popularity of chess in prison

How popular is chess in prison? I watch a lot of prison and jail documentaries and it seems there are always a bunch of dudes playing chess. from your gangliest looking nerd to your most ripped out buff dude with full sleeves and all that. Is it all just for show for the documentaries? I know that they do have chess clubs on prison, but are they as big as documentaries make them seem? Ironically with all my tattoos (partial sleeves on both arks a chest piece and one that takes up the whole side of my neck I have had people ask me if I learned to play chess in prison both IRL and online. Are there any chess.com members who have been to prison and played or learn to play chess in prison?

On this side of the pond, at least, it would depend on the prison. Some are more severe than others. And each can have its own specific rules, though I can't see why chess would be much of a problem. Prisons in the UK might be more standardized.

As for the thread starter's question. I take it chess is fairly popular in prisons. My parents have a friend who spent 12 years in the federal prison system. He played chess as much as he could there, though he was playing chess long before he ever went to prison. He and my dad used to play often back in the day. In fact he once gifted my parents with a soapstone set he bought in Korea while he was stationed there in the early 1970s (the same set my dad taught me the game on, and the he recently gave to me :) ).

As long as they don't murder me I think I'd be ok with playing a game of chess with them. In my parent's friend's case he went to prison for transporting and distributing a certain prohibited plant across several state lines.

Did you know, that Claude Bloodgood, wrote a book titled "The Tactical Grob," which is one of the most unorthodox chess openings ever played?

http://www.amazon.com/The-Tactical-Grob-Claude-Bloodgood/dp/487187866X

I play that Grob daily; it works!!  In the prison system the postal code of only numbers of the board (1-64) applies and inmates shout numbers across the silence of the night.

He must have known a lot of people with glaucoma.

still dont see any members willing to admit they've been to prison and played. what about any members who are heavily tattooed (at least from the standpoint of people with no tattoos I dont consider myself heavily tattooed by my standard since I have friends with full face tattoos and sleeves torso legs etc etc)

Maybe no members have been to prison and played. I was arrested once, if that helps, but I didn't play when I was at the jail.

We have had some members of our local club go to prisons and play as well as offer instruction, but I have never been.  Seems to me that there are much better places to go play chess. :)

-AmishHacker 

While it's very well possible that there are some former inmates here, the probability that any of them have seen this thread is low. Relatively speaking very few members of this site use the forums.

Also, do inmates have internet access? (Yes, Darth is talking about former inmates, but I don't think Amishhacker and cati are.)

Edit: Nvm. I misread your posts.

Well they are welcome to play chess if they want, we don't want to push people away who might actually benefit from playing this game. Chess can be a rewarding and satisfying pursuit, certainly beating off smashing someone's head off a table until their teeth fall out. 

Truth is that any game that was promoted in prisons, including poker etc. would likely be successful. Also many ordinary people wind up in prison for activism and legitimate reasons, see for example the sister in Orange is the New Black. Also many inmates are razer sharp mentally. They mightn't know big fancy words, but they have a different type of street smartness. 

that's a shame I like having an interactive community to talk to. if I didn't I don't see the point in just playing against a computer

I once ran a chess club at the State Penitentiary. 

There were several players there a couple were pretty good. BTW I was not an inmate but rather an outside volunteer. 

street smarts is what I like to call a laymen's term for problem solving skills and common sense

Chess in Prison? I wrote, "MY TIME AT SAN QUENTIN PRISON"

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/fun-with-chess/my-time-at-san-quentin-prison