Fundraiser for Chess Forum
Donation protected
"A city without small businesses has no character, no soul." - Imad Khachan, owner of Chess Forum
As a chess player and journalist, I have been to many chess tournaments and chess clubs, and seen countless random chessboards sold at all different places. I found myself most mesmerized by the Chess Forum chess shop in Greenwich Village , though.
"We are en route to vanishing,” said owner, Imad Khachan in an interview conducted in 2008. Yet its doors are still open in 2017, 7 days a week, and going into its 22nd year of business.
The shop has been mentioned by several media sources, such as NBC and New York Magazine .
I first met Imad when I was looking for small business owners to interview for a school project. In my Peopling of NYC class at Macaulay Honors College at CUNY, I have learned a lot about the waves of immigration into cities and how different ethnic groups coexist. My semester long project helps students to understand small businesses' struggles for survival (particularly if they are owned by immigrants), culminating with a class blog sharing the stories of these stores.
I interviewed Imad to learn the story of his business, how he collected chessboards like baseball cards and decided to open a chess shop. Competition with the Internet has crippled his business intensely, as many people can just buy equipment online nowadays. Imad tries to “have better variety and better format” to stay above the Internet sales. You can buy chessboards, other types of gameboards, play chess in the back for a few bucks per hour, and take lessons from instructors.
What struck me most was that he was unable to marry or raise a child because he could never afford to provide for a family while he fulfilled his chess store dreams. He humbly says, “it’s important to make people happy," and seeing chess players enjoy the shop's wonders.
I felt an outpouring of need to help out this kind yet struggling member of the chess community and decided to get a chessboard signed at the U.S. Chess Championship, so that Imad could sell it. I am asking for donations to relieve some of his business' burdens, whether the money can help him pay rent or personal expenses while he works.
I am asking you to help this important figure in our chess community, a man who believes that the future generation of chess players should have a physical place to play and learn chess, that a face-to-face purchase is the best way to find quality products, and that small businesses deserve to thrive in big cities.
Donating $200 will get you the exclusive board, signed by all the players of this year's U.S. and U.S. Women's Chess Championship (except for GMs Gata Kamsky, Daniel Naroditsky, and Sam Shankland because I was unable to get their signatures), only 1 board available. There are different rewards for donations of certain amounts. These will be shipped out in late May or early June (due to my finals schedule).
90% of profits go to Imad Khachan, owner of Chess Forum
10% of profits go to me (Vanessa Sun) to pay for time & money associated with the campaign
Thank you for your donation! You are helping to keep one of the last chess shops in New York City alive. Shop small businesses and keep great stores like Chess Forum afloat.
As a chess player and journalist, I have been to many chess tournaments and chess clubs, and seen countless random chessboards sold at all different places. I found myself most mesmerized by the Chess Forum chess shop in Greenwich Village , though.
"We are en route to vanishing,” said owner, Imad Khachan in an interview conducted in 2008. Yet its doors are still open in 2017, 7 days a week, and going into its 22nd year of business.
The shop has been mentioned by several media sources, such as NBC and New York Magazine .
I first met Imad when I was looking for small business owners to interview for a school project. In my Peopling of NYC class at Macaulay Honors College at CUNY, I have learned a lot about the waves of immigration into cities and how different ethnic groups coexist. My semester long project helps students to understand small businesses' struggles for survival (particularly if they are owned by immigrants), culminating with a class blog sharing the stories of these stores.
I interviewed Imad to learn the story of his business, how he collected chessboards like baseball cards and decided to open a chess shop. Competition with the Internet has crippled his business intensely, as many people can just buy equipment online nowadays. Imad tries to “have better variety and better format” to stay above the Internet sales. You can buy chessboards, other types of gameboards, play chess in the back for a few bucks per hour, and take lessons from instructors.
What struck me most was that he was unable to marry or raise a child because he could never afford to provide for a family while he fulfilled his chess store dreams. He humbly says, “it’s important to make people happy," and seeing chess players enjoy the shop's wonders.
I felt an outpouring of need to help out this kind yet struggling member of the chess community and decided to get a chessboard signed at the U.S. Chess Championship, so that Imad could sell it. I am asking for donations to relieve some of his business' burdens, whether the money can help him pay rent or personal expenses while he works.
I am asking you to help this important figure in our chess community, a man who believes that the future generation of chess players should have a physical place to play and learn chess, that a face-to-face purchase is the best way to find quality products, and that small businesses deserve to thrive in big cities.
Donating $200 will get you the exclusive board, signed by all the players of this year's U.S. and U.S. Women's Chess Championship (except for GMs Gata Kamsky, Daniel Naroditsky, and Sam Shankland because I was unable to get their signatures), only 1 board available. There are different rewards for donations of certain amounts. These will be shipped out in late May or early June (due to my finals schedule).
90% of profits go to Imad Khachan, owner of Chess Forum
10% of profits go to me (Vanessa Sun) to pay for time & money associated with the campaign
Thank you for your donation! You are helping to keep one of the last chess shops in New York City alive. Shop small businesses and keep great stores like Chess Forum afloat.
Organizer
Vanessa Sun
Organizer
New York, NY