New Briefs Index
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USA
Kevin Pryor chats with The Chess Drum
U.S. Chess Federation President Kevin Pryor has been at the helm for nearly a year and has been enthusiastic about growing membership. He attended the 2025 HBCU Chess Classic at…
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Egypt
2025 African Individual Chess Championship (Cairo, Egypt)
The 2025 African Individual Chess Championship will be held from May 13th to 20th, 2025, in Cairo, Egypt. It is organized by the African Chess Confederation (ACC) and hosted by the Egyptian…
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Kenya
7,242 players at Kenya Schools Chess!
Something amazing happened in Kenyan chess a month ago. Over 7,000 chess players from across Kenya gathered at Mang’u High School to compete in the Kenyan Schools Chess Championship. A…
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USA
Meet Candidates for U.S. Chess Executive Board!
US Chess and the Elections Committee will host an Executive Board (EB) Candidates Forum on Friday May 16, 2025 at 8 p.m. CT/ 9 p.m. ET via zoom.~U.S. Chess In…
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Interviews
HBCU Spotlight: Harper Jackson (Morehouse)
Harper Jackson with Dr. Daaim Shabazz at HBCU Chess Classic at Morehouse’s King Chapel.Photo by Daaim Shabazz/The Chess Drum Harper Jackson of Morehouse College led his team to a third-place…
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HBCU Chess
HBCU Chess Spotlight: Charles Lindsey, Jr. (Hampton)
Charles Lindsey, Jr. and Breon McCray had a vision a few years ago at Hampton University. The Detroit natives decided to turn their passion for chess into an organization. The…
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HBCU Chess
HBCU Chess Spotlight: Anndrea Ojijo (NCAT)
Anndrea Ojijo, President of NCAT Chess ClubPhotos by Daaim Shabazz/The Chess Drum Playing at the 2024 HBCU Chess Classic at Georgia Tech I’d love to get more people in chess……
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HBCU Chess
HBCU Chess Spotlight: Samir Acharya (Howard)
Samir Acharya2025 HBCU Chess Champion Samir Acharya won the 3rd HBCU Chess Classic with a perfect 5/5, leading Howard University to the team title for the second time in three…
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HBCU Chess
HBCU Chess Spotlight: Caleb Parker (FAMU)
Florida A&M University, also known as “FAMU” (FAM-U), chartered its chess club in January after a year of planning. Caleb Parker met with Dr. Daaim Shabazz in early 2023 to…
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HBCU Chess
Howard University dominates 3rd HBCU Chess Classic!
Howard University came to the 2025 HBCU Chess Classic to reclaim the trophy they won at the inaugural event in 2023. In last year’s event, Howard failed to take the…
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Drum Majors
Tanitoluwa Adewumi qualifies for IM title!
Tanitoluwa Adewumi has just completed the rating requirements for the title of International Master. This is a major step toward his next goal of becoming a Grandmaster. Tani’s story is…
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HBCU Chess
2025 HBCU Chess Classic approaches!
1st HBCU Chess Classic at Morris Brown College, 2023Photo by TBO Chess Society “The HBCU Chess Classic is more than just a tournament; it’s a movement.” ~Alan Cowan, co-founder of…
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HBCU Chess
FAMU Chess sets team; readies for HBCU Classic
The FAMU Chess Club held a qualifying tournament to determine who would represent the school at the upcoming HBCU Chess Classic. The Classic will feature teams from Historically Black Colleges…
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USA
Is Hans Niemann right??
Grandmaster Hans Niemann at the 2022 Sinquefield Cup.Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour Hans Niemann has been in the chess spotlight for the past three years. The infamous case involving Magnus Carlsen…
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Cuba
Bio on Cuban chess legend, Román Hernández Onna
Roman Hernandez (center) analyzing with onlookers. Román Hernández Onna is the subject of a recent biography covering his life and games. Jose Guillermo Rosa informed The Chess Drum of the…
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Media Stories
William Scott honored in March 2025 Chess Life!
William Alexander Scott III William Scott III was featured in the latest issue of Chess Life in a wonderful six-page tribute written by Mark Taylor. It is the most comprehensive…
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Zambia
Chitumbo Mwali wins 5th Zambian Chess Crown!
