Welcome!
My name is Daaim Shabazz, Associate Professor of Business at Florida A&M University (USA). My name is pronounced Da-eem Sha-boz. I’m quite pleased to present The Chess Drum (launched on 12 February 2001), an online magazine whose time in history has come. Welcome!
At the 2015 Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis
For too long, many chess-playing segments have been overlooked… especially Black players. As a young player developing a passion for chess, I read chess magazines and books with an insatiable hunger. However, I noticed there is little variety in terms of reported stories, particularly in terms of demographics. There were burning questions in my mind about why there was such little diversity in the people playing. The question resulted in a research journey and The Chess Drum was born!
Thus, this vehicle seeks to expose the world to contributions from the African Diaspora and in turn, to expose the African Diaspora to international chess. The Chess Drum is a chess website from a different perspective. It also expands the profile of chess as a universal activity able to touch a wide variety of people. That profile did not exist and chess was perceived to be white, male, and intellectual, but chess has always had adherents touching every demographic spectrum, but these stories were not being told.
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.jpg "Angolans doing battle at 2004 Chess Olympiad. Photo by Daaim Shabazz.")
.jpg "Jamaica's Shane Matthews and Duane Rowe sitting next to the Ugandans at Closing Ceremony. Photo by Daaim Shabazz.")
.jpg "GM Maurice Ashley giving the opening remarks at the 2005 HB Global Chess Challenge. Photo by Daaim Shabazz")
.jpg "GM Hikaru Nakamura at the 2005 HB Global Chess Challenge. Nice shirt! Photo by Daaim Shabazz.")
.jpg "Angola's Luzia Guimaraes and Valquiria Rocha doing intense battle at 2006 Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy. Photo by Daaim Shabazz.")
.jpg "Hip-Hop Chess Federation panel featuring Rakaa Iriescience, Daaim Shabazz, RZA and Josh Waitzkin. This event preceded the 1st King's Invitational tournament held in San Francisco in 2007. Photo by Kurata.")
The purpose of this communicative vehicle is (1) to highlight the chess activities within the worldwide African Diaspora (2) to serve as a vehicle for fostering a greater sense of community within the chess world, and (3) to facilitate the sharing of ideas and knowledge and (4) to demonstrate the true universality of chess. This vehicle demonstrates the wide appeal of chess. There is also a wide coverage of professional events and interviews with some of the top players in the world.
This communicative vehicle is operated and owned by one individual and is a privately-funded vehicle promoting chess. If you would like to report any news you deem useful to this site, you can e-mail me at webmaster@thechessdrum.net. If you would like to find out more about this site or arrange an interview, go to the “Press Packet.” Your help is greatly appreciated. Enjoy your stay and please come again!
Sincerely,
Daaim Shabazz, The Chess Drum
P. O. Box 7663
Tallahassee, Florida 32314-7663 (USA)
webmaster@thechessdrum.net