Posted in Media Stories on Feb 7th, 2012 1 Comment »
The second episode of the “Xtreme Chess Championship” has aired featured eight aspirants. In the first episode, Justus Williams toppled Kevin Wang while FM Kassa Korley beat Shawn Martinez. Both players will advance to play the winners of the Kats-Barnett and Melekhina-Liu matches. Co-organizer Jennifer Shahade was excited about the pending matches which pit two [...]
Posted in Media Stories, North America, USA on Feb 3rd, 2012 No Comments »
After five years of success at Texas Tech, Grandmaster Susan Polgar is taking her chess institute called “SPICE” to Webster University in St. Louis. The program was built into a chess powerhouse with eight Grandmasters and two International Masters hailing from a variety of countries. The ten players will transfer to Webster University and continue [...]
Posted in Media Stories on Jan 28th, 2012 3 Comments »
Ready for a quick game? No clock? Turn your Android touch-phone into a functional chess clock by downloading the new chess app called Social Chess Clock. Pablo Ovalle told The Chess Drum, I proudly present Social Chess Clock: a free app that allows you to use your Android device as a chess clock. With this [...]
Posted in Media Stories on Jan 10th, 2012 7 Comments »
(Note: The latest New in Chess came out while I was still traveling abroad so I will give an overview of this issue.) A lot can happen in a couple of months. Magnus Carlsen won the Tal Memorial and ended the 2011 campaign in spectacular fashion. He will join a strong field (2754 average ELO) [...]
Posted in Media Stories, USA on Jan 8th, 2012 1 Comment »
The chess scene at 16th Street Mall in Denver. Photo by Wally Gobetz. This story has been told many times from coast-to-coast. New stories covering chess playgrounds in major cities have occurred for decades… even in controversy. Recently another story about the adage, “chess is life” reports a story in Denver, Colorado where the homeless [...]
Posted in Media Stories on Jan 5th, 2012 5 Comments »
FM Kassa Korley with hostess Kacie Marie. Photo by XChessChamps (Meirom). Chess has hit “Reality TV” as the Xtreme Chess Championships debuted with eight contestants in a bold experiment to promote an edgy side to chess. According to a press release, the idea was created by film-maker Daniel Meirom and U.S. Chess League founder Greg [...]
Posted in Caribbean, Cuba, Media Stories on Jan 3rd, 2012 14 Comments »
Cuba is the largest Caribbean island boasting a rich history and some of the most passionate people on the planet. It is part of this passion that has produced the creativity and ingenuity in a land of modesty. Cuba is a place full of many stories. There is the political story which many Cubans avoid [...]
Posted in Media Stories on Jan 1st, 2012 No Comments »
We are into a new year today. This year we will see the Olympics in London and in chess we will have the Olympiad in Turkey. Last year was one full of excitement. There were breakthroughs for players and invigoration of top-level events. At The Chess Drum, there was a plethora of events covering international [...]
Posted in Media Stories, Scholastic on Dec 7th, 2011 No Comments »
Approximately one week ago, GM Maurice Ashley sent a Facebook message stating that the Harlem Educational Activities Fund (HEAF) had made a pledge to help three young Masters (Justus Williams, Josh Colas and James Black, Jr.) who were the subject of an article in the New York Times. It was this article that caught the [...]
Posted in Media Stories, USA on Nov 28th, 2011 3 Comments »
Back in December 2001, I drove eight hours from Tallahassee, Florida to the grand opening of the Chess Hall of Fame in Miami. It was a wonderful day of activities and the castle-themed building adorned with a rook tower was a perfect backdrop. It was a wonderful day. This is how I described it: “Conceived [...]
Posted in Media Stories on Nov 16th, 2011 2 Comments »
Norfolk State University is a historically-Black University (HBCU) with more than 6,000 students and located in Norfolk, Virginia. Yesterday Norfolk State President Dr. Tony Atwater’s held a student forum in which he solicited input from the student body. He encouraged the students to give him candid feedback, “the good, the bad and the ugly” as [...]
Posted in Media Stories on Nov 16th, 2011 No Comments »
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Lauren Eastman (415) 867-7664 or lauren.eastman@gmail.com * * * Celebrate Family Gatherings This Holiday with The Chessboard® Bring the Family Together with a Game of 3-D Chess Ignite the Senses and Enhance Conversation San Francisco, CA (November 15, 2011) — Just in time for the holidays, Charles Smith, owner of [...]
Posted in Media Stories on Nov 11th, 2011 1 Comment »
The big story in the latest New in Chess has been the collaboration between America’s top GM, Hikaru Nakamura and former World Champion, Garry Kasparov. There were rumors circulating for the better part of a year, but they came to the surface after an Nakamura gave an interview to Macauley Peterson in which he said, [...]
Posted in Media Stories on Nov 8th, 2011 No Comments »
Almost two years ago, an initiative was launched to chronicle the success of Brooklyn’s I.S. 318 into a movie project. Kati and Nelson Dellamaggiore started a $4,000 fundraising campaign which ultimately netted $10,536. A teaser video was released about the project. Outreach Director Kali Holloway told The Chess Drum that the project is nearing completion [...]
Posted in Media Stories on Nov 3rd, 2011 7 Comments »
There had been some whispering about an alliance between Hikaru Nakamura and Garry Kasparov for some time now. When Magnus Carlsen began working with Kasparov, Nakamura expressed to me disappointment that chess journalist and Kasparov assistant Mig Greengard did not suggest him as a subject. A Kasparov-Nakamura team seemed to make sense due to Kasparov [...]
Posted in Drum Majors, Media Stories on Oct 12th, 2011 8 Comments »
Josh Colas has been on a path of excellence since learning chess at age six. Getting his start on tournaments on the east coast, he made a steady rise and reached the 2000 barrier at age 10. Just two years later at age 12, he became a National Master. On the way he has won [...]
Posted in Brazil, Latin America, Media Stories on Oct 4th, 2011 10 Comments »
Vassily Ivanchuk is leading the Bilbao Masters tournament with a strong performance and was in good spirits after the first half of the tournament. However, his experience in Brazil took a turn for the worse when assailants robbed them at gunpoint 20 meters from the hotel while they waited for a taxi to go to [...]
Posted in Media Stories on Oct 2nd, 2011 4 Comments »
Vladimir Kramnik graces the cover of the most recent issue of New In Chess. His win at Dortmund was his 10th, beating the field by an impressive 1.5 points. Perhaps only one other Russian has enjoyed a better 2011 campaign and that is Peter Svidler whose recent World Cup and European Cup victories have solidified [...]
Posted in Media Stories on Sep 24th, 2011 32 Comments »
Jose Espinosa is a familiar face at the World Open chess tournaments every year. You will see him milling about the skittles area and usually chatting with another player. A native of Brooklyn, New York, his rich baritone voice is a complement to his usually friendly demeanor. However, there is a lot more to Espinosa [...]
Posted in Drum Majors, Media Stories on Sep 11th, 2011 15 Comments »
Community celebrates 12 year old National Master James Black Jr.By Adia Onyango September 4, 2011. The community of Bedford Stuyvesant came together at Fulton Park to recognize the accomplishments of one of their own residents 12-year old James Black Jr. for achieving the ranking of National Master (NM) in chess. In addition to honoring recent [...]
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