Posted in Interviews on Aug 12th, 2011 2 Comments »
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, a Pakistani immigrant, used to [...]
Posted in Drum Majors, Interviews, Media Stories, World Open on Jul 6th, 2011 No Comments »
Harlem, New York is the place where the “Harlem Renaissance” took place and where artistic expression flourished in the early 1900s. One hundred years later, artistry is still flourishing, but in this day and time, chess is the platform. St. Nicholas Park is known to many in the chess world as a place akin to [...]
Posted in Bahamas, Caribbean, Interviews on Apr 24th, 2011 4 Comments »
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 book in the library. After [...]
Posted in Audio, Interviews, USA, World Open on Jul 8th, 2009 15 Comments »
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 battled earlier. Nakamura had to take two 1/2-point byes for the [...]
Posted in Audio, Drum Majors, Interviews on May 21st, 2009 No Comments »
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 in the educational landscape. Ashley [...]
Posted in Audio, Drum Majors, Interviews, U.S. Championship on May 21st, 2009 1 Comment »
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 of his long-time service to [...]
Posted in Interviews, Olympiad, The Chess Drum, Tournaments on Nov 28th, 2008 4 Comments »
GM Pontus Carlsson (Sweden) Photo by Daaim Shabazz. 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 [...]
Posted in Asia, India, Interviews, Media Stories on Jul 10th, 2008 No Comments »
GM Parimarjan Negi battling GM Alexander Ivanov. Photo by Daaim Shabazz. Fifteen-year old Parimarjan Negi of India has been watched that last couple of years since he broke the national record by becoming the nation’s youngest Grandmaster ever. He is also the second youngest in history trailiing only Sergey Karjakin (12 years, 7 months). I [...]
Posted in Interviews, USA on May 27th, 2008 1 Comment »
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 the interview, we discussed even [...]
Posted in Interviews, Opinion/Editorials on Jul 8th, 2007 No Comments »
GM-elect Jesse Kraai was featured on the cover of the July 2007 Chess Life magazine. I remember reading a story on Kraai who was reputed to be a neighborhood troublemaker in his youth. When asked why he chose chess, he said it was the most violent game he could find. Well lots has changed since. [...]
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