AN ODE TO CHESS"
I've played chess outside with homeless men in NY....I've
played chess with a multi millionaire in his compound in
South America...I've played chess in about 24 states and 9
countries...and once with a def man in the Russian winter, in
Russian November in a hotel hallway...I've played chess with
REAL scholars, REAL gangsters, humanitarians, activist,
and bigots alike. I've played chess with jiu jitsu, judo, AND
luta livre black belts. I've played chess in classrooms as well
as a waiting room of a jail...I've had the pride of the enlisted
on my back in the finals of a tournament on an aircraft-
carrier against a lieutenant colonel while sailing past the horn
of Africa. CHESS is the great equalizer...
- D'Juan "Dirty South" Owens
