There was a pretty good article in the San Francisco Chronicle today about the chess players at the Market Street tables. The nice thing about chess is that it doesn't discriminate - age, sex, class and race do not matter. Anyone can win and everyone has an equal shot. So it is often a place where everyone is welcome and respected - even the many psychos and freaks.

"It's like a hub for us," says the self-appointed caretaker, Richard Samaniego. Samaniego, 42, first came to the tables in 1990, after moving up from Fresno...
"It's a good escape," he says. "I make sure everyone feels safe here."