The Chess Drum
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2017 World Chess Cup: Semifinals
2017 World Chess CupSeptember 2nd-27th, 2017 (Tbilisi, Georgia)SEMI-FINALS Levon Aronian vs. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Wesley So vs. Ding Liren Drum Coverage| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 || Semifinals | Finals | Photos by Maria Emelianova (chess.com), Anastasia Kharlovich (fide.org), Lennart Ootes. The…
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Blitz Battles in the Brooklyn! New York vs. Chicago
Get ready… two legendary cities… two gladiators… one winner! Shawn Martinez vs. Daniel X Jones Video by Johnny Strapp The time has arrived. After months of banter and trashtalk, this evening will mark a hotly-contest blitz battle featuring two marquee cities. Chicago Chess Blitzers, who are sponsored by the Chicago…
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Oquendo is 2017 Florida Champ
FM Jorge Oquendo2017 Florida State Champion Jacksonville lies at the northern tip of the state of Florida in the eastern corner. It is two hours from the capitol city of Tallahassee, but eight hours from Miami. So when the Florida State Championship was hosted, many players chose not to make…
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Drum Interviews @ St. Louis 2017 Rapid & Blitz
Drum Interviews @ St. Louis 2017 Rapid & Blitz The inaugural event was launched in St. Louis on the tail-end of the 2017 Sinquefield Cup won by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. It is hard to top such a strong field, but the intrigue was heightened when the 13th World Champion decided to…
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Chicago vs. NYC blitz will be epic!
Video by Johnny Strapp New York and Chicago are two iconic cities and compete for top billing for best museums, best basketball players, best pizza, best entertainment and most storied sports history. In sports, both cities have supreme trash-talking pedigree and have brought home multiple championships. The New York Yankees…
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Egypt’s Adham Fawzy slays Modern Defense
IM Adham Fawzy has flown underneath the radar, but is primarily known as a representative of Egypt in African and Arab events. The 17-year old International Master recently shined in the Abu Dhabi International tournament in a scintillating game versus Iranian phenom GM Parham Maghsoodloo. He is following the path…
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“Why We Play”… Documentary on Detroit Chess
National Master John BrooksPhoto by Daaim Shabazz Detroit is known as the “Motor City” because of its massive car industry, but it is a city also known for its musical pedigree, notably Motown Records. It is also known as a hard-scrabble city with enough pride to challenge other blue-collar Midwestern…
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Reflections of 2017 St. Louis Rapid/Blitz
Since the inception of The Chess Drum, I have written on hundreds of events. However one of the most rewarding experiences is to cover an event live. Being present gives access to the excitement in the atmosphere, the away-from-the-board drama and the personal interactions with players. It is one of…
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Kasparov’s return ignites, but Aronian shines
Levon Aronian holding the cup of the inaugural St. Louis Rapid and Blitz.Photo by Maria Emelianova (chess.com) Garry Kasparov made at long-awaited return occurred in St. Louis as part of the 2017 Grand Prix Tour. Media organizations around the world were excited and fans were buzzing in social media. In…
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MVL is the MVP in Sinquefield 2017!
.@Vachier_Lagrave at the closing ceremony #SinqefieldCup #GrandChessTour pic.twitter.com/2I4L8Yj7EU — Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) August 13, 2017 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave has had mixed results in the past year. In last year’s Sinquefield Cup, MVL, as he is known, was second in the world with a 2819 ELO and top seed. He finished…
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