Twenty-nine seconds had passed on the metallic timer at the edge of the chessboard. After the swift, melodic taps of fingers on the timer, the clank of the king hitting the board is the only sound that matters. "Checkmate! … So, basically that's how blitz chess works," says Said Hamideh from across the table, amid a cloud of cigarette smoke, swirls of brandy and licks from Led Zeppelin's second album. In this game, each move is set against the clock. Hamideh has been playing...