Chess Forum — Local services in New York

After discovering this shop last summer, I was super excited to bring my daughter to the shop. She’s been learning to play with my pricey chess set (which I’ve had for 20+ years), so I was excited to have her visit the shop and pick out her own set. During my initial visit, the employee on duty at the time wasn’t really helpful but was polite enough when ringing us up. We didn’t stay to play because we purchased a set with the weighted mat and pieces and decided it was a great day use the set outside. The other set we bought was a smaller wooden set, but because we were using the mat, my daughter didn’t realize until Saturday (2 days later) that the wooden set had two king pieces and was missing the queen. I called the shop on Monday, and the employee I spoke with apologized for the mistake and told me to stop by with all of the pieces, and he would gladly swap out the extra king. I popped in the next day and was barely greeted by a crass older man (accent, cropped curly hair, and missing teeth) who immediately took an accusatory tone and rudely said, “I would have to wait,” and to top it off, he felt the need to tell me that people often lose pieces and come back to try to get pieces. It took me a minute to process because, unlike what he described, I came with a bag full of chess pieces that clearly had two kings. When I realized what he was suggesting, I pointed to the board I had purchased and again explained that I was not missing pieces, and had I been doing what he was suggesting, where would I find the extra king that matched the other pieces perfectly? He uttered something about “people doing this all the time, and I have no idea…” At this point, I was in shock that he was doubling down on his stupidity (or some would say bias) and being so blatantly disrespectful. The crass, pathetic man went on to state that he isn’t sure how this could’ve happened because all pieces are supposed to be shown to customers at the time of purchase. I explained that I purchased two sets, and this didn’t happen with either. At this point, I was getting annoyed and questioned his line of questioning, to which he replied that “he had to be sure because he didn’t want to get in trouble.” Rude employee - There are several ways you could have handled this situation. You could’ve started by listening to my story and doing your due diligence regarding who was responsible on your end. You could have checked to see who was working when i purchased the set. You could have handled it several ways, but you insulted me instead, a customer. I will not patronize a business that treats customers this way. I can’t imagine there’s an overabundance of customers looking to get over when purchasing sets here to the point where this tone or questioning is warranted. Good luck, Chess Forum. Do better. For those who know, this is just another example of businesses with employees who don’t value “our” money. Take your business elsewhere. It’s a shame we have to...

Chess Forum is part chess shop, part café where players of all skill levels gather around tables in the back and play. There aren't many places like this in NYC anymore: a classic institution with a rich history that maintains its authenticity. Back in the day, this was a hang for famous New Yorkers from Bob Dylan to Stanley Kubrick. Bobby Fischer frequented the shop, and current top GM Fabiano Caruana started his chess education here.

I've been to the shop many times over the years to buy chess literature and sets, and I've played many hours in the back...I've even been on a date here with a BYO bottle of wine! Even if you're not a chess enthusiast, but have an interest in the game, give the shop a visit and talk to Imad, the shop owner. He's incredibly passionate about chess and his store and he'll help you get started on your chess journey. Today he helped me pick out a board to match my 1870-1875 Jaques library set. The process took a long time, but Imad was very enthusiastic and helpful along the way....

Unique place for adults and children to play live chess in a super casual environment. Kids are always free and they even host a free lesson on Saturdays at 2 PM. Adults pay a super reasonable $5 per hour to play - it's pretty much on the honor system.

Extremely casual environment - there are about 12 chess tables setup towards the back of the store. On a recent Saturday afternoon about 10 were being used by both adults & children.

My son and I encountered a wide range of skill sets here, probably players rated from about 500 to 1500. Some were playing timed games and some not.

-1 star because there is no air circulation, no open windows, and one person is always coughing or sneezing.

Store also sells collectors chess sets mostly priced over $100. A lot more people seem to be playing...