Washington, Jan 27 : Late Heath Ledger was a big fan of chess and played the game for enjoyment even though he lost some of his chessboard battles.

Earl Biggs, who was a spectator at Ledger's early-morning games, revealed that the 'Brokeback Mountain' actor found joy by screaming the occasional 'checkmate!'

"I saw him a few times, mostly last summer. He seemed like a nice guy. He'd usually lose. We played for a couple of dollars and he'd lose a few dollars. He just had fun, he loved it," People quoted Biggs, as saying.

Biggs said: "We'd talk trash talk at the chess table ... Oh, you don't want to know what we'd say!" "We'd say things to him like, 'How can you make that move! How can you make a move like that!!!' And he'd just laugh."

He added that park visitors didn't notice the Oscar-nominated Brokeback Mountain star.

"Heath would just come around and jump into a game. People walking by didn't bother him. We didn't talk about anything personal except, hey, you owe me five dollars!" Biggs added.

ANI