Dreams Are Made Of

Text and video by Chengchao Li.

Imad Khachan, the son of Palestinian refugee parents from Lebanon, has owned Chess Forum, the last independent chess shop in New York City, since 1995.

Over the past three decades, he has transformed the Greenwich Village chess store into a community hub where people of all backgrounds gather to play, learn and connect over chess.

From surviving Hurricane Sandy and the COVID-19 pandemic to facing today’s challenges of rising rents and online retail, Khachan continues to welcome every visitor like family, keeping alive a rare space of warmth, resilience, and belonging in the city.