From time-to-time, I'm  asked a number of questions about the website, The Chess Drum. The site has developed over the past year and players who I meet at tournaments want to know the hows and the whys, so to speak. Well… there's a short answer and a long answer. The short answer to "why" is the fact that the idea was long overdue. The long answer is much more complicated, and consists of several milestones, but four in particular. They are as follows:

• a question posed to me about the lack of Black players with titles;
  
• a road trip with Maurice Ashley and Jerry Bibuld  to the 1990 World Open in Philadelphia;
  
• Gregory Kearse's article, " A History of Black Chess Masters in America," appearing in Chess Life magazine;
  
• Maurice Ashley's earning the Grandmaster (GM) title and cover story in May 1999.
  

Where are the Black GMs?

In the early to mid-80s, Chicago was a hotbed of chess activity as many of the major tournaments were hosted by the many powerful chess personalities such as: Tim Redman, Harold Winston, Helen Warren, Richard Verber, Fred Gruenberg, and Tom Fineberg. The chess community was vibrant as relatively close-knit as there were plenty of tournaments and chess clubs to become acquainted with other players.

In one of Mr. Gruenberg's "Put the Fun Back into CHESS" theme tournaments in the early-80s,  I was casually talking to Vince Berry, a very popular master in the Chicago area who seemed comfortable with Black players. He respected me a great deal as I was considered a promising young player (surname was Bolden then). We got on the subject about Black chess players, and of course names like Marvin Dandridge and Emory Tate came up instantly, but then he posed the question, "Where are the Black GMs? You all don't have even an IM!" Of course, no offense was taken because Vince was merely posing the question, and not making mockery.  The issue was not the accuracy of his last statement more than it was the fact that I didn't have any evidence to contend with it.

To the Letter!

The conversation with Vince stuck in my head and sent me searching for answers. In the latter part of 1988, two letters appeared in U.S. Chess Life magazine about chess in South Africa. One was written by Jerry Bibuld (September 1988) and the other by Stan Vaughn (December 1988).  In December 1988, I wrote several letters to influential chess personalities, organizers, and players on the idea of providing support for an initiative to promote chess growth in the Black community. In one letter, I stated, "Although there are many strong players of African descent, there are no organizations or publications designed to highlight their achievements."  My plea was to fill this void.

After failing to receive any immediate responses, I pressed on. I called Helen Warren who then offered a room at the 1989 U.S. Open to do a workshop on Black chess. That workshop was never held, but the momentum had begun. Mrs. Warren DID refer me to Jerry, and in February 1989, I began exchanging letters with him about my ideas. He then sent me a listing of "Afro-American" chess masters… an amazing document! I was encouraged further after seeing a May 1989 interview of Ron Buckmire  in U.S. Chess Life magazine.

The 1989 U.S. Open

At the 1989 U.S. Open in Chicago, I would meet a young Black man playing among the top boards. I knew Emory Tate and Morris Giles already, but had never seen this person. I saw him watching one of Emory's games and I, in turn, went over to visit his games. I eventually introduced myself and I would learn that his name was Maurice Ashley. I remember making a comment about his T-shirt displaying the word, "Jamaica." I said to him, "You've obviously been to Jamaica." He immediately responded, "I was born there!" I would see Maurice often during the tournament and remember him showing me and R.O. Mitchell (became 1990 U.S. Junior Champ) one of his games which took the route of  Fischer-Spassky, game 4. I was impressed at the depth of his analysis. Even today Maurice remembers me bringing my reggae tapes and playing Steel Pulse in the skittles room!!

Maurice Ashley analyzing with R.O. Mitchell at 1989 U.S. Open. Kimani Stancil (now Dr. Stancil) looks on. Copyright © 1989, Daaim Shabazz.

Nubian Chess International

In the Fall of 1989, I moved to Atlanta to attend graduate business school (undergrad is computer science) and in my first marketing class, I had to write a marketing plan. Of course, with these chess thoughts on my mind, I decided to write a plan for "Nubian Chess International." I had just come from Egypt and was inspired by many things I saw, including a chess set in the Egyptian Museum of Ancient Antiquities (Note: This same set can be seen here). The Executive Summary of this business plan (dated December 8, 1989) stated, "The idea is to create an international network which caters to the market of Black chess players." As part of the network would be "Nubian Chess News," a magazine that would feature interviews, instructional chess articles, game analysis, cultural topics, and contemporary issues. Momentum was growing quickly.       <continue to page 2>