Chess saved this Cambodian...

Saravuth Inn inviting a player to a chess game

in Union Square. (Photo by Aidan Gardiner)

Hello Everyone,

“I love chess,” says Saravuth Inn, adding, “To be able to be omnipotent. To be able to do many things in one shot. Freedom. Control. Flexibility. Chess allows you to do that when in life, you can’t!”

Which one of us wouldn't agree? Chess has given a pivot to Inn's life. Inn, 49 and Cambodian-born, is fighting his way out of legal limbo and into proper citizenship. He’s been making a living playing chess in Union Square for the past two years.

After Christmas, he plans to finally visit the Department of Homeland Security to get a naturalization number, which will enable him to get a steady job. However, he fears officials may deport him to Cambodia instead.

Inn’s father taught him chess as a boy, before the Khmer Rouge killed his family when he was 13. He was living in an orphanage when American soldiers found him and took him to the U.S.

Here is the full article on Inn. Very interesting.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com