Brooklyn's Unlikely Chess Champs

In his new book The Kings of New York, Michael Weinreb shatters your classic image of the pocket-protected, thick-glasses-wearing, pubescent chess geek as he introduces us to each member of Brooklyn's Edward R. Murrow High School team that he shadowed for two years. On Page One, we find Oscar Santana playing a highly unorthodox chess opening known as the "Orangutan" against a frustrated opponent, screaming, "This is not chess!" while bobbing his head to the hip-hop from his headphones. All this contrasts with the photo, on the opposite page, of the Murrow team, in jackets and ties, posing with President Bush.