Checkmate: Berkeley Chess Club Cornered

Although the People’s Park controversy has reemerged in the past few years, it is not the only fight over recreational areas plaguing the city of Berkeley. Recently, the city forcibly shut down the Berkeley Chess Club, which operates on the corner of Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street, citing its occupancy of public walkways without a permit from the City of Berkeley as the reason for its closure.

Taken over by Jesse Sheehan during the pandemic, the Berkeley Chess Club operated at People’s Park until homeless encampments forced the club to find a new location. Sheehan originally chose the corner of Telegraph Avenue and Dwight Way but then moved to Telegraph and Haste Street. There, Sheehan set up tables covered with chess boards lining the sidewalk, allowing interested visitors to partake in the strategy game and test their abilities. Sheehan used the space with permission from Ken Sarachan, the owner of the corner property Mad Monk, and the local record store Rasputin Music. Sheehan describes the setup as “a relaxing atmosphere…. It’s where people get away.”

The club served as a way for community members to connect, especially throughout and following COVID-19, during which many could not attend other social gatherings or recreational activities. However, while many took advantage of the chess space, the City of Berkeley did not share the same positive attitude, as neither Sheehan nor Sarachan possessed a permit for their use of tables and chairs in the public walkway.

For nearly a year, the city tacked on fine after fine on Sarachan, causing him a total loss of around $150,000. However, Sarachan “put up with it for about a year” to protect Sheehan from the city’s efforts, according to Sheehan. On September 29th, 2023, the city forcibly shut down the group, removed its tables and chairs, and seized its lockbox of intricate chess sets, which has yet to be returned.

However, in the days following the shutdown, students from the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) supplied Sheehan with chess sets to rebuild the club.  While setting up resources donated to the club, Sheehan got into a heated argument with ambassadors of the Telegraph Business Improvement District (TBID) tasked with preventing the club from reestablishing their sidewalk tables. During this encounter, an ambassador “made a false accusation that… [the ambassador later] admitted wasn’t true,” which led to the police taking Sheehan into custody. He was quickly let go, and no charges were filed. Despite these setbacks, Sheehan remembers: “[T]he students [from UC Berkeley] are who rallied and they showed up with even more furniture and bought me new chess boards.” He continues, “And that really created closer bonds between our club and the student body.”

Sheehan expanded on his interactions with local businesses during this time, claiming: “Overwhelmingly, the businesses love us. And it’s this business association [TBID] that’s supposed to represent them that is continuously coming at us.” Sheehan believes that this fight with the City of Berkeley is an example of gentrification, saying, “I give people who are being pushed out a place to sit.” He questions, “If we take away the public realm, what good is free speech?”

During Head-Royce’s intersession, a group of students learned to play both international chess as well as Xiangqi, the Chinese version of the popular strategy game. On the second day of intersession, the students, chaperoned by Vy Linh Nguyen and Connie Tran, visited Sheehan’s club and challenged strangers to chess matches. 10th grader Alex Jayaratne commented: “Hearing from strangers in Berkeley was interesting, and getting first-hand views on subjects like People’s Park and city police made the visit educational for more than just chess. I’m grateful for the experience.”

Overall, Sheehan “like[s] [visitors of the Berkeley chess club] to feel like they belong, and they’re important. Because when you play someone in the physical realm, and not on a computer, you appreciate them as human beings sitting across from you.” Sheehan concludes, “I’ve watched chess take down societal barriers; it’s quite magic[al] the way that it happens.”