No. 1  Buckmire - Lawson (1985 British Championship; Edinburgh, Scotland)
Dr. Ron Buckmire, who was born in Grenada, but reared in Barbados, was 17 when he reeled off this 14-move miniature against the unsuspecting English IM. Black had just played c4 and Ron played the annihilating 1. Qh5! and Black immediately resigned in lieu of 1. . . g6  2. Qh6+ Kg8 and the côup de graçe 3. Be8! (See game)

No. 2  Molla - Gwaze (Ethiopia versus Zimbabwe; Olympiad 2000, Istanbul)
Robert Gwaze was a two-time African Junior Champion and achieved his IM title at age 17. In this game his capitalizes on careless play by his opponent and pounces on the opportunity. Robert delivers a bone-crushing combination with 1. . . Rxf4+!  2.  exf4 Rxg2+! 3. Qxg2 e3+ 4. Ke1 Qxg2  5. Bxe3 Bf3  6. Bf2 Bxd1 and Black went on to collect the point. (See game)

No. 3  Tate - Sagalchik (1995 PCA qualifier; New York)
The ever-dangerous Emory Tate shows why he is such a fearsome opponent. This game was tactical right out of the opening, but Sagalchik's king would get caught in the center and Tate plows in with a devastating Queen sac  1. Qxd7! Black responds Rxd7  2. Rxd7 Qc5+ 3. Kb1 Qe7 (white was threatening mate all over the place) 4. Rxe7+ Kxe7  5. Bg5+  f6 6. Rxg8 and Black played a few more moves before resigning. (See game)

No. 4  Simutowe - Crouch (Mind Sports Olympiad 2000; London)
Amon is the most exciting African player the continent has produced in recent history. His mixture of positional play with keen tactical vision makes this 19-year IM a dangerous opponent indeed. Earlier Simutowe played a positional exchange sacrifice and the game soon turns into a tactical melée.  However, the Zambian IM would stun the Britisher with 1. Bb3!! Black responded with 1. . .  Re2+ (if 1. . . Qxb3 2. Qf4+ Ke6 3. Qf5#)  2. Qxe2 Rxe2  3. Kg1!  1-0.  A spectacular flurry and picturesque final position! (See game)