Pablo Williams, a street hustler, has been spotted in Madrid. What a life? He's been all over the place, pulling off the same trick. And I think he's even using the same signs he used in Sydney. The signs read something like, "Sick father dying of prostate cancer. Need money to go and see him".
That second photo has Pablo playing against Carlos Muquitay, a poet/writer and Salvadoran political refugee.
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17 comments:
Considering the strength of players in Spain he will more than likely get his arse kicked. haha
More like Jamaican chump!
lol. Guess his father's a patient man. Well, he leads a very interesting existence... he's got guts! Incidentally, there's no Pablo Williams (or Paul Williams) listed in the top 100 Jamaican players or in the 'all players' list for Feb 06. Either a false name or he's dropped out of the list... or was never on it.
He's not even Jamaican. He comes from New Zealand or at least spent some time there playing competitive chess. We know this because some Australian organisers found his NZ rating.
He is Jamaican but doesnt have a FIDE rating as far as I know.
He played in the 2005 Doeberl minor and couldnt even win that!
His overboard the strength is about 1500 strength,his blitz is about 1700 strength.
He might have started playing on the street in NZ before he got to Australia. Usually the cheapest routes from the USA are via Hawaii,NZ,Sydney.
He has also made ridiculous claims that he earns $100,000 a year playing chess on the street. haha
hi!... from spain!
Thanks for the info... but, anyway, i think that it is great to see people playing chess in the streets. Here, in Spain it is not very common...
i would like to see more people doing the same (but without a father dying of cancer).
Hi xaxa. I agree with you. It's great to see chess being played in the streets and people crowding around to watch.
http://www.geocities.com/chessjamaica/ratings.html
I was talking about the JCF ratings list (2nd comment) - didn't bother with FIDE.
PW is really a street performer - no different a clown, escape artist, poet, story teller, et cetara. It is all about entertainment. The public is expected to suspend their cynicism, and engage in audience participation as part of the act - as is the case with nearly all street performers. PW, plays some speedy street chess with people who are rightly expected to know that they are engaging with a street performer.
Good on him.
PW is really a street performer - no different a clown, escape artist, poet, story teller, et cetara. It is all about entertainment. The public is expected to suspend their cynicism, and engage in audience participation as part of the act - as is the case with nearly all street performers. PW, plays some speedy street chess with people who are rightly expected to know that they are engaging with a street performer.
Good on him.
I first came across our Jamaican blitz wizard whilst in Sydney in August 2004. He had set himself up in Pitt St Mall and was challeging all comers to a 3 0 game. He claimed his rating was 2100 and disposed of most 'amateurs' without much difficulty.
I holidayed in Barcelona last October and, to my surprise, stumbled across him playing in Placa Catalunya metro station. A large crowd had assembled and with Vivaldi's L'estro Armonico (Op 3 No 11/III) playing incessantly in the background, I watched him - playing black - win a tight, spirited contest against a talented teenage opponent (English defence). Soon afterwards he lost to a back rank mate involving a queen sacrifice. He was not impressed and immediately offered a rematch! He seemed quite personable and have to admire his ability to concentrate for long periods, although doubt the prostate cancer story is legit. Credit to him for providing a spectacle and street entertainment of a more intellectual kind. And if his earnings support his lifestyle ... good luck to him!
This guy was challenging allcomers to play 3 0 chess on Brighton seafront yesterday. I played him with the white pieces in a queen's gambit declined and drew - I'm only around 1700-1800 at blitz. He's still advertising himself as Jamaica's number one, and still claims that he needs money to visit his dying father.
See the photo at the address below (not me playing btw):
http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/249/picture182abm0.jpg
Just played this guy on Prince's St, the main shopping street in Edinburgh. He beat me 3 times with black, fair enough, I'm just a casual amateur. Be a bit pissed off if the dying father thing was all a hustle. He seemed a pleasant chap other than that.
hallo
I know this guy too, and perhaps nobody give him money with out the sad story. I think it is a great idia, and who of you is every time honest . Not everybody has rich parents. no body is perfect and perhaps ther is a place in your hart wher is jalousy, becaus you wish you can travel the world like him. sorry my english is so bad, but I have to say that.
This guy is on you tube type jamaican chess guy theres videos of him playing all over the world its quite funny!
I know this guy well, he brings chess into r lives. well done pablo
2011 and his Dad is obviously still dying . . moral of the story is google the line before you pay the money - came back home after giving him cash and found him first thing. It is a cool idea and he seemed like a nice guy but the people most likely to give him money are the ones who could imagine themselves in that position and therefore who can least afford it. It's not right. He should put some other story in there. like the truth.
I'm a street performer and have run across Pablo many times all over the world. He's one of the best PR spectacles for the game of chess, as a form of entertainment. In a time of dumbing down reality TV and X factor boring, I want to be famous shows. Pablo raises the bar by bring the theatre of chess to the street! So what if he does or doesn't need to see his family. He's creating the drama of theatre and raising the beauty of the game of chess, at the same time.
As a street performer he's a original! An not repeating old stock lines that juggler have been saying for the last 30 years. Pablo brings original theatre to the streets of the world and promotes the game of chess at the same time! If you think he's trying to hustle you then give your money to the no talent living statues that seem to be everywhere these days. I take my hat off to you....Pablo!
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