Chess

Chess is a part of the commercial district of Foster City and there are some downright industrial looking sections of this neighborhood, such as on the far northern end where you have those giant chemical vats that you often find with big industry.

There are a number of businesses here, such as NB Chinese Academy, a school for those seeking to learn Chinese (both young and adult), a florist, a place for windows, a digital printing place and a fitness center.

There are also a number of corporations here as well: California Home Medical Equipment, Bayshore Ambulance and Powertronix all have offices here. So this is a big employer for the area and brings in a lot of commuters to work here.

This is not really somewhere you go to find a place to live however.

Although Foster City is known for having rather strange names for neighborhoods, this one baffles me. However, Chess is not really known for anything in particular. It is located within the extensive slough/canal system of Foster City, and the district’s northern reaches actually touch the San Francisco Bay. The area itself is extremely small though, only made up of about four unexciting, business heavy blocks. And for perspective residents, there are only a couple plain-looking and drab condos scattering the area.

Chess is a somewhat reclusive, flat land area. It provides a plethora of large, one-story business parks located along Hatch Drive and Foster City Boulevard. The area presents the usual bland business characteristics, which include these large business parks, accompanying parking lots, mildly aesthetic tree-lined streets and some areas of open space where tall telephone lines run. Elsewhere, you can also find a handful of businesses that include Foster City Athletic Club, Newton Children’s Learning Center, a tire depot a printing and creative firm and a rent-a-car service. Its transportation is fairly limited, but the US Route 92 skirts the southeastern corner. The 92 also turns into the San Mateo Bridge and gives you a direct line to the East Bay.