Panellinion.

Panellinion was founded in 1885. For its first eight decades it occupied a grander set of premises on the corner of Benaki Street — a photo of that original space hangs framed on the current wall, a reminder of the scale the place once had. Now it sits on Mavromichali 16, in the Exarchia end of the street, and it is smaller, quieter, and more itself than any other café in Athens.

Every table has a chess set. The floor is marble mosaic, the chairs are wooden and slightly chipped, the walls are covered in framed photographs of chess players and chess moments. The coffee is Ellinikos — Greek coffee, brewed individually over a gas flame, served in the small cup that demands you drink it slowly. There is no Wi-Fi. There is no music. There is the sound of pieces moving on boards and, occasionally, someone thinking so hard you can hear it.

The clientele runs mostly to regulars and pensioners — people who have been coming for decades and sit at the same tables they have always sat at. But the place is not hostile to newcomers, and the boards are always set up and available. On 24 August 1992, Gary Kasparov came to Panellinion and played a simultaneous exhibition against thirty of its regulars. He won all thirty games. The magazine spread from that day is the prize piece on the wall. Karpov also visited, though the accounts are less precise about the date.

The place stays open until the final checkmate, whatever time that happens to be. No one is asked to leave on account of nursing a coffee too long. Chess requires patience, and Panellinion has always understood that a game might take hours and a table should be held for as long as a game needs. Cash only. Monday to Saturday, 8:00 to midnight. Closed Sundays.