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CHESS has an intellectual pedigree, but as played on the streets of New York City by a small army of hustlers, it is a game unto itself -- a gritty pastime and a way to scratch out a living. Hustling chess has a long tradition in the city, but no one knows who started it. In the 1960s and '70s, a man named Bobby Haywood used to park his board on a garbage can at Eighth Avenue and 43rd Street and stand in front of it in a threadbare fur coat, taking on all comers. Many of the hustlers are black; some are immigrants. There are silent assassins who utter hardly a word as they dispatch their opponents, and there are boisterous, native New Yorkers, adept at the quick insult, who exult with each victory. Some players are genial, others project a slight air of menace. The players are cagey about just how much they win, but some will admit to taking home $50 to $75 a day. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In its first three years, the New York International tournament provided local players with opportunities to earn norms for titles, sometimes while beating strong grandmasters. This year's competition, which ended Tuesday at the TriBeCa campus of St. John's University, was no exception. The winner was Robert Hungaski, an international master from Connecticut. He scored 8 out of 9 points and finished 1 1/2 points ahead of his nearest competitor, the grandmaster Jaan Ehlvest. Hungaski's performance earned him the second of the three norms needed for the grandmaster title. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until a week ago, the short list of the greatest American tournament victories was limited to Hastings in 1895, Cambridge Springs in 1904, AVRO in 1938 and Palma de Mallorca in 1970. This year's Tata Steel tournament in the Netherlands is now on that list. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

When it comes to strange bedfellows, politics has nothing on chess. The sight last week of Garry Kasparov at a New York City fund-raiser for his longtime rival Anatoly Karpov, who is running for president of the World Chess Federation, was odd enough. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There is a widespread assumption that with its large number of grandmasters and top-flight players, the New York City area is the center of the chess universe in the United States. Judging by the results of the SuperNationals tournament last weekend, New York has a lot of competition, at least when it comes to scholastic chess. Separate championships are held most years for elementary, junior high and high school students. But every four years, all of the championships are held at the same time. This year's SuperNationals, held in Nashville, attracted almost 5,300 children from 45 states and Puerto Rico. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

They came, they played, they swept. Intermediate School 318 in Brooklyn pulled off a remarkable feat at a national chess championship in Florida last weekend. Teams from the school won the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade championships -- every grade in which the school had entered a team. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

For Ylon Schwartz, poker and, before that, chess were not just games; they were ways to avoid having to work a steady job. He's scratched out a living for 15 years, but he is about to enter a higher tax bracket than most gamblers dare to dream about -- the million-dollar club. When Mr. Schwartz was starting out, no wager was too small or too far-fetched. Like the day he bet several people on the street that he could throw a lemon across Church Street from Liberty Plaza and onto the roof of a Burger King near the World Trade Center. Unbeknownst to the bettors, he had practiced the night before. He walked away with $340. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Two weeks ago, Howard Stern, the New York radio shock jock, married his longtime companion, Beth Ostrosky. Reports about the wedding noted that Ostrosky ran 18 miles the next day as part of her training for the New York City Marathon on Nov. 2. There was no mention of what Stern did, but the odds are he played chess. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

People who do not play chess regularly, or all that well, are often amazed that one person can play 20 or 30 or even more games at the same time. Such displays, however, are relatively easy for grandmasters, and even for many masters. They recognize patterns quickly and can move from one board to another, making snap judgments without missing many of the intricacies in each position. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It's not checkmate, but it's close. A lawsuit in Federal District Court in Manhattan against the governing body of chess in the United States and some of its members was dismissed last week, but the dispute is not about to go away. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In July 2007, researchers announced that they had, for all intents and purposes, solved checkers. There seems to be no danger of that happening in chess, which is many orders of magnitude more complex, in the foreseeable future. (There are roughly 10 to the 120th power possible games in chess versus 5 x 10 to the 20th power positions in checkers.) Computers, nevertheless, have had a profound impact on chess. In some openings, it is possible to make 20 or 25 moves before leaving well-known theory, a development that some players say has sapped creativity from the game. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

