Chess at noon

Original non-fiction-style practice text.

The stone chess table outside the bakery has earned its place. On Tuesday, a school pupil played a retired driver while three people offered advice neither player had requested. By the time the game ended, one spectator had admitted that he did not know how a knight moved. Someone showed him.

I like the table's lack of a grand promise. It will not mend every division in the town, and it does not need to. It gives people a reason to remain together for half an hour without first agreeing about everything else. The pieces provide a subject when conversation runs short.

Keep the table, replace the missing pawn and resist naming it a strategy for community transformation. Its achievement is small enough to observe and large enough to enjoy. I pass it more slowly now, even on days when I have no time to play.

Assess the writer’s attitude towards the public chess table. Use three details from the text to support your answer.