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The Chess Drum
Black History Month 2022-Day 3: Leroy Muhammad
St. Louis is known as a center of chess activity today with its Chess Center and Scholastic Center and as the host of the World Chess Hall of Fame. It is also a magnet for attracting international chess talent to several universities in the area. However, St. Louis had a…
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The Chess Drum
Black History Month 2022-Day 2: Rogelio Ortega
Cuba has long been a country of great courage and pride. It has a proud tradition of chess in the memory of José Raúl Capablanca and has produced a number of strong players. Unbeknownst to many, there has been a strong cadre of Cuban players of African ancestry and we…
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Historic Moments
Black History Month 2022-Day 1: Paragon Chess Club
Over the years, I have written a number of articles and produced videos for Black History Month. I remember one where I gave a history of how the commemoration was started in 1926 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Is Black History Relevant? While some criticize the idea of highlighting a…
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Nigeria
Tunde Onakoya’s mission takes chess to Nigerian slums
Tunde Onakoya’s mission to invigorate the Nigerian slum through chess has taken a grand leap. Three years ago, Tunde was in the news after writing of an adorable little girl named Basirat Ariyike. She became a symbol of what Onakoya was trying to achieve in his “Chess in Slums” initiative.…
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Cuba
FM Ignacio Pérez (1967-2022) passes away
FM Ignacio Perez (1967-2022) Photo by Washington State Chess Federation The Seattle chess community is in mourning after the passing of Ignacio Pérez on January 11th, 2022. The long-time Seattle resident succumbed after a lengthy battle with throat cancer but remained active in the chess community despite his illness. He…
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The Chess Drum
Seattle builds Detective Cookie Chess Park!
Despite her own ambivalence toward chess as a youth,Officer Cookie has shared its joys.Photo by Genna Martin After decades of service, Denise “Cookie” Bouldin is having “Detective Cookie Chess Park” built in her honor. Detective Cookie been featured on The Chess Drum over the years with her Urban Youth Chess…
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Niger
Belize, Dominica, Niger, and St. Vincent join FIDE
A couple months ago, GM Nigel Short contacted The Chess Drum and mentioned that St. Vincent and the Grenadines would become a provisional FIDE member. At the 92nd General Assembly meeting, St. Vincent as well as Belize, Dominica and Niger became full FIDE members. St. Vincent & Grenadines Back in…
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The Chess Drum
The Chess Drum’s Highlights of 2021!
This year was the 20th year for The Chess Drum. On February 12th, I posted a very lengthy chronicle of the site’s history with key moments each of the 20 years. I put a lot of effort into that post, but it was fulfilling to recount the special moments, not…
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Drum Majors
Brewington Hardaway continues to climb!
Brewington Hardaway winning Pan-Am Youth Chess Festival last October Photo courtesy of ChessKid.com After Brewington Hardaway’s recent success at the K12 Championship in Orlando, it is apparent that he has been on an improvement course that has been slow and steady. Two years ago, Hardaway became a National Master at…
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World Championships
Reflections of 2021 World Championship/EXPO 2020
Following are my reflections on the World Chess Championship that took place in Dubai, UAE. For years I have been doing reflection pieces for major events. It is enjoyable to go back and relive these memories. What makes this more special was that it occurred during World Expo 2020. I…
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