North America
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Kevin Pryor chats with The Chess Drum
U.S. Chess Federation President Kevin Pryor has been at the helm for nearly a year and has been enthusiastic about growing membership. He attended the 2025 HBCU Chess Classic at King’s Chapel at Morehouse College to lend support to the outreach initiatives at Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs). Kevin…
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Meet Candidates for U.S. Chess Executive Board!
US Chess and the Elections Committee will host an Executive Board (EB) Candidates Forum on Friday May 16, 2025 at 8 p.m. CT/ 9 p.m. ET via zoom.~U.S. Chess In June, the U.S. Chess membership will elect four new Executive Board members from five candidates, and you can meet them…
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Is Hans Niemann right??
Grandmaster Hans Niemann at the 2022 Sinquefield Cup.Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour Hans Niemann has been in the chess spotlight for the past three years. The infamous case involving Magnus Carlsen at the 2022 Sinquefield Cup set the world on fire. While the point of this article is not to litigate…
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William Scott honored in March 2025 Chess Life!
William Alexander Scott III William Scott III was featured in the latest issue of Chess Life in a wonderful six-page tribute written by Mark Taylor. It is the most comprehensive account of his life. Previously, we had his obituary written by a relative. Here was an excerpt from that lengthy…
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Alpha Phi Alpha’s Dunlap touts Chess Initiative
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. was founded in December 4, 1906 at Cornell University, just celebrating its 118th anniversary. The 290,000-member has always promoted academic excellence and scholarship, and the organization has national programs, including “Project Alpha” and “Go-to-Highschool-Go-to-College.” It is the first Black intercollegiate fraternity with more than 700…
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Chess activist Ernest Levert still healing after aneurysm
Back in April, social chess activist Ernest “Ern” Levert, Jr. of Columbus, Ohio suffered a brain aneurysm and was put in a medically-induced coma. Once he regained consciousness, his life and those of his family members changed forever. The Columbus community was devastated at the news. Local news covered the…
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Brewington Hardaway is now a Chess Grandmaster!
Brewington Hardaway has qualified for the title of “International Grandmaster” after reaching the required 2500 FIDE rating during the New York Fall GM Invitational. At the tournament, Hardaway finished with an undefeated 6/9, ending with five draws. Hardaway completed all of his norms for the IM (#1, #2, #3) and…
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Maurice Ashley’s new chess initiative announced!
For decades, Grandmaster Maurice Ashley has been on the cutting edge of chess news, whether through championship coaching, giving exciting commentary, delivering training courses, or organizing million-dollar tournaments. While he can still be seen giving guest lectures and doing commentary, he is now embarking on a bold, new initiative. Ashley…
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Derrick Rose retires… chess next?
Derrick Rose elevating during his peak years for the Chicago Bulls.Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images Derrick Rose announced his retirement yesterday from his 16-year basketball career. The highlight of his career was becoming the youngest player to win the 2011 Most Valuable Player award. From the Englewood community of Chicago’s…
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Brewington Hardaway earns final GM norm!
Photo from X (Brewington Hardaway) Fifteen-year-old Brewington Hardaway made his long-awaited trip abroad in search of his final GM norm. He chose the Ciutat de Barcelona International Chess Open as the staging ground for his GM title pursuit. There was a buzz being generated in social media after “Brew” started…
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