Being intellectually, morally, physically, and artistically embarrassed by Mikhail and Volodya, I can only attempt a response to question number two.
2) are pawn shops evil?
Not if they meet these conditions:
* also sell rooks, knights, bishops, queens, kings, and chess boards;
* offer a wide selection of Staunton design pieces;
* are not a "front" for an evil organization, like a malefic costume
shop or Starbucks;
* have not been cursed or excommunicated by any ecclesiological toffs,
wizards, thaumaturgists, or muckety-mucks;
* do not display "Star Wars" or "Star Trek" chess sets in their windows;* offer at least a small assortment of chess books, such as Alekhine's _My Best Games_ or the latest MCO.
Otherwise, yes, they are evil, determinedly so, and deserve to be extirpated from our civil life.
Yours in shakhmatny, EricPS: There's a great chess shop in the Village near NYU. Astoundingly expensive prices but a good selection. Everywhere else I've traveled, the only chess sets for sale are hollow plastic trash from China.
PPS: A better metaphor for geopolitics would be a battle between hyena, buzzards, and leopards over the carcass of an unlucky water buffalo.
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