Chess tournament

Sunday we spent a little time in a park that was hosting a chess tournament.  This is not your rook, castle, queen, king, pawn chess we are familiar with but Chinese Chess which is much more complicated and intricate, so I am led to believe, and consequently a game for gentlemen of intellect and culture.  It certainly is a game of men who smoke cigarettes. Just walking through the outdoor area in which this tournament was being played was enough to expose one to serious side-stream smoke and put one at high degree of risk for lung cancer.

this was an official tournament, note the little timer thingee on the table and participants were numbered as were tables. It seemed so efficient.  

 Most games are played with spectators, who are quiet except after a winning play when the person who executes such a play exclaims loudly (somewhat contrary to the culture claim) and plays with a flourish, slamming the marker on the board whereupon the spectators all apparently feel free to offer their advice on how they would have prevented the defeat or won the point much the sooner.

Note the old guy below on the left.  I think it is a rule that the older the guy --means the hands must be held behind the back as illustrated by this gentleman.  The infant to the right is somewhat unusual in my observations of these games, but this child will certainly inhale enough cigarette smoke to be considered a heavy smoker so perhaps it all balances out.

 At some point announcements were made and everyone got up, assembled in rows behind signs (Matt said they represented regions or major neighborhoods in this part of the city) and were talked to by guys with microphones (note Julianna at right (  the tournament was part of the city-wide May Day / International Labor Day holiday activities I think -- if not it could have been).  That is a big chess piece on the lower right of the billboard.  (often wrong never in doubt on this factoid- but I am pretty sure - if not it sure looks like one to me)

 Same scene from the reverse angle, also note the photographer for the event taking a picture not of the participants in the event but of Julianna, Lydia, Isaac and John Paul.  The photographer also got Matt in the picture but was probably not trying to ( no offense there Matt -- just the facts,  the photographer would not have taken a photo of me either )