Growing up in the Bronx neighborhood of Castle Hill, Patricio Robayo escaped from the world for a few moments through the game of chess.

Fast forward to today, where he lives in the Catskills with his wife Rebeca and daughter Lucy, Robayo is a reporter/photographer for the Sullivan County Democrat and a multi-platform content producer WJFF Radio Catskill.

Last year, while working on a special series, two passions overlapped for Robayo … chess and journalism.

Robayo was recently the first place recipient of Chess Journalists of America's Chess Journalist Award for Single Article of Local Interest. The award comes after his feature on the chess community in Sullivan County that ran in the March 6, 2020 issue of the Democrat.

“It was a great feeling, and I was sort of surprised,” said Robayo of the honor. “I was wondering one day if there was an organization for chess journalists, and there was. So I quickly submitted the article and just made the deadline [for their contest]. I didn't hear back for a while, but one day I got this email listing all the winners and saw my name on it. I was like, wow! I felt pride that I won for an article that I put a lot of work into, and it was something I was passionate about.

“I love chess, and I love playing it, learning it, and watching it,” he added. “I was also honored to be in the winner's circle with notable chess stars, like John Hartman and Grandmaster Maurice Ashley.”

Many nights when he lived in the city, Robayo headed down to play the game he loved at the Village Chess Shop on Thompson Street in Greenwich Village, which was basically open 24 hours a day. He also spent some time in nearby Washington Square Park watching chess hustlers play.

This is the second journalism award Robayo has won. Two years ago, he received a New York State Press Association Award for his series on homelessness in Sullivan County.

Chess opening

At around 10 years of age, Robayo learned the game of chess from his cousins, playing here and there. But it wasn't until after college that he took a serious look at the game and made an attempt to learn it.

“I think what also encouraged me was finding someone who also enjoyed the game, my best friend Hector Horta was into chess, and we just started playing together almost every day,” said Robayo. “There was an internet chess email service we signed up for at that time, where we played chess via email. Then the iPhone came out, and chess apps started to come out, and that's where I played the most. To this day, I always have a game going on with someone in the world. When I lived in the Bronx, I would visit the Soundview Library, where my friend worked and played in their chess club.”

Robayo is always learning and hungry to improve. “I think that is why I don't ever get bored with it. I read chess articles and listen to chess podcasts,” explained Robayo. “And now, because in-person chess tournaments could not be played, many of the major tournaments went virtual, and you can watch the matches on Twitch and Youtube.”

He also started collecting chess books, compiling a small collection. “Before the pandemic, I would go once a week after work and stop at the Read It Again bookstore in Monticello and buy any chess books they had,” he said.

He also logs onto Chess.com every day to check his games or to do puzzles.

“I think it's a great game that everyone should learn and play,” he said. “No game is ever the same; after the first couple of moves, you can have billions of different variations. There is so much chess knowledge out there, in fact, more than ever before.”

How the story came to be

Robayo hoped through the article that he could find a local chess community mirroring the one he enjoyed being a part of growing up.

“I started digging around, reached out to all the libraries, schools, and County Historian John Conway,” said Robayo. “What I found, that chess was being played in Sullivan County, and the county also had a connection to one of the greatest chess players ever, Bobby Fischer. He trained at Grossinger's before his big match with Boris Spassky in 1972. Fischer went on to win the world championship, and chess in America exploded from there.”

Robayo visited Crawford Library, interviewed some young players there, went to Mamakating, visited their chess club, and spoke on the phone with the Sullivan West CSD School Resource Officer Deputy Jack Harb about how he has connected the students with chess.

“I want to give a big thank you to Ethelbert B. Crawford Public Library and Mamakating Town Hall for letting me sit in on your chess programs,” he said. “Also, Monticello Central School District, Liberty Central School District, and Sullivan West Central School District for their help. Also, a thank you to Sullivan County Historian John Conway, for giving me some historical insight for my article.”