New York City has long been a center for chess because of the number and quality of players who live here. But the city has not played host to a high-level tournament since the annual New York Open ended at the beginning of the decade. Last week, top-flight competition returned to New York when the Marshall Chess Club on West 10th Street held a tournament that attracted a strong field of 40 players, including eight grandmasters and 12 international masters. Mark Paragua of the Philippines and Alejandro Ramirez of Costa Rica, both grandmasters, tied for first with 6.5 out of 9 points. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It is not uncommon in a big open tournament to face two or three grandmasters. But seven in a row is a rare and possibly unsettling experience. That is what happened to Robert Hess, an international master, at the Foxwoods Open. Hess, a sophomore at Stuyvesant High School in New York, played seven grandmasters in the last seven rounds, scoring four wins, two draws and a loss. This netted him a grandmaster norm, one of three needed to earn the title. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the chess hustling activities in the U.S., with a particular focus on the scenario at the Union Square Park in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is stated that although, technically, playing chess for money is unlawful gambling, it is hard to prove unless someone watches the hustlers carefully and sees the money changing hands. Personal experiences of hustlers like Russian Paul and Little Daddy are prominently recounted.

The article reports on New York girls who will be representing the United States in a youth chess tournament which will be held in the republic of Georgia in October 2006. According to Darrian Robinson, a seventh grader at an intermediate school in Brooklyn, who is going as part of the United States team, she is feeling excited about venturing to a new place.

Presents statistics related to immigrant Muslim workers in New York City. Stereotypes regarding Muslims; Results of a population survey which was conducted by the sociology department at Queens College about Muslim immigrant occupations; Details of household income and other data.

Presents statistical information pertaining to the Upper West Side and the Upper East Side of New York City, New York. What census data revealed; Differences between Upper East and Upper West.

Reports on New York City's credit card program aimed toward raising revenue and promotion of the city. Concept of affinity marketing in the credit card industry; Examples of Working Assets Funding Service which offers credit cards to generate money for political and environmental causes and Community Clout program which focuses upon the gay and lesbian community. INSET: Opening your wallet and showing your true colors..

Describes the West Broadway street located in New York City where there has been an increase in retail store outlets and restaurants. List of sport shops in the area; Interesting places on West Broadway; List of shops in the area.

Focuses on the Fulton Fish Market in New York City which is operated by the city. Details on the markets' vendors; Why they prefer to sell to retailers; Days which the market have the biggest selection; When the market opens for customers; Types of fish sold at the market; Detailed information the market.

Focuses on Canal Street in New York City with emphasis on the types of activities on that street. Location of Canal Street; Types of activity on that street; Description of Canal Street.

Presents information on the changes in the Hell's Kitchen in the Times Square area in New York City, New York, which was frequented by musicians and record companies. Citing of the neighborhood's name change to Clinton; Description of the area prior to 1995; Number of recording businesses which went out of business; Reference to the building renovated by Sony Inc., in the area.

TRIPOLI, Libya - If not exactly a chess match for the ages, it was at least a deliciously emblematic contest that caught something of the curious, and often deeply eccentric, world of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, a man who has been known to want to pitch a tent for his comfort in Manhattan's Central Park, along with a host of other behaviors unusual in a national leader. Captured on Libyan state television, the match was played on Sunday in Tripoli between Colonel Qaddafi and the president of the World Chess Federation, a Russian politician and one-time goat-and-sheep-herder by the name of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers news related to New York State, including the removal of the mud in Lake Onondaga, near Syracuse, under a decree between the state and Honeywell International Inc. Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the venue of the Fashion Week in February will be Bryant Park. David Soares, district attorney of Albany County informed of his decision to investigate whether any laws were broken when State Comptroller Alan G. Hevisi used a state employee to chauffeur his wife.

Provides information on several victims of the September 11, 2001 terror attack on World Trade Center in New York City.

Provides information on some of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.

Pays tribute to some of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.