Doug MacCash and Scott Threlkeld of the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate visited the World Chess Table on Tuesday to report on Jude’s “Invaders 3” invitational chess tournament at 1018 Decatur St. from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Be sure to check out MacCash’s article and Threlkeld’s pics. From the article:

Anybody who’s driven through the 1000 block of Decatur Street in the French Quarter in the past 42 years probably knows who Jude Acers is, even if they don’t know his name. He’s a fixture, a part of the streetscape. Acers is the eternal Vieux Carre chess master, seated at a board near the Gazebo Café, taking on tourists for five bucks a match.

 

He always wears a beret that’s as red as a matador’s cape.

 

Sitting there, silently reading a newspaper, waiting for a challenger, Acers might seem retiring and sedentary. Exactly what you’d expect from a 79-year-old, lifelong chess player.

 

But your expectations would be wrong. On Tuesday evening, Acers talked as fast as an auctioneer. He sometimes jumped from his plastic chair, paced the concrete, and posed with a pointed finger, a la Elvis.