Kings of a different game

Kings of a Different Game
For Decades, Washington Region’s Blacks Have Made Chess Their Own
By Avis Thomas-Lester
THE WASHINGTON POST
Sunday, March 11, 2007; Page C01

WASHINGTON – It’s 9 p.m. on a Friday at a Starbucks in Forestville, Md., and Robb Peterbark is glaring across the chessboard at his opponent.

“You better take Barbaro while you got the chance. If not, he’s gonna get you,” Peterbark snarls, referring to a knight he has named after the Kentucky Derby winner.

Across the board, Dwight Dawson frowns as he contemplates his next move.

“This game was supposed to be over a half-hour ago,” Peterbark exclaims, sighing loudly. “Can I get you to consider making this move sometime today? How about just sometime this side of eternity?”

Dawson snatches up the knight. Peterbark grabs his chest.

“You took Barbaro!” he said. “That’s all right! Secretariat is still gonna get you!”

It’s three hours into the Forestville Chess Club’s weekly chess binge that starts every Friday afternoon at Starbucks, then moves down the block to the International House of Pancakes, where players compete until sunup. It picks up the next afternoon at Borders bookstore in Largo, Md., often followed by hours playing at one another’s homes.

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Thanks to Alejandro Montevideo, Uruguay, South America, for bringing us this article.