New Briefs Index
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South Africa
Amin, February win 2024 African Individuals!
GM Bassem Amin and WIM Jesse February took the titles at the 2024 African Individual Chess Championship (AICC). It would be Amin’s seventh (2009, 2013, 2015 and 2017, 2018, 2022, 2024) and February’s second…
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Drum Majors
Jacorey Bynum makes National Master!
Jacorey Bynum broke the 2200 barrier last weekend at the Southern Chess Classic, earning the coveted title of National Master! It is a testament to the values of chess education.…
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Trinidad
Trinidad & Tobago takes 1st CARICOM Chess Classic!
The 1st CARICOM Chess Classic took place in Georgetown, Guyana, a nation with a rich chess tradition. Guyana was previously a regional powerhouse with a number of strong masters. More…
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African Championship
2024 African Individual Chess Championships (Accra, Ghana)
The 2024 African Individual Chess Championships (AICC) have begun! Twenty-four countries have assembled in Accra-Ghana to compete for glory, titles, and spots in the World Cup. Only days after the…
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Drum Majors
With two GM norms, Hardaway charts course
Brewington Hardaway is coming off of his second GM norm in the New York Invitational. The 14-year old International Master continues to make rapid progress toward the coveted GM title.…
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Africa
13th All-African Games (Accra, Ghana)
The recently concluded All-African Games were held in Ghana’s capital, Accra, and chess was one of the events. The last event was held in 2019 in Rabat, Morocco. The Chess…
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Drum Majors
Tani Adewumi gets required IM norm!
Tani Adewumi earned his fourth IM norm at the Southwest Open in Irving, Texas (outside of Dallas) last weekend. It was his first in an open tournament. Due to rule…
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Scholastic
Shakira Luster: Marist’s Chess Queen
Shakira Luster recently captained the Marist chess team at the Illinois State High School team championship scoring a sparkling 7/7. The Chess Drum audience will know her from her successes…
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Drum Majors
Black History Month 2024 Tribute: Week 3
Greetings everyone! I hope you have enjoyed the first two sets of puzzles for this year’s Black History Month tribute. You can revisit them (Week 1, Week 2). This week…
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Opinion/Editorials
How Will Chess Address Cyberbullying?
Online bullying or “cyberbullying” has become a household term to describe a dangerous social interaction that may involve degrading insults, false characterizations, extortion, blackmailing and predatory stalking. On January 31,…
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In the News
The Chess Drum is 23!
Hello everyone! The Chess Drum has covered a lot of chess events over the past 23 years. This coverage has included six Olympiads, several Grand Chess Tour events, national events…
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Drum Majors
Black History Month 2024 Tribute: Week 2
Greetings everyone! As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, February 12th marks the 23rd anniversary of The Chess Drum. It has been a long journey, but a very interesting…
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The Chess Drum
Black History Month 2024 Tribute: Week 1
During this Black History Month 2024, The Chess Drum will present four videos featuring puzzles of several of the chess masters in the Black Diaspora. The videos will provide some…
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Opinion/Editorials
Is Chess a “Life Game”?
The African-American Chess Association (Facebook) recently posted a podcast conversation of hip-hop artists discussing chess. Chess and hip-hop have a long history and are heard in many classic songs. Young…
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Uncategorized
Joseph Methu wins Kenyan Chess Championship… and car!
Joseph Methu won the 2023 Kenya National Chess Championship, and with it, drove away with a new car (worth 1.3 million KSh). This is the fourth year that a car…
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The Chess Drum
The Chess Drum’s Highlights of 2023
Our chess highlights of 2023 will show how controversy served as the mainstay of headlines. We even saw a player busted for impersonating a woman! The Carlsen-Niemann controversy was still…
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Mauritania
Wafa, Djeroud win African Juniors 2023!
Over a week ago, Africa crowned its Junior champions, with Hamed Wafa (Egypt) and Chahrazed Djeroud (Algeria) earning the continental titles. Thirteen federations sent representatives to Nouakchott, Mauritania, to vie…
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Opinion/Editorials
Has cheating (accusations) in chess gone too far?
Cheating has remained in the chess headlines since the Carlsen-Niemann controversy in September 2022. In the past two years, chess has continued to grab international headlines. This is not because…
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Nigeria
11-year-old Deborah Quickpen, Nigerian Chess sensation
Deborah Ebimobo-ere Quickpen, Nigerian Women’s National ChampionPhoto by Botswana Chess Federation Nigeria’s Deborah Quickpen recently earned acclaim after winning the women’s title with 9.5/11. At the time of her victory,…
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Tournaments
UAE to host 2028 Chess Olympiad
FIDE General Assembly determined that the 2028 Chess Olympiad will be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Some 42 years after UAE hosted arguably the best Olympiad in history in 1986,…
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Drum Majors
Hardaway gets 1st GM norm, clinches IM title
Brewington Hardway earned his first Grandmaster norm at the U.S. Masters in Charlotte. The 14-year-old had a blistering month of November earning more than 100 Elo points. Prior to his…
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Opinion/Editorials
When will the U.S. host a Chess Olympiad?
Back in 2002, The Chess Drum ran a short article by Dan Lucas that mentioned the U.S. possibly being the host of the 2004 Chess Olympiad. It was during a…
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Opinion/Editorials
Classical Chess is still King… Here’s Why
In post-quarantine times, chess has returned to its classical roots, but quick chess has surged and even surpassed all forms of chess in terms of sheer popularity. Popular streamers like…
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Turks & Caicos
Turks & Caicos on chess map!
Ian Wilkinson leaving the Women’s World Cup held in Australia. The Jamaicans made the round of 16.Photo courtesy of Ian Wilkinson Turks & Caicos is an island of 45,000, yet…
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Africa
After World Cup, Where is African Chess?
One month ago, African Chess was on display. Twenty-two of Africa’s finest chess players (17 Open and 5 Women) participated in the World Cup tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan. Magnus Carlsen…
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World Cup
Carlsen wins 2023 FIDE World Cup!
Magnus Carlsen added another accolade to his already storied career by winning the World Cup. He overcame a wonderful performance by Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. “Pragg” defeated both Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano…
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