Drum Majors
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Black History Month 2022-Day 13: GM Amon Simutowe
If you were following chess in the early 2000s, there is a chance you may have heard of Zambia’s Amon Simutowe. I read about this rising talent on kasparovchess.com after coming across an article by South Africa’s Mark Rubery. After continuing to dig I realized I was already late in…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 11: Historic Games!
Back in 2003, I wrote an article titled, “Ten of the Best Games Played by Black Masters.” Included in that list were games such as Tate-Ashley, Tate-Yudasin and Giles-Browne, to name a few. While Paige-Formanek is shown again for prosperity, there have been some worthy additions. Following are five historic…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 10: The Moors of Spain
One powerful piece of African history is often forgotten or ignored and it has a tremendous relationship to chess. It is known that the Moors brought the Persian variant “Shatranj” into Spain after the incursion of Tariq ibn-Ziyad. Tariq commanded his 7,000 soldiers across the strait into al-Andalus (modern-day Spain)…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 9: Robert Gwaze’s Gold!
At this year’s 2022 Chess Olympiad in Moscow, Russia, we will commemorate the 20th year of Zimbabwean IM Robert Gwaze winning the gold medal for his 9/9 performance. This feat took place in the fall of 2002 in Bled, Slovenia, and sent triumphant tremors throughout the continent and the African…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 8: FM Morris Giles
“I’ve never heard of him.” This is a statement I’ve heard many times when referring to FM Morris Giles. In covering Black players in the U.S. or “African-Americans” as we are commonly called, there are those who invoke vivid memories. Of course, we have heard of Maurice Ashley and Emory…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 7: Philly’s Roberts Vaux Jr. High
Scholastic chess has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few decades. With Supernationals drawing over 5500+ players from across the country, times have never been better to start playing chess. When Supernationals VI set a record for 5577 players, it demonstrated how far scholastic chess has grown. There…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 6: Theophilus Thompson
Theophilus Thompson as one of the most intriguing figures in the modern American chess era. Born April 21st, 1855, he worked as a 14-year old domestic servant. According to the 1870 U.S. Census, he was living in the home of William Higgins, a County Constable. Two years later, he returned…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 5: Wilbert Paige Memorial
NM Wilbert Paige (1959-1994)Photo by Jerry Bibuld One of the most important chess events in Black history had to have been the Wilbert Paige Memorial. The tournament was held in honor of Philadelphia master Wilbert Paige who died in 1994 in his mid-30s. A product of West Philadelphia High School…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 3: Leroy Muhammad
St. Louis is known as a center of chess activity today with its Chess Center and Scholastic Center and as the host of the World Chess Hall of Fame. It is also a magnet for attracting international chess talent to several universities in the area. However, St. Louis had a…
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Black History Month 2022-Day 2: Rogelio Ortega
Cuba has long been a country of great courage and pride. It has a proud tradition of chess in the memory of José Raúl Capablanca and has produced a number of strong players. Unbeknownst to many, there has been a strong cadre of Cuban players of African ancestry and we…
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