The Challenges of Black Chess Masters
Aug 19th, 2010 by Daaim Shabazz
From time-to-time there is a question raised about the presence of Black players in the chess world. Players in this demographic can be seen at tournaments around the world and are seemingly enthusiastic about competition. However, those who have found success at the highest level have been few.
As of this date, there are three Grandmasters of African descent (Maurice Ashley-USA, Pontus Carlsson-Sweden, Amon Simutowe-Zambia). Each of these players met unique challenges in their rise toward Grandmasterdom. No other player of African descent is close to making their third GM norm. Why is this? There are a number of challenges things that continue to inhibit this rise. In this brief essay, we will look at a few of the challenges that often come up.
Intelligence
Let’s address this straight-on. I was once asked by a Latin American whether Blacks were intelligent enough to be Grandmasters. The question was not posed with any malice or ill-will; it was a person asking a genuine follow-up question about the small number of Black Grandmasters I had named for him.
However, there are other forums that make it a contentious issue. There was once a debate on a White supremacist website stating that it is unlikely that a Black person can be a chess Grandmaster. That was until one of the posters found an article on The Chess Drum about Ashley! Debate ended immediately. First, let’s ask the question, “Is chess really an adequate measure of requisite intelligence?” One studied showed,
Chess is not necessarily a game reserved for people with IQ scores on par with Einstein. In fact, chess strategy may rely more heavily on spatial processing than on logic and computational skills. (see article)
Of course, there are all types of historic racial stereotypes about the intelligence of Blacks, or people of African descent. There have been crackpot race theories, specious experiments about cranial size and other notions taken from religious interpretations. All of these have been debated and while largely dismissed, the debate rages on. Incidentally, out of the small cadre of Black Masters in the world, many are involved in the analytical fields such as computer science, physics, mathematics, finance and medicine.
That chess players are necessarily smarter than the next person, appears to be a misnomer. There simply is too much variation in the socioeconomic background of chess players to make that assertion. Many chess players (of all backgrounds) share some degree of skill in pattern recognition and analytical ability, but if raw intelligence was the only prerequisite, many elite thinkers would master chess without difficulty.
Financial
Perhaps the biggest of challenge for Black players seeking higher heights in chess has always been obtaining the financial wherewithal to travel and earn the required norms for FIDE titles. To play chess is a choice, but what may inhibit a player from pursuing a dream is the lack of resources. While Black players living in the U.S. or Europe may have more norm opportunities than players in Africa, Latin America or the Caribbean, there is still the high costs associated with training and traveling.
Granted these are barriers that all players face, but Blacks tend to face greater financial hardship (on average) for a multitude of socioeconomic and historical reasons. Thus, the opportunity costs for focusing on chess remain exceedingly high. Since the payoff is usually not commensurate with investment of time and money, the focus on chess becomes an afterthought. Many promising players have left the game for better economic opportunities and have relegated chess as a weekend hobby, or have quit altogether.
Opportunities
The issue of adequate opportunities is another issue. For those on the African continent, the chances are rare as there are few tournaments offering the competition needed to raise the level of one’s play. Thus, talented players like IM Watu Kobese (South Africa), IM Kenny Solomon (South Africa) and IM Robert Gwaze (Zimbabwe) have had to scramble for opportunities and raise thousands of dollars to travel on long and tortuous flights up the length of Africa and into Europe or to the U.S. In the Caribbean, there are a few more international tournaments being offered and perhaps the tourist venues can attract foreign players so that locals can get more experience.
IM Kenny Solomon of South Africa has been spending
a lot of time in Europe in search of GM norms.
Photo by Daaim Shabazz.
In the U.S., there are more chess opportunities than five years ago, but with the economy reeling, the cost of living being high and returns from chess low, most players choose to put their chess ambitions on the back-burner, or make an honest living elsewhere. While Ashley is still a chess professional he no longer makes his income primarily from chess tournaments. He once explained to me how impractical such a situation could be. He has not been consistently active since 2003. Most chess professionals in the U.S. make their living on training, lecturing and writing books.
Race and Class
Race is always a controversial subject when discussing merit-based activities like chess. There has been no empirical research conducted to show that systematic racism has prevented Black players from excelling in chess. U.S. players like Walter Harris was certainly excluded from certain opportunities in the 60s, but one may argue that the issue is more of class than race. That does not mean instances of discrimination don’t exist. They do.
