Africa
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Somalia finalizes team for 2022 Olympiad
The Somali Chess Federation had successfully finalized the Olympiad qualifying chess tournament that was held in Mogadishu between 17/05/2022 to 22/05/2022. The event was organized in a professional manner and 10 chess players had participated in the tournament. CM Ali Farah 1st, FM Omar Abdulrahman 2nd, CM Islam Shiekh 3th,…
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Daniel Cawdery wins South African Championship
IM Daniel Cawdery won his second national title by edging out the field of contemporaries including former national champions and the country’s lone Grandmaster. The tournament took place May 7-14, 2022 in the Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa. GM Kenny Solomon and IM Daniel Cawdery with a…
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Togo’s Fumey will stand for FIDE President
The chess community on the African continent is buzzing at the news of Enyonam Sewa Noël Fumey announcing his candidacy for FIDE President. According to the FIDE press release, Fumey notified current FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich of his intentions. There was also this plea of inclusivity: “FIDE machine is working…
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First IM norm for Tani Adewumi!
FIDE Master Tani Adewumi is growing up right before our eyes. He recently notched the first of three required “norms” for the title of International Master. It was only three years ago that the story broke of an 8-year-old winning the New York Scholastic State Title. A New York Times…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 18: Queen Nefertari & Senet
Chess enthusiasts around the world have enjoyed the game for centuries and are familiar with its Indian origins. However, there are alternate theories of how chess was spread. Some have suggested that chess played today descended from Africa. I have heard this suggestion made by chess enthusiasts based on a…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 13: GM Amon Simutowe
If you were following chess in the early 2000s, there is a chance you may have heard of Zambia’s Amon Simutowe. I read about this rising talent on kasparovchess.com after coming across an article by South Africa’s Mark Rubery. After continuing to dig I realized I was already late in…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 10: The Moors of Spain
One powerful piece of African history is often forgotten or ignored and it has a tremendous relationship to chess. It is known that the Moors brought the Persian variant “Shatranj” into Spain after the incursion of Tariq ibn-Ziyad. Tariq commanded his 7,000 soldiers across the strait into al-Andalus (modern-day Spain)…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 9: Robert Gwaze’s Gold!
At this year’s 2022 Chess Olympiad in Moscow, Russia, we will commemorate the 20th year of Zimbabwean IM Robert Gwaze winning the gold medal for his 9/9 performance. This feat took place in the fall of 2002 in Bled, Slovenia, and sent triumphant tremors throughout the continent and the African…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 5: Wilbert Paige Memorial
NM Wilbert Paige (1959-1994)Photo by Jerry Bibuld One of the most important chess events in Black history had to have been the Wilbert Paige Memorial. The tournament was held in honor of Philadelphia master Wilbert Paige who died in 1994 in his mid-30s. A product of West Philadelphia High School…
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