St. Louis Legend, Leroy Muhammad (1948-2013)
Born Leroy Jackson November 30, 1948 in Little Rock, Arkansas, he discovered a talent for chess in the 60s and proceeded to take the city and state by storm. As reported in “Leroy Muhammad: A Forgotten Star”
The year 1966 was magical for Muhammad. He won the St. Louis city championship four consecutive years from 1966-1969 and the Missouri State Championship three consecutive years from 1966-1968. Muhammad also tied for 1st place in the 1966 Eastern Open defeated Orest Popovych in the process. He then won 1st junior in the 1966 U.S. Open with 8½-4½ beating future legend Walter Browne (New York) and Salvatore Matera (New York).
Leroy Muhammad
Photo by Neil Brennan.
After Elijah Muhammad’s death in 1975, he joined Elijah Muhammad’s son, Wallace Muhammad in building a new Muslim community. He ended up settling in Gary, Indiana and made a brief comeback competing in a few tournaments in the late 70s. While he never fully came back to chess, at times he would attend small chess tournaments at the Gary Public Library.
The St. Louis chess scene was vibrant in the 60s and there were several players who knew Muhammad and witness his feats. IM Elliott Winslow expressed great memories of him from their days in St. Louis. Muhammad and his wife Annesah raised a family of six children and he was active in the Gary Islamic community for more than 30 years until his death.
Peace and Blessings.
May Allah be pleased with your good deeds. Amin.
My condolences and best wishes to the family of Brother Leroy (Jackson) Muhammad. This brother is a chess gem that I had never heard of until this piece. I will begin to look for his games.
Kimani A. Stancil
Condolences from the Jamaican Chess fraternity to the family and friends of the late Leroy Muhammad who blessed us with his life and left his entertaining and instructive games as an immortal legacy.
Hello Daaim! This little box doesn’t allow the key, so I’ll have to make a mess. I hadn’t seen much of that above information regarding Leroy, specifically his time in New York before heading to Gary. And those great pictures! But let me note, after looking at the actual issue of Chess Life: That game was Popovych vs Jackson 0:1, not the way you have it. I’d use a hyphen but for some reason it doesn’t work. Regards, Elliott
I remember Leroy well and was saddened to hear of his death. His nickname was “Black Magic “ because he actually preferred to play Black. In addition to founding the Kennedy-King(Chicago) and Chicago State University chess clubs I was very active at the Gary Public Library. I’d take my kids to the library, teach reading and playing chess. Those were very good memories for me.