Buttnekkiddoodles

 
At North & Wells in Chicago, sits a coffee house that has been the site for an avid if not rabid coterie of chess….enthusiasts? practitioners? maniacs? nuts? That’s it. Chessnuts. Almost exclusively males who exhibit a wide array of styles. Some are the cool, collected strategists. Some chatter continually. Boastful at times. Some get very demonstrative, oozing complaints and protestations most commonly during the raid paced games where a clock is involved and moves are made within a few seconds.
  
One cat in particular catches my eye in part because he wears a yellow fedora, brim up, and pull down such that his eyes are hidden beneath the wave of his hat with gaze riveted to the maneuvering on the board.

Wagering occasionally takes place, and tempers are raised with contestants parting in a huff, the extended handshake ignored,   but matches often appeared collegial with the appeal of the game and social interaction the primary payoff.

Fountain pen and Pitt Artist Pens on Clairefontaine Goldline Watercolour paper.

 
Stopped into the corporate coffee station at North & Wells wherein pitched battles of chess are in heated swing and sway. The observant among you will notice the gent on the right is playing with the black chess pieces but appears to also be holding a black pawn as if he captured one of his own. The reason being the games were very rapid and would quickly conclude then these two combatants would switch pieces. So as I sketched they were alternating who opened. Anyway, their intense postures didn’t vary much throughout their set.

Fountain pen and Pitt & Artist Pens on a Stillman & Birn sketchbook.