Chess!

So, Im not sure about the history of chess, but it's all the rage here in Budapest. Did it originate around here?
We went to the thermal baths yesterday and there were old men playing chess everywhere... on tables by the bar, on tables by the pools and on the ledges of the pool while floating in the water.
Then at the train station today there were men lined up along the banisters and railings playing chess. If they weren't actually playing, then a guy would just be standing/leaning against the rail with his chess board (checkered cardboard or a flat laminate paper rather than an actual 'board') set up waiting for someone to come over and challenge them?
I wonder if they play for money, or simply just to play... I cant really picture them as chess hustlers, but maybe they are!
I should have challenged someone!