Media Stories

  • Daaim ShabazzMay 22, 2019
    1 2,224

    Reflections on 2019 Abidjan Rapid & Blitz

    Going back to Africa! Before traveling to Francophone (French-speaking) Africa for the first time, I had to brush off my French instruction books from grad school to brush up on vocabulary, cognates, listening, phrases, and passe compose’. I discovered that there were a lot of videos on YouTube and went…

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  • Daaim ShabazzMay 18, 2019
    3 2,075

    The Chess Drum chats with Nigeria’s Oladapo Adu

    Nigeria has plans to break through to produce their first Grandmaster and an official campaign was launched in February. One of the hopefuls in the Africa’s most populous nation is International Master Oladapo Adu. A long-time national team member, Adu spent a number of years in the U.S. before returning…

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  • Daaim ShabazzMay 17, 2019
    2 2,064

    20 years after GM title, Ashley discusses African path

    GM Maurice AshleyPhoto by Daaim Shabazz Côte d’Ivoire was Maurice Ashley’s 7th African country, all in a relatively short period of time. This would be the first visit to a Francophone African country and the Jamaican-born GM would put his French skills to use. Ashley took up French in high…

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  • Daaim ShabazzMay 16, 2019
    1 1,958

    Essoh Essis on GCT Rapid & Blitz event

    The first event of the Grand Chess Tour is officially over and Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire will have in its history and world class chess event. There will be trivia questions such as the players who played, the hotel where it was hosted and that famous icon who was visiting the…

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  • Daaim ShabazzMay 14, 2019
    0 2,023

    Carlsen wins Abidjan Rapid & Blitz!

    Congratulations to @MagnusCarlsen for winning Côte d’Ivoire, the first leg of 2019 #GrandChessTour with 2 rounds to spare!! pic.twitter.com/xbEc8RCkTo — Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) May 12, 2019 After the election in the past FIDE election, there was an assertion that the international chess body would be more inclusive. While the…

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  • Daaim ShabazzMay 10, 2019
    0 1,916

    Grand Chess Tour meets Didier Drogba!

    When one thinks of the Ivory Coast, several things come to mind including their world-famous cocoa, but one unmistakable characterization is that the land of 23 million is a football-crazy nation. During the lead up of the Grand Chess Tour, there were a lot of promotional content including photos of…

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  • Daaim ShabazzMay 9, 2019
    25 2,465

    2019 Rapid & Blitz (Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire)

    The Grand Chess Tour has begun! Ten of the world’s top players have assembled in Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote d’Ivoire, to launch the first event of the season. World Champion Magnus Carlsen will headline the 2019 Rapid and Blitz field after having had a blistering first half of…

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  • Daaim ShabazzMay 6, 2019
    1 1,996

    Detroit Chess podcast features Daaim Shabazz

    Detroit’s Derek Wilder hosted his weekly podcast and invited me on the show. We discussed a number of issues including the founding of The Chess Drum, the autobiography of Emory Tate (Triple Exclam), methods of chess improvement, the value of blitz chess, harnessing talent in the Black community, and possibilities…

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  • Daaim ShabazzMay 4, 2019
    3 1,987

    Cote d’Ivoire days away from epic chess event!

    All chess roads lead to Africa! On Tuesday, May 7th, ten of the world’s strongest players will gather in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire for the Grand Chess Tour Rapid & Blitz. It will feature the resurgent World Champion Magnus Carlsen who recently won his third straight supertournament by winning the Grenke…

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  • Daaim ShabazzApril 29, 2019
    0 2,015

    Zim’s Masango wins Zambian Open with 8/8!

    It is rare that one gets a perfect score in a chess tournament. The most famous example is Bobby Fischer’s 11/11 at the 1963-64 U.S. Championship in New York City. As a result, he got an interview on the cover of Life magazine. Spencer Masango of Zimbabwe will have to…

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