Media Stories
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2018 World Open (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
The 46th edition of the World Open is currently taking place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the iconic home of the tournament. While the final count is unknown, the tournament typically draws about 1300 competitors from around the country and world. Philly’s newly-unveiled emancipation exhibit Some interesting new sites around Philadelphia. The…
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The Story of Cuba’s Oleiny Linares
I found a very touching story that ran last year in On Cuba magazine featuring Oleiny Linares Napoles, silver medalist in the 2008 Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany. She has been featured on The Chess Drum several times and is one of the strongest women of African ancestry. Oleiny Linares…
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Rodney Thomas awarded UT-Dallas Fellow!
Chess tournaments probably have the greatest diversity of competitors than any activity. In many large events you can find people from various nationalities, ethnicities, educational levels and professions. It is interesting that tournaments tend to be an elitist arena where we judge people by their rating. It may be the…
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Sammy of NYC blitz fame dead at 55
Samuel “Sammy” Barton, an icon of street chess, passed away after battling serious health challenges. He was 55. Sammy was known as a mainstay in the greater New York scene and is considered to be a legendary figure. Called “Bubba” by his sisters, he attended Lincoln High School in Coney…
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Ju Wenjun wins Women’s Championship!
Ju Wenjun, the long-standing salutatorian of Chinese women players won the world championship 5.5-4.5 on yesterday. Drawing the tenth game, she held off Tan Zhongyi who was the reigning champion. Ju makes the sixth Chinese player to win the title after Xie Jun, Zhu Chen, Xu Yuhua, Hou Yifan and…
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Chicago tops Detroit in the “City Showdown”
Chicago Chess Blitzers heading to Detroit You knew it was going to be a “Thriller” in Motown. Chicago Chess Blitzers (CCB) drove four hours to take on sibling city in a blitz battle. The match had seen a buildup of trash-talking with Detroiters posting choice words in social media. On…
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Makropolous announces candidacy for FIDE President
Georgios Makropolous has announced his candidacy for FIDE President. In what has been a very tumultuous period for FIDE, the Deputy President seeks to consolidate the authority that has been bestowed upon him when FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was placed under sanctions by the U.S. government on conspiracy charges. Deputy…
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Chicago’s Cops & Kids Chess initiative
America is on fire once again. Another death of an unarmed man at the hand of police officers has evoked nationwide protests. In that aftermatch of numerous similar incidents, organizations are attempting to affect change to prevent these types of tragedies from recurring. Chicago’s David Heiser of Renaissance Knights Chess…
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Tallahassee’s Walter Hand, chess pioneer
I met Walter Hand many years ago at the old Border’s bookstore in Tallahassee, Florida where chess players met on Wednesday evening. He stood out due to his wheelchair and his cerebral palsy disability, but I also noticed that he was there every single week without fail. The transport service…
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Book Review: Chess Behind Bars
Chess is often thought of as a game of the high-browed intelligentsia. It has adherents worldwide and is touted as an activity to sharpen one’s mind and to enhance cognitive ability. Does chess really make people smart? No, but it can certainly help the mind stay sharp and teach valuable…
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