A restored church in Melbourne’s north was the venue this week for a speed chess tournament hosted by the rapper
wo clocks count down, not quite in sync, and there’s a collective intake of breath in the hall where more than 100 people stand transfixed by the projection of a chess game on the wall. Two hands dart across the board. White’s clock hits zero, black wins with one second left on theirs, and the tension in the room is released. The players smile at each other and raise their arms in a sort of acknowledgment of their captivating game.
chess. The pair once played 78 consecutive games in 12 hours and now GZA plays every chance he gets. “I have a passion for it,” he says. “It’s a mind-worker … for strategy, critical thinking, planning two, three, four steps. I just love the game.”He may have held on to the memories of that first Technicolor chess experience but these days he prefers classic standards on his chessboards.
Rox Ziffer methodically wins her way through her round, surrounded by a small but rapturous support crew. She says being a fan of GZA makes her more nervous to play him. “It’s funny actually, my boyfriend and a bunch of his mates all started getting really into chess in the last six months and they love hip-hop and Wu-Tang Clan, so when this came about they were like ‘oh my gosh, what an opportunity’,” she says.
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