chess

A few days ago I mentioned a field trip and short subway ride to Sunnyside, Queens.  Taking the number 7 of the New York Subway system not only gets you there within no time, but also provides an opportunity to see some fabulous work by artist Yumi Heo.  Her stained glass artwork was installed as windscreens at various elevated stations throughout the line.  It wasn’t until further research did I learn there are 26 of these mosaic stained glass windscreens along the way, each with the letter of the alphabet depicting various neighborhood scenes.  Not surprising that her installation is titled Q is for Queens.  This particular one captured above represented the letter X.  Not sure of the correlation, but it looks as if it’s a game of chess being played.  But since I don’t know anything about chess, perhaps the X has to do with something?  And of course it’s possible this isn’t chess, but I’m making it chess…because I can and it fits nicely with my next paragraph.

So speaking of chess…being in need of something uplifting this week, the movie Brooklyn Castle has been on my list to see at the Film Society Lincoln Center.  The true story is about five members of a chess team at a below-the-poverty-level line inner city junior high school (in Brooklyn) that has won more national championships than any other in the country.  Not only do these kids face challenges in the personal lives, but imagine once they found passion in an extracurricular activity such as chess and then faced recessionary budget cuts to their program.  But how their dedication prevailed!  Warming and uplifting!  A must see!