Ukraine's 'chess capital' Lviv mulls Russia's next move

Men playing chess at a bench on the central promenade in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on March 20. The city considers itself the cultural epicentre of Ukraine and is also known as the "capital of chess". Photos: Aleksey Filippov/AFP

A rapt and raucous audience, a group of chess fanatics watch a cut-throat game play out on a park bench. Rook takes knight, a flurry of moves, then the game is over in an instant.

The loser surrenders a note of Ukrainian currency and the pieces are reset for another game on the battered board. In the western city of Lviv, Ukraine's capital of chess, local players make a point of keeping up the local tradition of street games, despite the March chill and the war raging to the east.