Victor Wembanyama Shows off Chess Skills in New York City, Goes 2-1 Against Locals

Victor Wembanyama took over New York this past week but continues to make his presence felt within the city. The Spurs star dominated against the Knicks and Nets in back-to-back games. But now that the games are over, Wemby has chosen to stay and dominate the city in another game. The French star made his way to Washington Square Park to face off against the locals in a game of chess giving fans another memorable experience.

San Antonio has some downtime ahead of their next game against the Timberwolves on December 29. On a rainy Saturday morning, Wemby could’ve stayed inside and rested. Instead, he couldn’t contain his competitive fervor, which he displayed in chess matches against fans as he won 2-1 against locals.

Wemby didn’t make this move completely on a whim. Last night, Wemby took to X to ask fans for the best spots to play chess in New York City.

Plenty of people responded to his question, providing several places the Frenchman could visit. However, the most popular destination mentioned was Washington Square Park. He didn’t provide any updates to his initial question until this morning around 9:30 am when he shockingly sent a challenge out to fans. He asked, “Who wants to meet me at the SW corner of Washington Square Park to play chess? I’m there.”

Despite the rain, Wemby sat down with multiple fans for methodical matches of chess. His willingness to freely be among fans in a natural setting earned him plenty of fans on social media, as people expressed their gratitude toward the superstar. However, Wembanyama took to X to share his thanks for the people who showed up. In a post, he captioned, “Thanks for everyone who pulled up in the rain.”

Aside from his excellent chess play, Wembanyama has shown obvious results on the basketball court this season.

Wemby’s elevated level of play

So far in his sophomore season, Wembanyama has seemingly elevated his play to the All-Star and All-NBA status. Many players go through a sophomore slump, but the Spurs star is experiencing a sophomore surge. His performance in his first Christmas Day game is a perfect example of how great he’s been this season.

In the Spurs’ matchup against the Knicks on Christmas, Wemby rose to the occasion. Despite losing 117-114, Wembanyama made a statement to the basketball world. He finished the game with 42 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks. His impact on both ends of the court is something the league hasn’t seen before.

Wemby led the league in blocks in his rookie season with 3.6 blocks per game. He’s added to that mark this season averaging 4.0 blocks per game. He’s increased his points total to 25.2 points per game, which ranks 12th in the league. The rapid growth of improvement at such a young age is a scary trend for what Wemby could become at the absolute peak of his career.