Massive Chess Event Takes Central Park By Storm

NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- Five-hundred chess boards were set up in Central Park on Saturday near the Bethesda Fountain.

It was all a part of the 13th annual Chess In The Parks festival, the largest outdoor chess event in the nation.

Kids as young as 5-years-old played alongside adults in games of speed chess where each side is limited to ten minutes.

"A lot of people are under the assumption that chess is a long and boring game and it's really not," Yvette Fannell said, "It's great. It's my favorite sport. Some people are beginners they just come and really decide to try chess. Some people already play chess a little so it's a way to practice."

The event was organized by the Parks Department and the non-profit group Chess In The Schools.

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