05/22/2026
Perhaps the most famous NYC chess hustler is the legendary ‘Cornbread’, who has been warming the benches at Washington Square Park for more than two decades. It turns out he knew more about me than I knew about him, as he follows chess gossip online. He seemed pleased that I finally sat down to play him, even more so when I put $20 upfront instead of the $10 he had asked for. ‘The extra is for modeling,’ I said.
It was great fun playing against him. He is fast and aggressive, and top of the class when it comes to trash talk. He didn’t stop for a second.
Much to his delight, he flagged me in the first game when I had mate in one, and I also blundered the last one. But I won the four or five in between. I held my own in the trash-talking department as well.
