Severine Wamala, is a man with a charged spirit. The native Ugandan and proud father of budding scholastic stars , he has a passion for chess and is very active in organizing events in the Lowell, Massachusetts area. Severine's oldest child is Jacob Wamala (age 14, rated 1830), one of the top scholastic players among 14-year olds. Jacob already has a collection of impressive feats including a win over Dr. Edward Epp, a highly-regarded veteran and former Master player. He also lead "Team Wamala" to a draw against GM Larry Christiansen in an exhibition earlier his year.

Jacob has a younger sister (Jessica Wamala)  and younger brother (Yowana Wamala) who are also talented and can be seen accompanying their father to national tournaments including last year's World Open. Jessica (age 12, rated 1516), is currently #12 is the under-13 girls list while young Yowana (age 8, rated 1167) is #41 among 8-year olds.  Mr. Wamala is rated at 1607, and as is common in most chess-playing families, all of the children will eventually start beating their Dad.

On March 28, 2004, Jacob bested an invitational field of the best 7th, 8th and 9th graders to become the Massachusetts Grade 7-9 champion. On February, 21 2004, Jacob was runner-up in the 3rd Annual New England Scholastic Championship by scoring 6-1 in a field of 68 New England middle school students. Certainly, Jacob's younger siblings will be trying to beat their big brother so he had better stay sharp!

Posted by The Chess Drum: 24 May 2004