Checkmate for Chess players (and Go is certainly too slow)

Henceforth the Medley Center Mall in Irondequoit, New York is no refuge for chess players.

The new proprietors of the Medley Center mall have decided that people shouldn't be cluttering up the food court playing chess and card games. Apparently the chess players, most of whom are adults and who have been playing at the mall for years, took up too many tables, brought in their own food and were too loud. These rook-wielding rowdies were deemed to be incongruous to owner Adam Bersin's "vision" for the mall.

"I really feel we've gotten jilted,'' 70-year-old retired salesman Ray Licata said in resignation (chess pun alert!).

Their checkered past has somehow caught up with them (snort)....

They are pawns in the hands of commerce (hahaha!).

(Ahem. I'm finished now.)

They will be allowed to play when the mall is open to walkers, from 8 to 10 am.

After eating food court food only when I am forced by possible loss of consciousness (see my previous posts on teacher fridges and cafeteria food), I think these apparently ki-yiping eggheads were probably doing everyone a favor.