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Ehlvest wins Chicago Open!
Grandmaster Jaan Ehlvest bested Gabriel Sargissian in the blitz playoff to claim the 2009 Chicago Open title. For decades, Ehlvest has been one of the strongest blitz players in the world. Both players scored 5.5/7 and edged out several contenders in a hotly-contested tournament that included several participants from the…
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10-year old Josh Colas over 2000!
Joshua Colas has been making progress since he began playing chess four years ago and got his first rating of 681. With a heavy dose of blitz and a bit of professional coaching, Colas has now broken the “Expert” barrier of 2000 rating points. This is a status above a…
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Bahamas
Bahamas Chess Officials meet Minister
Executive Members of The Bahamas Chess Federation (BCF) met with The Minister of Youth and Sports, Hon. Desmond Bannister and the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Archie Nairn on Monday 11th May, 2009. While at the meeting, the parties discussed the current state of Chess in The Bahamas, plans to strengthen the…
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2009 Chicago Open underway!
GM Loek Van Wely vs. FM Jake Kleiman and GM Mesgan Amanov vs. GM Gabriel Sargissian. Photo by Daaim Shabazz. The 2009 Chicago Open has begun and a number of strong players are present. Top seed appears to be Armenia’s Gabriel Sargissian. He was spotted in St. Louis at the…
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Deborah Richards wins Wheeler Open!
WFM Deborah Richards, Jamaica’s highest-ever rated female chess player, made a winning return to competitive chess by winning the Robert Wheeler Open on tiebreak ahead of NM Peter Myers and Mikhail Solomon. Deborah Richards stumbled in round 3 by losing to NM Russel Porter but recovered by winning in round…
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Maurice Ashley Speaks!
Award-winning journalist Macauley Peterson caught up with Grandmaster Maurice Ashley and got an update on his recent projects, one of which is a new website called, “Maurice Ashley Trains Champions.” His recent intiatives highlight the ever-increasing thrust in scholastic chess and the efforts being made to make chess more prominent…
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Audio
Interview with Charles Lawton
Daaim Shabazz (The Chess Drum) and National Master Charles Lawton Charles Lawton has been playing chess for a few decades, but was pleasantly surprised when he got the call a couple of months ago inviting him to compete in the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship. His selection was on the basis…
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Relections of 2009 U.S. Championship
The St. Louis Arch during sunset hours. Although I only arrived in St. Louis on the last rest day of the U.S. Championship, I was able to experience two full days of the event. What a grand event! I primarily traveled to St. Louis for three reasons… (1) to support…
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Nakamura takes U.S. Crown!
Hikaru Nakamura came to St. Louis with a mission… qualify for the World Cup and to win his second U.S. Championship. In rousing fashion, Nakamura won his last game against the talented Josh Friedel to win the $40,000 prize and to solidify his status as one of world’s marquee players.…
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Spirit of St. Louis Chess!
Photos by Daaim Shabazz (Round #8) Following are images from the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis. This venture was financed by Rex Sinquefield a retired investor and chess promoter. In the words of Robert Hess, this is arguably the best chessclub in the U.S. No quarter was…
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