Chess Playing in Europe

This autumn, my wife and I went to Europe, and (like the last time a few years ago) we found that there are several places where people play chess outdoors, on large chess boards with large pieces.  Last time we found such boards in Lucerne and Zurich in Switzerland, and in Salzburg in Austria.

This time, we found a board in Danau Park in Vienna, and also revisited the board on the Lindenhof in Zurich.  It is always a good time playing on these boards.  Depending on where you are, you can play in front of quite a crowd, and the crowd participation ranges from quietly watching to actively commenting.  In Vienna, it was a lot of fun to play while 5-10 people who sat nearby would shout suggestions to both players.  The trick was to ignore the bad suggestions while occasionally taking a good one. :-)

Over the years (1992 - Lausanne, Switzerland; 2003 - London, England; 2010 - Lucerne, Switzerland; 2012 - Vienna, Austria and Zurich, Switzerland), I have played many outdoor games, and through a combination of skill and luck I have never lost.  I have drawn a few games, though.

I always look forward to finding places in new cities where such games are played.