District Level Chess

Our place is at 24/21, Bharathi Dasan St, down in Nehru Nagar. It’s a quiet part of Vellacherry. We have a few rooms set up with tables and those plastic chairs that stack up in the corner. District Level Chess isn't a big stadium or anything like that. It’s where kids and some older men come to sit and play for hours. You can hear the wooden pieces clicking on the boards all afternoon. Sometimes it gets a bit loud when they argue over a move, but usually, it's pretty silent. We have some old trophies on a shelf that need dusting. The light in the back room flickers occasionally, but nobody seems to mind once the game starts. We don't have a big staff, just me and my brother mostly. We keep some water in the fridge and a few extra clocks if the batteries die. Chennai heat can be tough, so we have a couple of big pedestal fans blowing. If you’re walking down Bharathi Dasan St, look for the blue gate. We usually keep it halfway open. People come from all over the district to test their skills here. It's just a hobby that turned into a full-time thing for us. We don’t have fancy rugs or air conditioning, just chess and a bit of conversation. It’s been this way for years and we like it. There is always a spare board for someone new to join in.