by Trafalgar Square’s giant chess weekend apparently created an entire new species of dating app profile
My dating apps have, without exaggeration, been flooded this week with men whose bios now simply read “played at ChessFest, ask me about my opening” as though this is a genuinely enticing pitch to a stranger scrolling through on the bus. I matched with three of them purely out of morbid curiosity.
The Actual Date
I met one for a drink near Covent Garden, a perfectly nice man who spent the first twenty five minutes explaining something called the Sicilian Defence with the intensity most people reserve for describing a genuine emergency, before finally asking me a single question about myself, which I appreciated, eventually, once it arrived.
A Confession
I will admit, slightly against my better judgement, that mild obsessive enthusiasm about something completely unrelated to me is, in small doses, weirdly charming rather than off putting, provided the man in question eventually remembers there is another human being sitting across the table.
What London Dating Actually Teaches You
Living here means your dating pool briefly, temporarily reflects whatever the city happens to be collectively obsessed with that particular month, chess this month, apparently Wimbledon strawberries the month before, and half the skill of dating in London is simply learning to ride out whichever niche enthusiasm currently has half the city in its grip.
Where The Evening Actually Ended Up
We wandered down toward the South Bank afterward, properly warm summer evening, the kind London only manages a handful of times a year, and the chess talk did, eventually, give way to something considerably more interesting, though I shall leave the specifics of that particular walk home to your own imagination.
A Small Update On The Wider Scene
My friends report similarly themed encounters all over the city this week, apparently ChessFest has done more for London’s dating conversation openers than three separate dating apps combined, a genuinely funny, unintended side effect of one very large outdoor event.
Further Reading On The Chess Situation Itself
If you want the actual, non-romantic account of how twenty five thousand people ended up playing chess in Trafalgar Square, my earlier notes on the day itself cover it properly, and I recommend reading that before agreeing to any date that opens with the phrase ask me about my opening.
Closing Thought
Second date pending. He has, worryingly, already sent me a link to a chess app. More London romance, chaos, and questionable opening lines at my author page on The London Prat.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com
