Posted in Drum Majors, Scholastic, Videos on Dec 31st, 2011 14 Comments »
James Black has been the subject of many articles, but his rapid progress is taken on new heights. Black has now vaulted over 2300 in the USCF rating list and recently showed off his famed blitz prowess in beating both IM Greg Shahade and GM Grigory Kaidanov in blitz battles. After Justus Williams demolished the [...]
Posted in Caribbean, Scholastic, Trinidad on Dec 31st, 2011 No Comments »
At Atwell’s Educational Institute, on Sunday December the 11th 2011, the director Lesley-Ann Nelson and tournament coordinator Adrina Smith of K.I.D.S Chess Academy hosted its 1st Annual Scholastic Chess Championship. The competition had a participation of 55 young chess players, competing in the following categories respectively. The ages were as follows: under-6, under-8, under-10, under-16 [...]
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 Scholastic on Nov 22nd, 2011 11 Comments »
Quinton SmithPhoto by Lubbock ISD. The U.S. Chess Federation has released a press release of the death of scholastic player Quinton Smith of Estacado High School. The 17-year old Lubbock, Texas resident was competing on the K-12 Nationals at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas which drew 1200 students. Smith had gone up to the [...]
Posted in Scholastic on Nov 13th, 2011 No Comments »
Vaux Junior High School chess team with President Jimmy Carter in 1979. One of the most storied teams in scholastic chess has been relegated to the annals of history, but their name lives on. Recently Steve Rasmussen, a former teacher at Vaux, noted some of the history during the school’s magnificent run of national titles. [...]
Posted in Drum Majors, Scholastic on Nov 13th, 2011 8 Comments »
Justus Williams, Josh Colas and James Black, Jr. have a lot more in common than their names beginning with the same letter. All are from New York state, all have won multiple scholastic titles, all earned the title of National Master before their 13th birthday and all have desires to become Grandmasters. All three will [...]
Posted in Scholastic on Oct 23rd, 2011 7 Comments »
High school chess lore is always replete with stories of legendary coaches, legendary players and legendary tournament battles. East St. Louis Senior High School, a migrant town in southern Illinois, had a good run of successful scholastic events in the 70s and 80s. Perhaps it was a discussion recounting the glory days that lead to [...]
Posted in Scholastic on Aug 18th, 2011 1 Comment »
Chicago has a long history of chess. The famed Palmer House was once a hub for major tournaments in the U.S., but over the decades has lost its luster due to a number of factors. Chicago Public Schools also has a history of producing strong scholastic players, but activities are usually handled by dedicated volunteers [...]
Posted in Africa, Drum Majors, Scholastic, South Africa on Aug 5th, 2011 5 Comments »
Dewain Barber with co-champs Michael Brown & Justus Williams. Photo by Melinda Matthews. Justus Williams shared joint 1st with Michael Brown at the K-8 Championship during the U.S. Open in Orlando. Justus finished on a sparkling 5.5/6 to push his USCF rating to 2265. He beat Cadet champion Arthur Shen in an exciting game. According [...]
Posted in Media Stories, Scholastic on Aug 4th, 2011 3 Comments »
Both Vanita Young and Dyhemia Young (unrelated) have traveled the beaten path of life. Both have had tremendous challenges to face and both were raised outside of the traditional family setting. The two got to the Polgar tournament on different paths but finally crossed in Lubbock, Texas. Vanita Young (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Dyhemia Young (San Francisco, [...]
Posted in Scholastic on Aug 2nd, 2011 No Comments »
The Muhammad University of Islam (MUI) will host the “Chicago Southside Classic” on August 27th at Mosque Maryam. The tournament is open to adults and children. Date: Saturday, August 27 · 7:30am – 7:00pm Location: Mosque Maryam, 7351 S. Stony Island Ave, Chicago IL, 60649 Kareem Abdullah (center) with some of the players in the [...]
Posted in Caribbean, Scholastic, Trinidad on Aug 2nd, 2011 1 Comment »
MEDIA RELEASE Date: August 1st, 2011 To: Sport Editor From: Trinidad & Tobago Chess Foundation Contact: Edison Raphael – President 678-0132 Caribbean Juniors Clash in Chess Carnival Leading junior chess players from across the Caribbean and Venezuela will join youngsters from Trinidad and Tobago in vieing for honours at the Caribbean Chess Carnival which comes [...]
Posted in Media Stories, Scholastic on Jul 25th, 2011 10 Comments »
The story of Dyhemia Young has become well-known. After surviving a turbulent lifestyle as a runaway and moving in and out of foster homes, the 15-year old may have received a turn in fortune when her mentor Adisa Banjoko encouraged her to find consolation in the game of chess. Banjoko, who founded the Hip-Hop Chess [...]
Posted in Media Stories, Scholastic on Jul 23rd, 2011 16 Comments »
Dyhemia Young has overcome many hardships, but beams at the chance to play in the Polgar Invitational. Photo by Sheila George. With the story of Vanita Young of Philadelphia already fresh in the news, Dyhemia Young (unrelated) will be joining her at the Polgar Invitational in Lubbock, Texas. While the stories are not to be [...]
Posted in Scholastic on Jul 18th, 2011 21 Comments »
At the recently-ended 2011 World Open in Philadelphia, James Black, Jr. had calculated that he had barely eclipsed the 2200 barrier, but the calculations from the USCF online rating application were perhaps inaccurate. However, there is no doubt now since Black broken one of the highest barriers in chess. Call me “Master Black” By earning [...]
Posted in Scholastic on Jul 16th, 2011 6 Comments »
Diamond Shakoor will be heading to Lubbock, Texas to compete in the 8th Annual Susan Polgar Girl’s Invitational to compete for glory and perhaps scholarships. During the Heritage Concert Series, radio personality Warren Stevens ran into Diamond and father, Abdul Shakoor and spoke to the talented 10-year old. The two spoke to Stevens about her [...]
Posted in Hip-Hop, Scholastic on Jul 12th, 2011 3 Comments »
This is the second year of HHCF keeping it real in Norfolk, Virginia by providing free chess camp to any and all kids in the city and surrounding areas. We have 160 kids signed up but with only enough sets to play 20 kids at a time we are rotating through. Today was Day 1 [...]
Posted in Scholastic on Jul 11th, 2011 12 Comments »
During the World Open, I was given a June 17th article about a young lady and was told that she was walking around the tournament hall. I missed the story while in Ghana, but was fortunate to learn of it in time to publicize her story. It is yet another one of the success stories [...]
Posted in Drum Majors, Scholastic, Tournaments, World Open on Jul 6th, 2011 5 Comments »
James Black , Jr. has already had a prodigious scholastic career and he was just coming off of a triple win at the National Youth Championships with three titles. So he went into the World Open with other young aspirants hoping to make an impact. Playing in the under-2400 section, the 12-year old has been [...]
Posted in Scholastic on Jun 29th, 2011 1 Comment »
There is an excellent article in the New York Times online by Dylan McClain. It is perhaps the most candid article written about James Black, Jr. who is on the verge of earning his Master’s title in chess. The article is not about chess as much as it is a story of Black’s triumph over [...]
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