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In the News
The Chess Drum is 23!
Hello everyone! The Chess Drum has covered a lot of chess events over the past 23 years. This coverage has included six Olympiads, several Grand Chess Tour events, national events and visits to many chess communities around the world. Photo Essays from The Chess Drum (Daaim Shabazz) After covering the…
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Drum Majors
Black History Month 2024 Tribute: Week 2
Greetings everyone! As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, February 12th marks the 23rd anniversary of The Chess Drum. It has been a long journey, but a very interesting one. At midnight, I hit the “enter” key to make “www.thechessdrum.net” live and the beat has been going ever since.…
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The Chess Drum
Black History Month 2024 Tribute: Week 1
During this Black History Month 2024, The Chess Drum will present four videos featuring puzzles of several of the chess masters in the Black Diaspora. The videos will provide some historical information about each player and then one of the puzzles from a tournament game. Most of these puzzles were…
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Opinion/Editorials
Is Chess a “Life Game”?
The African-American Chess Association (Facebook) recently posted a podcast conversation of hip-hop artists discussing chess. Chess and hip-hop have a long history and are heard in many classic songs. Young Guru (Gimel Keaton) weighed in on whether chess is a metaphor for life or if it is a strategy game.…
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Uncategorized
Joseph Methu wins Kenyan Chess Championship… and car!
Joseph Methu won the 2023 Kenya National Chess Championship, and with it, drove away with a new car (worth 1.3 million KSh). This is the fourth year that a car has been the grand prize. Mehul Gohil has won two (2019, 2022) and Martin Njoroge (2021). The tournament occurred at…
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The Chess Drum
The Chess Drum’s Highlights of 2023
Our chess highlights of 2023 will show how controversy served as the mainstay of headlines. We even saw a player busted for impersonating a woman! The Carlsen-Niemann controversy was still bubbling as the chess community saw a dismissal on one count of the $100 million lawsuit in June. FIDE finally…
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Mauritania
Wafa, Djeroud win African Juniors 2023!
Over a week ago, Africa crowned its Junior champions, with Hamed Wafa (Egypt) and Chahrazed Djeroud (Algeria) earning the continental titles. Thirteen federations sent representatives to Nouakchott, Mauritania, to vie for a place in chess history. Egypt and Algeria have dominated the proceedings in previous years, but several players from…
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Opinion/Editorials
Has cheating (accusations) in chess gone too far?
Cheating has remained in the chess headlines since the Carlsen-Niemann controversy in September 2022. In the past two years, chess has continued to grab international headlines. This is not because of the new World Champion, Ding Liren, or all the rising young players gracing the scene. It is not because…
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Nigeria
11-year-old Deborah Quickpen, Nigerian Chess sensation
Deborah Ebimobo-ere Quickpen, Nigerian Women’s National ChampionPhoto by Botswana Chess Federation Nigeria’s Deborah Quickpen recently earned acclaim after winning the women’s title with 9.5/11. At the time of her victory, she had toppled a record that had stood for 20 years and set the stage for a bright future. There…
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