Chess City of the Year

Perhaps Lindsborg, Kansas is destined to become the Beersheba of the Midwest...

Like countless other small towns across the Midwest, Lindsborg, which has a population of 3,500, is struggling to survive as rural life becomes more difficult and people move to cities or suburbs. Until a few years ago, it relied on its niche as Little Sweden, a place where tourists could buy Swedish crafts and eat pancakes with lingonberry sauce.

Swedish flags are still visible around town, but now the banners along Main Street say, "Welcome Anatoly Karpov School of Chess."

Read "In One Kansas Town, the End of the Year Game Is Chess" from the New York Times.