Subway Chess

The ground-level shopping arcade inside the Clark Street subway station in Brooklyn Heights is odd enough. That L-shape corridor of small, sad shops, inside what used to be the grand Hotel St. George, just seems from another era. But adding an extra layer of weirdness to it all is the singular Chess Classic Cafe. This is just a little, hole-in-the-wall deli. Nothing special about it. Except it's got that grandiose name. And you can play chess there. There are a couple small table and chair set-ups outside the cafe, which are routinely filled with men bent over their chess games. Anyone can play there. And it doesn't look like you have to buy a lot to do so.