On forward to 2016!
Dear chess family & friends,
Two-thousand sixteen! We are here. Are there any movies named after this year? I can’t think of any. Perhaps we can make our own movie as the year progresses. Lots of exciting things happening. The year 2015 was a good year for chess with many developments, a few controversies and stars that shone and others that were tarnished. We lost a few stars and some are emerging as we enter the new year.
This will be 15 years for The Chess Drum. I remember the very night I counted down 5-4-3-2-1 and hit the enter key to upload the home page. The site had about eight pages. It is probably 30,000-40,000 now. The photos are probably in the 100,000 mark at this point. I remember the early days and the people who were some of the first visitors. Seems like yesterday.
Recently I have decided to focus more on literary works and will begin to embark on several literary projects. After 15 years of covering so many events and chess personalities, I believe I have offered a unique perspective. However, there are so many stories people miss on The Drum. I post an average of 200 stories a year or five out of every seven days of the week. Yet, it is still not enough.
Yes it is hard work given that I am a tenured professor with my own teaching, service and research tasks… and other responsibilities. Who knew? 🙂 Many think I do The Chess Drum full-time. Of course not. One journalist said, “Your site has to be losing money.” Well… that’s not the purpose of The Chess Drum. It’s my contribution to chess. My goal is to show the universality of chess.
So after 15 years, what is next? I don’t know. I have often thought of retiring from the chess journalism and shifting the focus on book-writing and one of my passions. Guess. Playing chess! Surprise. Surprise. It is odd that I meet people who think I don’t play chess. I don’t put many of my games up, but that will change in 2016. Beware, my games are always wild and crazy.
See… this is proof that I play chess. I lost this game to GM Lars Bo Hansen, but it was fun! Photo by Daaim Shabazz.
In the coming year, it is hopeful that The Chess Drum will continue to capture exciting events and impactful stories. With 200 stories posted in 2015, it is difficult to keep this pace, but 2016 is an Olympiad year. You know what that means. I’ll be in Azerbaijan!
Well… enjoy the coming year and make chess news!
Sincerely,
Dr. Daaim Shabazz, The Chess Drum
P. O. Box 7663
Tallahassee, Florida 32314-7663 (USA)
https://www.thechessdrum.net/
webmaster@thechessdrum.net
Daaim…thank you for the great work and service. So many owe to you a debt of gratitude! Good luck to you and the ChessDrum in 2016. Bigger and better things ahead. More rewards are coming!
OK Daaim u da man no doubt cannot imagine the amount of work u put into this site however i can only say that we as a chess community are truely grateful and u r a wordsmith to be sure and thats always entertaining good to know u keep heads “ON THEIR TOES”.Expect great things in 16, oh quick question i havent seen THE DRUM cover anything from the ICC ? some of the chess practicers in Buffalo, NY, tell me their gms r still over there practicing with each other and trading rating points, i havent competed with their traditioanl gms there since 2008! Do u know what they will be learning this year on that site? Once again Ultrathanks!!!
Websites like thechessdrum are not easy to find. I am grateful for all you have done, thank you Daaim!
Any thing planned on the games of Emory Tate?
Yes.
Thanks Daaim, It is said that a people or culture is defined by its history. Thank you for documenting otherwise untold stories and unspoken history!!!! I have only one complaint, “you hard work is matched by your passion”. I wish the Drum could grew under your mentorship with a full staff of young, energetic and upcoming individuals interested in the field of journalism, culture and of course chess. I have found that peope who do not play chess or simply are afraid of the game of chess find interest in chess when they see how the principles of chess relate to life, whether it be, politics, religion or sex.
Happy New Year Chess Drum!!!!!!!!
There are few who would dedicate themselves to this pursuit. It is a thankless, but necessary job. If The Chess Drum did not exist, it would need to be created. The site will move into a documentation phases and maybe a publishing company. We’ll see.
The ChessDrum Rocks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah Quentin Um with u, so we gotta step it up a level to meet this standard, i mean being more competitive and more serious cuz i hear they gottalotta competitve guys out there practicing in tournaments around the world tryin to learn and get better at chess!!!
2016 is here!
Great insight
ULTRAMODERN- what is truly chess genius? UM just curious about it but UM havin fun with the traditionalist on chess.com right now as the ULTRAMODERNIST and on the playchess server as BUBBA FISHA, almost back on ICC 2 this time tournament conditions just to try and LEARN somthing! lol, BUFFALONIANS/ROCHESTONIANS? oh, Hi Realdeal, hi Diamonds!!! lol
Chessdrummas , what did yall think of the HANDICAPPED CHESS with the Machine on chess.com played by the No1 U.S. practicer?
Good mornin Drummas UM at the Buffalo Public Library ya knowto be truly successful in chess u gotta do the work!!! IN REAL LIFE.
Calypso Chess is on chess.com this mornin practicin with the Traditionalist hes an Fm didnt know!!! oh Um there 2 but they tell me in Buffalo the gms are still on icc practcin haven been there since 2008 ya know? UM wonderin are they gettin better there let me know? is IM phasor still there LEARNIN with them over there?
Mornin drummas r we on that chess genius work today or r we waitin on Larry Christenson to start some talkin, Um just curious?
Drummas any impressions on the chess in Tata Steel this year? UM just curious?
Bro. Daaim, I don’t usually leave a reply but I might start in the near future. I want to thank you for this great site and all the work you do to bring us a universal look at the game of chess. Your commitment,sacrifce, and hardwork is something I can’t put in words,keep informing us of whats happening in the world of chess not just part of it..I pray for your strength,vision for this year. I do have a question is there in the plans of developing a database with games of great Africans,and African American players as well as other on this site, would be nice to find games of Tate and others that might not be availbal on other sites…
Thanks brother! Your comment is important. Many times people don’t comment not realizing how much of a motivator it is. At the outset of The Chess Drum, I had a page of games of thee Black masters. You can go to
https://www.thechessdrum.net/gamelibrary.html
ok thats whats up fletch, straight bitness.