Historic Moments

Daaim ShabazzJanuary 1, 2002
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The Making of The Chess Drum

From time to time, I’m asked a number of questions about the website, The Chess Drum. The site has developed over the past year and players who I meet at tournaments want to know the hows and the whys, so to speak. Well… there’s a short answer and a long…
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Daaim ShabazzNovember 1, 2001
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Historic Moments: Featuring Cuba’s Rogelio Ortega

Cuba’s Native Son Rogelio Ortega The island of Cuba has a great many traditions. With its distinct blend of Spanish and African heritage, Cuba bustles with energy and its citizens are friendly, easy-going and very passionate. One passion that pervades the Cuban society is chess. The birthplace of former World…
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Daaim ShabazzSeptember 1, 2001
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Historic Moments: The 2001 World Open (Philadelphia)

Following are pictures from the historic 2001 World Open. This tournament featured a contingent of African players touring the U.S. The usual excitement filled the air as many of the Black players scored impressive results. To see a larger view of thumbnails, click on image. The colored photographs were taken…
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Daaim ShabazzJuly 1, 2001
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Historic Moments: Black Unity tournaments

Maurice Ashley – William MorrisonBlack Bear Challenge The Black Bear Chess School is a chess club having produced some of the strongest Black chess Masters in its history. In the famous Black Bear tradition, players jockeyed for position in the club. In order to move up, one player had to…
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Daaim ShabazzMay 1, 2001
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Historic Moments: African Nations at the 1996 Chess Olympiad in Yerevan, Armenia

These pictures were taken by Jerome Bibuld, International Arbiter and Chess Photographer extraordinaire. Those interested in his photos anywhere on this site should contact him for use privileges. The Angola Chess Federation has enjoyed perhaps the most success among Sub-Saharan African nations. The country has been wracked by an ongoing…
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Daaim ShabazzMarch 1, 2001
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Historic Moments: Baraka Shabazz & K.K. Karanja

Baraka Shabazz was 15 when this picture was taken in 1982 and strode onto the American chess scene with the grace of a gazelle. Baraka started playing chess while living in Alaska with her parents. It was her father who gave her a chess set to relieve her of the…
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Daaim ShabazzFebruary 12, 2001
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Historic Moments: Morris Giles, Charles Lawton & R.O. Mitchell

Pictured above is NM Charles Lawton (L) analyzing with FM Morris Giles (R) after their last round encounter at the 1982 Midwest Masters Invitational in Chicago, IL. This game showed the fighting spirit of both players. Neither Giles nor Lawton are currently active. FM Giles had nearly earned a 2500…
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