North America
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The Steven Rollins Chess Rule
In most team competitions, teammates don’t play each other, but retired U.S. Marine Corps Master Sergeant Steven Rollins thought of a novel way that allows teammates to play each other without adversely affecting the team score. In 2014, his “Rollins Military System” was included as Rule 31A1 in the U.S.…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 28: IM Emory Tate
International Master Emory TatePhoto by Daaim Shabazz Before his passing in 2015, International Master Emory Tate was one of the most recognizable figures in the American chess scene. In this last tribute for Black History Month, we will feature the man, the myth, the legend. The legacy continues. With a…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 27: Kenneth Clayton
Kenneth Clayton is a trailblazer for many reasons. A distinguished man with a presence that commanded respect, he was one of the earliest pioneers of Black chess… more specifically African-American chess. He won the 1963 U.S. Amateur Championship in thrilling fashion and would precede Frank Street who won the tournament…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 26: IM Michael Schleifer
Playing on both sides of the border, Michael Schleifer was the top junior in Canada and rose through the ranks to compete in the Canadian Closed. Schleifer, known as “Schlee” to his friends, starred in the New York Open as a young master. He earned his FM title in 1997…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 24: Frank Street
Frank Street became a National Master in June 1965 and in the same year, graced the cover of Chess life magazine. As a 20-year old Street had just won the U.S. Amateur Championship and would go on to win the club champion of the Washington Chess Divan, defeating fellow master,…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 23: Ashley’s Unity Tournament Series (1992)
The 1992 African-American Unity Tournament Series was a novel idea and 30 years later, has never lost its relevance. If there is one aspect of the Hall of Fame career of Maurice Ashley that is overlooked or perhaps underrated, it is his visionary ideas. We know about his ambitious tournaments…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 22: William Earnest Griffin
William E. Griffin on page 101 of The Rice Gambit by H. Keidanz (New York, 1905). William Earnest Griffin is a chess player you may not know, but one whose words will make an indelible impression. According to the February 1905 issue of the American Chess Bulletin (page 34), Griffin…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 21: Alfred Blake Carlin
Alfred Blake Carlin was larger than life figure in New Orleans chess. Carlin’s large physical size matched his personality and he was a well-respected chess player and coach. He was one of the few Black masters (Senior Master) in the south and was a five-time Louisiana state champion (1981, 1983,…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 19: James McCune Smith
Dr. James McCune Smith is a man we don’t hear of during Black History Month. This multitalented and multifaceted man was known more in the areas of literary scholarship, medicine, and social activism than in chess. If you knew this man, chances are that you are a 19th-century American history…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 17: Walter Harris
Born September 28th, 1941, Walter Harris is known as the first Black chess player to earn the U.S. Chess Federation National Master title. There are a number of articles about Harris on The Chess Drum, twice as an interview subject {2006 (phone), 2014 (in-person)}. Walter Harris in action against Bill…
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