In a Kasparov-worthy comeback, West Vancouver’s most famous chess players resumed their games last weekend, defying Park Royal’s edict and picking up a faithful ally in the process.
The loosely affiliated rook club packed up their kings and queens after being banished from the food court under threat of arrest April 1. After failing to resolve the dispute diplomatically – despite the intervention of West Vancouver Mayor Michael Smith – the players set up shop at their usual tables.
“They just want to be treated like any other customer,” said frequent chess player John Fodor. “It should be their right to play chess at the food court.”
In addition to the mayor, Fodor can now count the West Vancouver Presbyterian Church as a friend. The church is planning to stand in solidarity with the players by staging a gentle protest at the food court May 1 at noon, said Minister Glenn Inglis. “Maybe people will bring a Scrabble game or a checkers game,” he said of the church-in. “These are middle class, law abiding citizens, so I don’t think it’ll be too radical.”
The chess gatherings are a bulwark against social isolation, a debilitating problem among West Van seniors, Inglis noted. “People just don’t get enough (social interaction) and there’s no place to meet and greet. The mall would seem like a logical place.”
Mall patrons have been delighted to see the resumption of the 50-year game, noted Fodor. “The (patrons) who have stopped by to talk to us have said keep it up … we love to see you play chess here.”
Not everyone has come back, however. Despite wanting to support her friends, Ashley “Chess Girl” Tapp, 16, is afraid to go, according to her mother, Sophia Hague. “She has not played chess since. It’s having its toll emotionally on everyone,” Hague wrote in an email.
Several players have fielded inquiries about taking their game elsewhere, such as Whole Foods Market, White Spot, and Lonsdale Quay. At least one player is lukewarm about shifting the game to another venue. “We can go to the West Van Community Centre, we can go here, we can go there,” said George Ingham. “We’re not down (at Park Royal) just for chess. … We also go to the mall because it’s the mall.”
The collection of concentrating intellectuals adds an esthetic aspect to the mall, said Fodor. “Chess is of course very mathematical, very logical, but when you think about it, it’s also a thing of beauty.”
A petition on change.org beseeching Park Royal not to “turn your back on our community!” garnered 267 signatures in its first week.
Management at Park Royal declined to comment.
