It was on a Tuesday afternoon, while working in the office, a friend gives me a call:

<< Pablo, there is a guy playing chess in the street… >>
I was about to take my lunch break, i brought my sandwiches and meet my friend on st Catherines street. There was a big crowd around the chess players but I managed to have a peak at the hosting player. We were able to get closer to the chess board.

It was a simple chess carpet garnished with some nicely shaped wooden pieces. There was a Jamaican flag on one side, and a Quebec flag on the other. A sign was also stating he was gathering some money in order to fly to Jamaica to see his sick father. While observing some other games, I noticed everyone sitting was playing one single game. Each player had three minutes to work his brain out and vanquish his opponent.
I watched about eight games before asking to have a seat. All the players before me had lost pretty fast, which was normal, considering the game was played outside in the streets downtown. Chess isn’t an easy game to play; it’s much harder under the pressure of three minutes, the crowd around, and the music coming from his “beat box”. The speed and strength of his moves impressed me, and you could tell this guy had been playing and reading about chess.
I sat in front of him and we introduced each other, we had the same birthday name: Pablo. The fact he was Jamaican, played speed chess and had my name amused me. I observed the pieces and clock while he was searching for a new music before we start the game. I was pretty stressed in the beginning. I was playing much faster then him but I often forgot to press on the clock after my moves. He often pushed it for me in the beginning but stopped later during the game when his position on the board wasn’t looking to good. He somehow managed to get away from the attack and started a violent attack on my king. The time was ticking and both parties didn’t have much time left. I then saw a way to mate him in three moves, if only he would push that pawn after I would have pushed mine. Which he did. I pushed my pawn a second time, innocently blocking his king’s escape when my queen and bishop would give the final unstoppable attack. I was pretty surprised when he left the fifth teen seconds left on his clock and knocked his king aside. He had seen it and he was pretty amazed on how I had pulled the combination.
He told me what he was doing in Montreal, that I was the first person beating him. He wanted to play a second game but I had to go back to work and I left five dollars for the enjoyable moment it had been. I left pretty exited, and I decided to come back with my camera sometime during the following week to film myself playing against him.

You can watch one game here.

I played nine games with Pablo and the result was surprisingly 6.5/2.5 in my favor. On the side was a little suitcase half opened. I often saw people watching, some passing just in front, leaving 20$ bills in the suitcase. He stayed two weeks in total. He was playing downtown Montreal, on St Catherine’s street almost in front on the Eaton center. I posted my video on Youtube last year, and saw other videos of him playing chess in different countries. Some saw him playing in Malaga, Spain. Others saw him in Perth Western Australia. There is this footage of him playing, but I’m not sure where there game is being played at.
I think this guy is really smart. Traveling the world, he arrives in a city and already has a job there. His chess carpet, clock, pieces, the paper sign and his radio hold in one little suitcase. There is nothing illegal in what he’s doing, all he needs is a spot on the sidewalk two meters in length, two meters wide.

Chess was played many centuries ago in China, India, and Persia. It has spread around the map and has always been considered a skilled game. It’s rare even for a person that doesn’t play the game not to stop by and be interested about the chess board. Playing two weeks in the street of cities must generate some good money.
This could be a good example for the people living on the streets. I’m not saying this guy lives on the streets, but he spends his day in them and makes a lot of profits out of it with this great idea. There must be tons of other ideas like this one, but then again, if they are in the street, it’s generally because they are addicted to something and the only goal in life is to obtain the precious drug.

Pablo “the Jamaican Chess player” started to upload videos of himself playing all kinds of people around the world. It’s very interesting to see the way he is travelling in all the parts of of the planet.

He goes under: uselessatchess on YouTube.com.

The link to his profile : http://www.youtube.com/user/uselessatchess. Enjoy!!!!!!

I only saw him lose twice out of all his footages.