The Chess Drum is 8!

Another year has passed for The Chess Drum, one of the mainstays of chess coverage on the Internet. The idea of the site is to highlight the accomplishments of players of the African Diaspora, but the diverse content is designed to show the universality of chess. The face of chess is changing and chess media should reflect this change.

Over the past 1½ years, the functionality of the site has expanded to include a blog, audio/visual content and a wider variety of coverage. Major international events are covered (e.g., Corus and other top tournaments, Olympiad, World Cup, World Open, World Championships, Man-Machine matches), but the bulk of coverage remains in Africa, the Caribbean and the U.S. The site has also provided coverage of Asia and a few events in the Middle East and Latin America as a way to gauge the progress of other developing regions.

While main features such as “Chess Crackers,” “Fire on Board” will remain, “Historic Moments” and “65th Square” may take on a different shape. There is the proposal of more content related to chess improvement and analysis, but that would require consistent contributions. This year the RSS news feed on the front page has been improved so that viewers can see the latest blog comments in a timely fashion. In 2008, there were 234 news briefs written, a new record!

In the coming year, there may be a revamp certain segments of the site such as “The Chess Academy” and “Game Library.” A Classified Ads section for tournament announcements and other services is being considered. Lastly an international tournament calendar is needed.

All-in-all, The Chess Drum still remains a service entity for the betterment of chess. Continuing to provide information that cannot be readily found in other chess media will remain the focus. The site will continue to cover major events with a unique flavor and frequent visits are encouraged. Please provide news tips by clicking on “CONTACT FORM” icon. Let us hope for another successful year!