IM Chitumbo Mwali, 2025 Zambian ChampionBupe Gerald Chibomba The Copper Eagle Soars International Master Chitumbo Mwali won his fifth national championship last weekend in the nation’s capital of Lusaka. It…
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Swaziland
Eswatini chess prepares children for future
The Eswatini Chess Federation was chartered in 2006 and joined FIDE in 2011. The federation has had regular activity, mostly on the school level, but they have also hosted successful open…
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HBCU Chess
FAMU Chess Club holds Interest Meeting, First Tournament!
The FAMU Chess Club held its first tournament as an official organization in more than 20 years. After a successful showing at the FAMU Club Fair on January 31st, the…
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Media Stories
Shabazz named “Chess Educator of the Year”
Dear Chess Community,This Tuesday, the University of Texas-Dallas awarded me the “Chess Educator of the Year” award. The award has been given since 2004 when Susan Polgar was the inaugural…
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HBCU Chess
Albany State hosts Hip-Hop Chess Icon, Adisa Banjoko
Adisa Banjoko visited Albany State University at the invitation of the school’s “University College,” an entity supporting first- and second-year students. Banjoki is known to the chess world as the founder…
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Drum Majors
GM Carlsson invites you to Charity Chess Event
GM Pontus Carlsson invited The Chess Drum community to participate in his Zero Requiem charity event to benefit the development of chess in Africa. In his ongoing Business Meets Chess…
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The Chess Drum
24 years for The Chess Drum!
The Chess Drum community… Today marks the 24th anniversary of the founding of The Chess Drum. It is rare to have a digital platform for such a long time, and…
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Drum Majors
Stephen Muhammad, pioneering International Master (1962-2024)
Stephen Muhammad, an International Master and Georgia Chess Hall of Fame nominee, passed away on December 8th, 2024, after a short battle with colon cancer. He was 62. According to…
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HBCU Chess
FAMU Chess Club shines at Club Fair!
The FAMU Chess Club participated in the school’s club fair with about 40 other campus organizations. This was the first activity for the chess-playing Rattlers since being officially recognized as…
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Drum Majors
NextGen Cup: An African Diaspora Chess Battle!
The NextGen Cup is a novel tournament with a $20,000 fund featuring ten master-level players throughout the African Diaspora. It will take place on chess.com on February 6th. IM Kassa…
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Obituary
Chess Educator, Ernest Levert passes (1990-2025)
The greatest service one can give to their community is love and time. Dear Chess Community, It is with deep regret that I inform the chess community of the passing…
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Opinion/Editorials
The Growing Pains of a New Chess Era
After crowning a new champion, chess is experiencing difficult “growing pains” as it prepares for a new era. World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju won the title a month ago against defending…
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The Chess Drum
The Chess Drum’s Highlights of 2024
What a year! The highlights of 2024 have been memorable! We have crowned a new world champion and ushered in a new era of rising stars. Eighteen-year-old Gukesh Dommaraju of…
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World Rapid & Blitz
Hardaway, Adewumi debut at World Rapid & Blitz
Growing up fast! Brewington Hardaway, Tani Adewumi and Andy Woodward at the 2024 World Rapid & Blitz.Photo by Michal Walusza Brewington Hardaway and Tani Adewumi are currently making their debuts…
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HBCU Chess
Howard University Chess preparing for 2025 Pan-Ams
Howard University Chess Club is preparing for the 2025 Pan-Am Intercollegiate tournament to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, January 2-5, 2025. The club’s President, Lawrence Custis, has announced the club’s participation…
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Drum Majors
Walter Harris, America’s 1st Black Chess Master, dead at 83
Dear Chess Community, Yesterday, I learned that Walter Harris, America’s first Black National Master, had passed away on October 12th, 2024. Harris was 83 at the time of his demise…
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Nigeria
17-year-old Nyuima Tersee is new Nigerian Champion!
Nyuima Ferdinand Tersee won the 2024 Nigerian National Championship over several titled and veteran players. The 17-year-old from Benue State bested a field of veterans and titled players as the…
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