Interviews
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Fischer vs. Carlsen… will history repeat?
Bobby Fischer and Magnus Carlsen In the 1972 60 Minutes interview with Mike Wallace, then-championship challenger Bobby Fischer stated that he like to “crush a man’s ego”. He then played Boris Spassky for the World Chess Championship and beat the Soviet player mercilessly even after forfeiting the second game and…
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Interview with FM Kazim Gulamali
Daaim Shabazz and Kazim Gulamali at the 2003 Peach State Open. Upon visiting the 2011 U.S. Open in Orlando, Florida, I caught up with my long-time friend FM Kazim Gulamali. Kazim is a New York-born, Atlanta-raised resident who began playing chess at the age of three. His father Mumtaz Yusef,…
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Warren Seymour: Bahamas Chess Pioneer
The Chess Drum’s Daaim Shabazz had a chance to chat with Bahamian chess pioneer Warren Seymour. He had finished directing the 2011 Bahamas National Open won by Yan Lyansky. In the 27-minute interview, Seymour talked about his chess beginnings in 1954 and his learning the game by picking up a…
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Hikaru chats with The Chess Drum
Photo by Daaim Shabazz/The Chess Drum Hikaru Nakamura had just finished playing a tough game with Evgeny Najer in the 7th round of the World Open. After winning the game on move 55, the 21-year old knew that the fate would lie in the hands of players who he had…
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Maurice Ashley Speaks!
Award-winning journalist Macauley Peterson caught up with Grandmaster Maurice Ashley and got an update on his recent projects, one of which is a new website called, “Maurice Ashley Trains Champions.” His recent intiatives highlight the ever-increasing thrust in scholastic chess and the efforts being made to make chess more prominent…
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Interview with Charles Lawton
Daaim Shabazz (The Chess Drum) and National Master Charles Lawton Charles Lawton has been playing chess for a few decades, but was pleasantly surprised when he got the call a couple of months ago inviting him to compete in the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship. His selection was on the basis…
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Drum Interviews @ Dresden Olympiad!
GM Pontus Carlsson (Sweden) – Carlsson was Sweden’s 16th GM and the second Black player to earn the coveted GM title. In this interview, he gives a candid interview about the Olympiad, rule changes, his career and his future. Carlsson always speaks candidly on issues and if you’ve seen him…
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Interview with Hikaru Nakamura
The Chess Drum got an interview with GM Hikaru Nakamura at the Chicago Open in which he revealed (among other things) that he will be moving to Vancouver, Canada. This is a change of scenery for the 20-year old star and he hopes the move will do him well. After…
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