Drum Majors

  • History of Afro-Brazilian Chess

    While in Brazil last March, I often scanned the landscape for any sign of chess activity. Of course, chess is played widely in Brazil and the populous country produces some of the strongest players in Latin America. However, when I asked a lecturer about this history of chess among Afro-Brazilians,…

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  • Historic Moments: James McCune Smith: Essay on CHESS

    There are many heroes in Black history, but many have been long forgotten or at least unappreciated. Chess in the times of the Civil War took on a particular significance as it was often perceived as symbol of refinement and erudition. James McCune Smith was such a man of erudition.…

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  • The Caged Bird: The Story of T.A. Thompson

    Theophilus Thompson There are many mysteries in chess history, blank spots that have remained unfilled. One of the largest is the life of Theophilus Augustus Thompson, the talented American problemist of African decent. Jeremy Gaige’s Chess Personalia, the leading source of biographical data on chessists, only provides a single entry…

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  • Historic Moments: A Conversation with Walter Harris

    Every now and then I would gaze at the sliver of paper on my desk and see the name “Walter Harris” with a telephone number. It had been given to me by Charles Covington who keeps in contact with him. He thought it may be a good idea for me…

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  • Flashback on Maurice Ashley

    Almost seven years ago, Maurice Ashley realized his dream of becoming an International Grandmaster. The scene was the Manhattan Chess Club and Ashley was having a strong tournament and had beaten Giorgi Kacheishvili and Jonathan Ady and Adrian Negulescu in consecutive rounds to clinch the norm. In an interview with…

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  • Hurricane Katrina: A Black Chess Player’s Story

    Hurricane Katrina: A Black Chess Player’s Story by Glenn Bady Hurricane Katrina slammed ashore New Orleans producing 110 + Kt winds, flooding 15-20 feet above normal. August 30, 2005 levees “broke” in New Orleans and water pours in covering 80% city and raising 20 feet in some areas. Fortunately, during…

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  • Historic Moments: Jorge Renteriá & Afro-Colombian Chess

    Colombia, a land of 37 million lying at the northwest region of South America, has long been one of the most active nations in the sport of chess. GM Alonso Zapata is perhaps the most famous player and remains as the country’s top player. However, other players are rising. One…

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  • The HB Global Chess Challenge

    The HB Global Chess Challengeby GM Maurice Ashley May 8, 2005 Hello everyone! The HB Global Chess Challenge is now less than ten days away! It’s hard to believe that over a year and a half of hard work is about to come to fruition. I have heard from many…

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  • Historic Moments: Stephen Muhammad at the U.S. Championships

    FM Stephen Muhammad at the 2003 U.S. Chess ChampionshipPhoto by Daaim Shabazz IM-elect Stephen Muhammad faces eventual winner Hikaru Nakamura round 1 of the 2005 U.S. Chess Championship. Photo by U.S. Chessmaster Championships Stephen Muhammad’s consecutive appearances at the U.S. Championship will stand as a historic landmark for many years…

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  • Historic Moments: ‘Magnificence in Bled: The 35th Chess Olympiad’

    “Magnificence In Bled: The 35th Chess Olympiad” Author: Ian WilkinsonPublisher: LMH Publishing LimitedReviewed by: Balford Henry For the past two years “chess don” Ian Wilkinson has not only served the Jamaica Chess Federation (JCF) as its president, but has worked feverishly on completing his book, “Magnificence In Bled: The 35th…

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