully, I want to be a hobo! I used to adore hanging around the railroad tracks and looking for hobo forts! Anyway, you're right that "bum" certainly had negative connotations in the eyes of my parents and almost everybody else above 30 back then when America was so steeped in the work ethic. <In Europe, they're called 'homeless people', and governments are very strongly criticized if they fail to attend to the problems of the homeless> I think you're romanticizing a bit there. In France, they're called "clochards" and they're a regular institution. There are shelters for the homeless in almost every country but many homeless people choose not to use them because they can't take drugs there or because they're unsafe (exploitation, theft and even rape by other residents). In every modern European capital like Berlin and Madrid there's no shortage of people sleeping in the streets. And in the ones where you don't see them, it's probably even worse because the cops kick them out to starve in the countryside. The worst case I know of is Moscow, because there drunks pass out on the street and freeze to death and nobody does anything about it. <Granny O Doul: Roman often played at those odds; mate on a particular square. The trick seemed to be to bring the game down to KQQQ vs. K.> Now that was entertainment! Remember when they frantically searched for cigarette tinfoil to wrap around the top of the piece to make yet another queen? |
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Sep-03-17
 | | moronovich: <- What do you want to do when you grow up? Do you want to be a physicist like your Daddy?
- No way, I exclaimed gleefully, I want to be a hobo!> What a spirit! Your parents should be proud :)
My name is Bond.
Vagabond. |
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Sep-03-17
| | Domdaniel: <chesshighercat> - I also encountered the, eh, 'tail end' of the counterculture. I don't think I'm romanticizing the homeless, though. But on reflection there are probably significant differences between 'traditional' bums/hobos/clochards - as depicted by everyone from Bob Dylan to Samuel Beckett - a phenomenon which, at least in the USA, was largely driven by depression-era unemployment and internal migration, and the contemporary version of homelessness. Which is fuelled by factors like increasing rents and the decline of public or social housing. |
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| Sep-03-17 | | ChessHigherCat: <Domdaniel:
<I don't think I'm romanticizing the homeless, though.>Not romanticizing the homeless, what you're romanticizing is the treatment of the homeless in Europe, which I'm sure you will be encouraged to do (in complete bad faith) by most Europeans you meet. Sorry to burst your bubble but there are hordes of homeless people in every European capital, whether socialist or not, and it's become a thousand times worse since the massive "Volkswanderung" in the past few years. <But on reflection there are probably significant differences between 'traditional' bums/hobos/clochards - as depicted by everyone from Bob Dylan to Samuel Beckett> Waiting for Hobo?
< - a phenomenon which, at least in the USA, was largely driven by depression-era unemployment and internal migration, and the contemporary version of homelessness. Which is fuelled by factors like increasing rents and the decline of public or social housing.> Well, that may be true to a large extent, but my own nomadic lifestyle has been fueled from generally having too much spare change rather than not enough. I just get extremely bored hanging around the same scene all the time, and the same is true of lots of fellow nomads. People make a big deal about having "roots" but that idea really gives me the creeps! |
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| Feb-18-18 | | thegoodanarchist: < ChessHigherCat:
When I was a kid, I used to enjoy shocking my parents' friends and relatives when they asked me: - What do you want to do when you grow up? Do you want to be a physicist like your Daddy? - No way, I exclaimed gleefully, I want to be a hobo!> Oh the irony!
True story: One day in 4th grade the teacher called on each student in turn, asking "What do you want to be when you grow up?" When my turn came, I yelled out "A Pickpocket!"
The class roared with laughter, except for the very offended teacher. The irony is that I became a physicist. |
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Feb-18-18
 | | OhioChessFan: Someone asked my cousin what she wanted to do for a living whilst she was in the midst of an expensive parochial school education. When she answered, in all sincerity, "A waitress", I thought my uncle was going to have a stroke. Go Roman! |
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| Feb-18-18 | | zborris8: My mother is a concert violinist. When my brother's teacher asked him: What do you want to be when you grow up? He shocked the class by answering that he wanted to be a pianist....only he didn't pronounce it right. Haha. True story. |
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| Feb-18-18 | | diceman: <thegoodanarchist:
True story: One day in 4th grade the teacher called on each student in turn, asking "What do you want to be when you grow up?" When my turn came, I yelled out "A Pickpocket!" > What was it about politics that interested you? |
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| Feb-18-18 | | PhilFeeley: In discussion. So is Roman homeless? |
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Feb-19-18
 | | alexmagnus: <ChessHigherCat> Don't know about the rest of Europe, but in Germany, while there many homeless people, they are not "truly" homeless - that is, not those people sleeping under the bridge.
Homeless asylums are numerous, and homeless people get money from the state (and unlike people on welfare who have a home, the homeless get their money daily - same amount). They are encouraged to seek a home (apartments below certain standard are paid by the state, so they do not have to worry about the costs of the home). As for the refugees, that's a different story. Up to ~2012 refugees and asylum seekers got about 1.5 times less money than a "normal" person on welfare. In that year the court judged that it violates human dignity, and while they are still getting below welfare, they are getting just as much if we discount household items. |
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| May-05-18 | | Ironmanth: Happy birthday, Grandmaster. Was always a treat to see you at several World Opens at the Adams Mark in Philadelphia. Be well, sir! |
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| Aug-05-18 | | technical draw: Thank you voice actress for the pronunciation of Dzind Dzind's name. I think I played him once in NYC in the early 70's. I can't remember who won. Heh, heh. |
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| Aug-06-18 | | hemy: <technical draw>
<I think I played him once in NYC in the early 70's.> I played him once too ...
N Kasimov vs Dzindzichashvili, 1978 |
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| Aug-07-18 | | Granny O Doul: I'm sheepish about mentioning that the Djin is not in the US chess hall of fame, because to do so seems to give it some importance. We'll blame the drink. |
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| Aug-07-18 | | Howard: On my opinion, Dzin has too many personal shortcomings to be inducted into the H of Fame. |
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| Jan-25-20 | | NOKRO: I remember in high school, we read a story about a vagabond who told a story to the children gathered around him, about helping other people in need. He said that it may happen to anybody, to be in the same predicament and would need help too. Afterwards the teacher asked us what the moral was of the story as told by the vagabond. One student answered, "Don't be a vagabond". |
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| May-03-21 | | login:
Storytime
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.gam... by Jay McKeen , 1995
Videos
https://www.veoh.com/users/RomanChe...
Purchase
https://www.ichess.net/shop/romans-...
Cash (NSFW)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROB...
Gold (SFW)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcr...
Disclaimer
I am well aware that Dinzi et al could strike this posting invoking copyright infringement. Take it easy, the chance in finding a couple of oldtimers willing to spent some bucks on 'education' while at the same time still being able to play physical DVDs is best around this mighty halls. Enjoy. |
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