Khachan moved to New York in 1987 to attend a Ph.D. Khachan’s father was incredibly strict about intellectual activities - he did not allow games, cards or (when there was electricity) television. He spent the night at the Khachan’s house, playing chess while Khachan and his eight siblings watched. His father, who was a teacher of Arabic literature and language, played chess with a colleague who used to travel through the violence-ridden streets with his cardboard set. “I was fascinated by this,” Khachan said, framing the board with his fingers.
His eyes squinted, hinting at a bright smile behind his black mask. Khachan would see other children playing chess and wanted to understand the language of the game. It’s scary, but the opposite was staying at home and losing your mind.” “It’s the same thing, except that you are safe with a mask and with distancing, versus if a bomb falls on your house, or if violence broke outside, we stayed indoors. “It was like lockdown, except for years,” Khachan said. The town in which he lived had no electricity, loose dogs and frequent violence. Khachan lived in Lebanon during the country’s civil war. As he told the story of his childhood, he set up the board and began to move the pawns. (Staff Photo by Manasa Gudavalli)Īfter hearing about Khachan’s life and his relationship with chess, the worldliness of the store makes sense. “The Most Dangerous Game” is a unique chess set made for three players.
MODERN CHESS SET NYC PORTABLE
He pulled out a tiny, magnetic portable chess set, similar to the one he played on while growing up in his home country of Lebanon. He was wearing a long gray tweed overcoat that matched his bushy brows, but was a bit darker than his hair, which only surrounded his head from ear to ear. Khachan and I sat at the first table in a row that extended to the back of the shop.
MODERN CHESS SET NYC FULL
The walls of the interior of Chess Forum are full of photos filled with stories. The store looks like it has remained untouched for decades. Chess sets of varying artistic and cultural styles - a Ukranian folk-themed hand-painted set, an imperial design with wooden pieces from Germany, “The Most Dangerous Game” made for three players, a chess set that wobbles - fill glass cabinets that line the walls. The store radiates an Indiana Jones-esque aura: a medieval-inspired tapestry hangs from the ceiling, black-and-white photos of past matches and players line the hallway, and two metal horse heads and a vintage clock hang on the back wall. Walking into Chess Forum is like traveling the world in a bygone era. In 1975, Ukranian grandmaster Nicolas Rossolimo opened a chess shop called Rossolimo’s Chess Studio in the space.
The storefront, which sits on Thompson Street between Bleecker and West 3rd, had a history of chess long before Khachan took over. Khachan, who started playing chess in 1985, has been the store’s owner since September 1995. It has since reopened and it’s getting back on its feet. Newspaper clippings, postcards and antique books cover the blank walls and formerly white lamps are now cream.ĭue to the pandemic, Chess Forum closed between March and June 2020. Fold-out chairs sandwich the plastic-covered tables that line the store’s narrow back.
He joked that the tiny wood-saturated shop has the feel and smell of a grandparent’s house. Imad Khachan, the owner of Greenwich Village’s Chess Forum, wants all visitors to feel at home.