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Scottish Charity Register No. SC043760

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June 01 2026
© Matt Turtle © Matt Turtle

An invitation to the first ever Street Legends Chess Cup, an open-to-all chess event in London’s Museum of Homelessness in July. By organiser Matt Turtle

Every Tuesday at the Museum of Homelessness in Finsbury Park, we have our community day. People come for all sorts of reasons – whether it’s socialising, digging, gardening, getting stuck into some art or dropping by for some food. Community Tuesday, as it’s called, is at the heart of what we do (11am – 3pm each week).

Back in the early days, I remember setting up in the morning with the crew and spotting one of our regulars laying pieces out on a board. Hristo – known for his mastery of football tricks, a previous pro footie career and much more – was setting up a board on a wooden log in our garden and began a game with his pal. It was a chess set.

That day chess became a feature of museum life, as Hristo week-to-week would generally beat all comers. He could be seen with his own special corner in the museum next to our sheds and was instantly recognisable with his vape, Bulgarian beats and calls of “surrender!” to anyone he played. It turned out that quite a few people enjoy a game and since that day we’ve had the Park Hill prison chess champ come through, an experienced master level player and other enthusiasts. One of our crew even made a board from scratch that people could play on.

Chess in prisons, shelters and in hostels has a long history. John Healy’s searing account of being street homeless in the East End in the ‘70s and ‘80s ends with chess – and how the game helped him. The book, The Grass Arena, became a Penguin classic. He also became a seriously strong player publishing Coffeehouse Chess Tactics later in life. There are others: 10 years ago, Slide Martin became a feature of local news in Cambridge for thrashing university students on the streets and challenging passers-by to a game, with his dogs Check and Mate watching on.

One of the most heartening examples in recent times is the story of Tani Adewumi, who spent much of his childhood in a Manhattan homeless shelter with his family, having fled Nigeria to escape Boko Haram insurgents. Tani showed so much talent for the game that coach Russell Makofsky waived the fees for him to join a local chess club. At the age of nine he won the New York State K-3 championship and today, just shy of 16, he is very close to being named as a grandmaster – the highest accolade you can achieve in the sport.

Inspiring stories aside, chess itself has adapted well to the digital age and is also enjoying a resurgence of popularity as a social pastime. Chess club meetups in London these days are more like clubs with DJs, streamers and casual players coming together to play, socialise and have fun.

So here at the museum we are getting in on the act and organising two themed chess days on 17 and 18 July. If you are interested in learning more about the game, brushing up on your chess hustling technique or simply hanging out, we encourage you to come along. At the heart of the days will be the Street Legends Chess Cup with a team tournament on 17 July and an ‘open’ tournament on 18 July.

We hope that these two days celebrate and honour the great tradition of chess that happens in shelters and homeless settings, while also being a lot of fun.

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