Walter Harris (left), the first Black National Master in the U.S.
In current events, there are some systematic notions that can ultimately impede growth of chess in Black nations such as changing FIDE’s “one-nation, one-vote” system. This would render all smaller federations as less relevant thus relegating them to a secondary class. It would then be hard to gain leverage for aspiring players. This is a point of great contention in the current campaign for FIDE President.
Changing the number of qualifiers in the FIDE knockout would also be a blow to African players. One famous Grandmaster was quoted as saying that Africans did not rightfully deserve of six slots because they had lower ELO ratings. In another controversial issue, the idea of awarding IM titles to players at subzonals is still up for debate. African and Caribbean players are often singled out in the debate despite the fact that the practice occurs in other regions.
Perhaps singling out these regions may show that race may be an underlying factor, but this is clearly a class issue since it affects all weaker federations. In other board sports like draughts (international checkers), Africans are among the game’s top competitors and thus, widely-respected. One problem with this issue is that one gains respect with a strong presence and apart from Carlsson, Simutowe, Solomon and legendary International Master Emory Tate, Black players are largely absent in international chess.
Talent
There is one other factor… talent. How does one measure talent in chess? There are always the age-based accomplishments, but they are imprecise and predictions are often not linear. For example, because a player made Grandmaster (2500) at age 15 does not mean that a player has to be 2000 by age 10 and improve 100 ELO every year.
Talent is not measured in a linear progression. Nevertheless talent can be more accurately measured by the quality of play. With someone to accurately assess this talent will be important in development. Unfortunately, there is not always the coaching available and most players of African descent are self-taught and do not have any formal coaching. Simutowe earned a Grandmaster title without a trainer and few resources. He mentioned that he would have been a lot more efficient if he could have hired the services of a trainer… even for a short span.
Photo by Daaim Shabazz.
One of the problems I have seen in the Black chess world is too much emphasis placed on five-minute or “blitz” chess. The gambling marathons and meaningless grudge matches proliferate in these circles. All of this means nothing in terms of overall quality of play. The problem is that blitz prowess has come at the expense of comprehensive training… of which blitz should only play a part. Talent cannot be measured merely by who has the strongest game in blitz. It merely amounts to “fast food” chess, not a quality meal for chess nourishment.
In conclusion, there must be three main ideas to confront the challenges of chess.
First, there has to be more of a collaborative effort between players. That can be attained through deeper networking. Joint analysis, sharing of data and collaboration should be intensified. The legend of the “Black Bear School of Chess” was a novel idea of collaboration amongst Black players in New York. Maurice Ashley and several strong masters were raised from this organization. They were serious, focused, had study sessions and training matches. When Ashley became the first African-American Grandmaster in 1999, this served as its best example of harnessing talent. There is no reason these groups cannot function even through the use of online servers.
Second, there has to be a plan of mentorship for juniors. Scholastic chess is booming and features several talented players of African descent. The question with these players may be finding the right guidance to keep them motivated. There is also a need for the presence of role models and mentors for younger players. Typically, the impressions from a player with whom you share a commonality are deeper and perhaps more familiar. However, most of the top Black Masters are either not active or playing very little.
Lastly, there is a dearth of norm tournaments organized by players of African descent. This will be one way of ensuring more opportunities for aspiring GMs or IMs. Of course these events require sponsorship and logistical support. There has to be a concerted effort to organize these tournaments or talent will continue to waste away without been realized. The question is, “Who make the sacrifice?”
Note: When I asked GM Maurice Ashley about his personal challenges, he mentioned five of them:
(read entire response)
Was discussing this issue with Dr. Woody McClelland and we both agree that players tend to take the most economically-viable option and seek a career outside of chess. Unless you’re very resourceful or extremely talented, prospects to be successful in chess are grim.
With the relatively few Blacks playing at Master level, there is more a sense of urgency in survival than to study the latest openings. If a player does want to earn a GM title, it does not have to be done by age 15. It would be quite an accomplishment to earn the title and then carry on a normal career and family while passing the craft on to other aspiring players.
Until chess is better funded and structured, there will not be many players of African descent who will be able to make such a sacrifice without jeopardizing their well-being. As I said four years ago, there needs to be grants for player development. Perhaps CACDEC can create these funds for aspiring GMs. It could be modeled on the Samford Fellowships as seen in the U.S.
