Chess Returns to Big Easy

Who can forget Hurricane Katrina? That terrifying force of Mother Nature that so devastated the city of New Orleans.

Over a year ago, I learned for the first time of that interesting character, Jude Acers. I actually posted about him here. He was one of the many chess playing folks in New Orleans whose lives were basically overturned by Katrina. But now, more than a year after the terrible event, those same chess folks are making a comeback.

Thanks to The Chess Drum, we learned of a very interesting article by Michael Tisserand in which he talks about the efforts of those chess aficionados to bring the game back to the Big Easy.

[T]here's a reason why jazz musicians like chess, and it's the same reason the game has been a New Orleans institution for so long. "Chess is a lot like jazz," he says. "You have the form and structure, but inside, there's a lot of room for freedom. The more you understand the laws, the more freedom you have with it.

Read more of Getting Back in the Game in www.bestofneworleans.com.