This NYC chess hustler makes $400 a day | Hacker News Reader

This NYC chess hustler makes $400 a day

nypost.com

16 pointssndean8 comments

Just moved to NYC last year. Our office is a couple blocks off of Union Square, and I've enjoyed playing with the guys over lunch. Would echo the comment in the article that there's more action in Union Square than Washington Square Park these days. If you are near Washington Square though, it's worth stopping by the Chess Forum, a beautiful store/chess club where you can play with folks for $5/hour.

https://www.chessforum.com/

Also, for those of you in SF, you have the Mechanics' Institute near, the oldest chess room in America, just off of your Union Square. They run a Blitz Tournament (3+2 on the clock, 2 games per round, 5+ rounds) every Wednesday night at 7pm. Entry is $10 for non-members. Incredibly welcoming crowd there, and a great way to dip your toe a little bit deeper into the waters.

https://chessclub.org/

"$400 a day" and "up to $400 a day" are pretty different.

Seems like a decent enough way to make a living though, if he can make it at all consistent over a couple of weeks. Given the article it seems pretty unfair for the NY Post to call him a "hustler". He sounds honest in his dealings with people.

The article title is more than unfair, it drips with prejudice and, well, racism. When you make the same kind of living from the privacy of a Manhattan apartment by playing rich tycoons, you're a sage:

  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-09-21/wall-street-s-best-kept-secret-is-russian-chess-master-lev-alburt

The title is clearly clickbait. I'll leave it to the scholars at prestigious universities to bicker about why it works as clickbait. As for the title itself, let's just call a spade a spade.

Yeah, I probably should've submitted it with a more pleasant title. "Bobby Fischer of Union Square" or something like that.

Generally speaking, HN prefers you submit with original title, though this may fall under "linkbait":

> Otherwise please use the original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait.

  Given the article it seems pretty unfair for the NY 
  Post to call him a "hustler".

Hell, they even quote someone who says he's not a hustler:

“I stuck with T.C. because he taught me rather than hustled me.”

Wonder if he pays taxes.

Probably as likely as anyone who makes their income primarily via cash, off-the-books payments.

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