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Interesting story about the gender gap on NPR.org. They discussed women’s titles and perhaps abolishing them. Women also have some challenges such as deciding on a career and family. A few players have been able to do this, but at least there are opportunities through women’s tournaments.
Link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129214019
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I just got some input from GM Maurice Ashley. He states as his biggest challenges in becoming a GM as:
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Following are the comments from GM Pontus Carlsson.
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Daaiim:
Can you become a Grandmaster using computers alone?
Many young people today depend on computers for training.
Computers are a mainstay in the professional ranks today.
Also, if you could give me some advice on improving my game, it would be appreciated (my current rank is 1066 USCF).
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Jeffrey,
At this point, no one has made Grandmaster on computers alone. However, that time is coming. Players are becoming more adept at processing information with the help of a computer and there are all types of instructional videos to help explain the theory. However, my advice is to have a mixture of the two. You need the “human” insight and interaction in order to ask questions spontaneously. DVDs don’t allow this.
Many players are using coaches and trainers. While they are not absolutely necessary for a casual player, for making Grandmaster they have become a must. They are very helpful in providing guidance and helping a player to focus and train more efficiently. It is important to choose the trainer that best suits your learning style, playing style and temperament.
At your level, a trainer may not be the best thing. It is better to play as much as possible and learn more about your chess personality. It is important to learn all the basic openings (from A-Z), but then focus on those few that becomes part of your repertoire. After you develop enough experience and see some improvement, you can find sparring partners. Pay close attention to these games and try remembering them.
Studying endgames are also very important. Unfortunately, players at lower levels often do not reach the endgame because someone has made a gross mistake and the game ends abruptly. However, knowing basic endings will help you understand what plans to execute in the middlegame.
Below are some various opinions of advice:
Well of Knowledge: http://www.thechessdrum.net/chessacademy/well/index.html
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The comment about spatial sense is interesting. I have been a witness to discussions about spatial sense (apart from chess) as being an aspect of the highly intelligent. Racists have asserted that ‘blacks don’t have spatial sense’. I think more than anything, chess mastery refutes that statement specifically. Spatial sense questions are asked on I.Q. tests. It’s also interesting that Albert Einstein was mentioned, because he was heavily talented in spatial sense. His renowned prowess in geometry requiring mental visualization is what made him famous. He was less talented at formulaic non-visualized mathematics.
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Another observation I have is that chess is a very good candidate for the racist ‘move the goal post’ trick. What happens is, any activity that does not include a significant representation of blacks is held in very high esteem. Then, when blacks break into it, the activity’s esteem lowers instead of blacks’ esteem rising. A good example is quarterbacking at the NFL level. When there were very few blacks, there was a largely unspoken opinion that the position required a lot of smarts. When there became a significant number of blacks doing it, then the focus shifted to the kind of quarterback; i.e. pocket passer versus mobile. Now its the pocket passer that requires a lot of smarts. He’s called a ‘field general’ (and by the way, ‘move the goalpost’ also applies to black command officers in the military). In the near future, when more blacks are pocket passers, the bigots will drop it all together and forget that they ever said that quarterbacking requires all those smarts. Unfortunately, the same pattern may appear with chess. This is especially a probability because the lay spectator doesn’t really understand what it takes to be a high level chess player–he understands quarterbacking better. I guess the goalpost won’t be able to move back any further once a black person wins a nobel prize in hard science–but then again, they may think of a way…
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I would strongly agree with economic viability and family responsibilities as playing the critical role in the success of more Black talents. Personally, I made the ‘easy’ choice toward academics and science long ago though I prefer chess more than most interests. Also, I do think that not having a chess playing family definitely influenced my decision, my relatively late start(self taught, first tournament at age 14, and achieved Top 50 list for Age 17-18), and infrequent playing schedule(I never played in the U.S. Junior Open events but I did play in the Denker Tourney…).
I would also point to other examples than me like RO Mitchell(deceased) – former U.S. Junior Open Winner, Elvin Wilson – former National Highschool Winner (when in 11th grade), etc… as known from this site! Based on my knowledge and friendship with the two above, I know that economics have played a role in their chess choices yet their formidable talent is(was) undeniable.
Kimani A. Stancil, PhD, Professor of Physics, School Board Member, Family man(and father), etc…, and always strong at chess(with little time to prepare).
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[...] it remains to be seen whether any of the three (or all) will reach the Grandmaster level (see essay on challenges on Black playes), what is certain is that they have bright futures in chess or any other endeavor they choose to [...]