The Chess Drum At-A-Glance
Site Name: The Chess Drum, https://www.thechessdrum.net
Birthday: 12 February 2001
Home Base: Tallahassee, Florida, USA
Purpose: (1) to highlight the chess activities within the African Diaspora (2) to serve as a vehicle for fostering a greater sense of community within the chess world (3) to facilitate the sharing of ideas and knowledge and (4) to demonstrate the true universality of chess.
Reason Created: lack of coverage on Black players in the chess media
History: The Making of The Chess Drum (2001)
Video by Daaim Shabazz/The Chess Drum
Video Tours: General Tour
Creator: Dr. Daaim Shabazz (Da-eem Sha-boz) from Chicago, Illinois (USA)
Career: University Professor-Florida A&M University (Global Business, Marketing, e-Business)
Learned Chess… from an encyclopedia after seeing two boys in the neighborhood playing at night under a lamp.
Skill Level: Candidate Master (2000-2199 USCF)
Current Size: 30,000-40,000 indexed pages (including games)
Viewership: 200+ countries and territories
Media Exposure: Europe Échecs (France), Radio France International, Black & White (India), Kenyan Chess Magazine, U.S. Chess Life, Trinidad Guardian, Washington Post (USA), Neues Deutschland (Germany), ChessBase (Germany), ChessBase (India), New York Times, New in Chess, Twitch (Jomo Pitterson, Calvin Klaasen)
Live Coverage: Chicago Open (2003-2019), World Open (2001-2019), Sinquefield Cup (2013, 2014, 2015), Grand Chess Tour (St. Louis 2017, Abidjan 2019), Millionaire Chess (2014, 2015, 2016), U.S. Open (2014, 2019) U.S. Championships (2003, 2009, 2013, 2017), Olympiad (2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2018), World Championship (2016, 2021) and several countries!
2018 Chess Olympiad (Batumi, Republic of Georgia)
Video by Sagar Shah/ChessBase India
Motto: KEEP THE BEAT GOING!!
Sponsorship: None
Staff: One person
Proudest moment: Serving as webmaster at the historic Wilbert Paige Memorial in Harlem, New York.
Most gratifying project: The Chess Drum’s “Wall of Fame” (50 hours straight)
Nicest gesture: A chess cake presented to me by Kay Umeakunne.
Most satisfying reward: Being able to reach 20 years in 2021 and knowing this work has impact a large audience globally
Books: The 2nd Harlem Renaissance: The Wilbert Paige Memorial Chess Tournament, Triple Exclam!!! The Life and Games of Emory Tate, Chess Warrior
THE CHESS DRUM
c/o Dr. Daaim Shabazz
P.O. Box 7663
Tallahassee, FL 32314-7663 (USA)
webmaster@thechessdrum.net
chess.com: chessdrummer
lichess: theblackstar
ICC: chessdrummer
Skype dshabazz