The average passerby walking through Rittenhouse Square on a Sunday or Wednesday will see more than a dozen people lined up on a wall with chess boards. To the passersby, it’s random; to chess players, it’s a community.
“It’s just like a really nice place to come and kind of decompress and socialize and meet people,” long-time member Will Auerbacher says.
To many, chess is a lonely game, with most players spending time alone to study and analyze the game or play online. Rittenhouse Chess offers a social aspect to the game, creating a community with chess players of all skill levels.
Originally, the group was created in 2021 by Andrew Graham, a Philadelphia data scientist. Post-COVID-19, Rittenhouse Chess was the community many Philadelphians needed, and the group quickly became popular. Currently, their Facebook page hosts 914 members.
The easily accessible Center City location, organized times, and public setting allow many people to join easily. One of these people is Jason Carrete, a first-time Rittenhouse Chess member who recently moved to Philadelphia.
“I never did anything like this in Jersey. I was very much inside most of the time,” Carrete says. “I moved to Philly… [and] I was like, we’re going to make some changes.” Carrete works at the Comcast building, only a ten-minute walk from Rittenhouse Square. Wednesday at 6 p.m., after work, Jason decided to stop by and play a few games. He enjoyed the scenery, street music, and conversation with his opponents, deciding to return for another visit.
Group administrators sometimes host tournaments and other special events. The twice-a-week meetings, however, are mostly self-run. Boards are borrowed from the Philadelphia Ethical Society across the street. The first player who arrives grabs and sets up the boards, and the last player to leave returns them to the Ethical Society. Most days, Jordan Feller, who also works at Comcast, does both. Although he isn’t an administrator, he has been a regular member for the last year.
“[There’s] no money involved,” Feller says. “[We are] slowly learning without feeling pressured because it’s a pretty chill environment.”
