Brandon Parker learned to play chess as a 12-year-old at an afterschool job sweeping up hair from the floors of his neighborhood barbershop in Newburgh, N.Y. The barber taught him the game between appointments, and many of the men who came for a cut and shave were patient opponents for the shy middle schooler.
“I was a quiet kid,” explains Parker. “Chess let me play and stay quiet. I could throw a temper tantrum on the board, and nobody would know.”
That quiet kid who liked to play chess is now a reserved young man who loves it—and wants to share the game with others. Last winter, Parker opened A Different World of Chess, a game parlor on Main Street in downtown Buffalo’s theater district offering one-on-one play, tournaments and events.
Chess was a constant through Parker’s life, an outlet that saw him through the angst of high school, the unknowns of undergrad and the pressures of earning a master’s degree. He came to Buffalo in 2015 for SUNY Buffalo State’s electrical engineering program, stayed to earn a master’s degree in aerospace, aeronautical and astronautical/space engineering from the University at Buffalo and never left.
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As a newcomer to the Queen City, chess became an easy way for Parker to meet new people. He’d set up a board in a cafe or park, and without fail, someone would stop to play.
As was the case for many people, the Covid-19 pandemic was a turning point for Parker. He was laid off from his full-time job and found himself searching for his next move. A friend asked him what he does for fun that he’d want to do in real life, and the answer was obvious: he’d turn the game of chess into a business venture.
As the world began to open back up, Parker went out into the community to gauge interest in gathering over a game of chess. He’d set up one table with a board in Delaware Park and invite anyone walking by to sit down and join him to play—and people did. All walks of life, including teenagers, cyclists and older folks out for a stroll, would wander over out of curiosity and end up staying for a few games.
Parker added another table, and more people stopped. The act of bringing people together felt good after 2020’s solitude and societal division.
Although it’s a game with nearly 1,500 years’ worth of history, much to Parker’s luck, chess has experienced a resurgence in popularity over the past few years. During the pandemic shutdown, households dusted off old chess sets and whiled away the hours playing and teaching the game. In October 2020, the Netflix original series “The Queen’s Gambit” was released and reached a record-setting 62 million households in its first 28 days with a compelling storyline that captivated both chess veterans and those who had never checked a mate in their lives. Sales of chess sets skyrocketed, with boards and pieces experiencing shortages akin to laptops and sriracha sauce.
After a year of playing in the park and building a name for himself, Parker made a strategic move and opened A Different World of Chess on Dec. 3, 2022 (his birthday).
During any given week in Buffalo, chess players can find regular game gatherings held at local coffee shops, breweries, school auditoriums, libraries, parks and more. But A Different World of Chess is Buffalo’s only brick-and-mortar chess parlor, offering the opportunity to play in a set location with set evening hours Tuesday through Saturday plus tournaments. Patrons can buy monthly, weekly or single passes to play, with individual sessions costing $5 or less.
The long, narrow storefront’s walls are lined with more than a dozen tables with chess sets at the ready. There’s a giant 6-foot-square board on the floor up front with pieces the size of table lamps, speakers playing energized R&B and a wall tiled with dozens of framed photos taken by Parker, a college photography minor. They’re self-portraits of Parker with his chess table in a variety of settings and some of the people he’s played with, including neighbors and people from around the world.
International visitors from Europe, Canada and South America who are staying a few doors down at Hostel Buffalo Niagara often stop into the shop for a few matches. Like soccer or music, chess is a universal language understood around the globe regardless of vocabulary or dialect. Locals stop in after dinner while waiting for a movie, show or play to start at one of the neighboring theaters.
Parker believes anyone can learn how to play chess. To teach a newcomer, Parker starts with a series of mini games using just the pawns, the smallest and most plentiful pieces on the board which are only allowed to move forward (never backward or to the side). After a while, he’ll add in one more piece and its signature move, then another, then another until the whole set is in play. He offers lessons at the shop and runs afterschool programs at Elmwood Village Charter School.
Along with lessons and open play, A Different World of Chess hosts chess-themed birthday parties and game nights featuring classic games like giant Jenga, dominoes, Connect 4 and Uno. An online and in-person shop carries boards, sets of pieces made from soft silicone to hefty triple-weighted, books, t-shirts and chess-themed gifts.
Parker now works full-time as a control system engineer during the day, then opens up shop and sets out the chess boards every evening. Even with several hours of play most days of the week, he’s still not sick of the game.
“I could play eight hours of chess a day,” Parker admits. “As long as I get good rest, a good meal to start and a good meal halfway through. It’s not a game you can play tired and hungry.”
