Chess for Lunch

As someone who works in the Loop and believes that chess should be played on more occasions and in more settings than it normally is, I wasn’t about to miss the June 20 Chess Lunch Break put on by Renaissance Knights at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Coach Rob (with hat) gives a chess lesson

That Wednesday afternoon, from 12:00 to 2:00, anyone could just walk into the center’s games annex, at 72 East Randolph, and play a game of chess or get a lesson from one of several teachers on hand: master William Aramil, expert Eric Heiser, and coach Rob Krauss of Stevenson High School.

Chess master William Aramil (right) instructs a player on the fine points

Here’s the game I lost to Eric. Anyone familiar with the Sicilian Defense will recognize quickly that I’m not (7. e5??).

Here also are some photos from another fun chess event by Renaissance Knights at the cultural center on June 9.