Chess on the Net
Service To African Diaspora
http://thechessdrum.net/
By R.R.Vasudevan
Announcing itself as the "The Original Pan-African Chess Site" the chess drum has a lot to offer for the connoisseur as well as an amateur. As we have been browsing through sites in Asia & Europe in the past, a look into the American-African site would be a good learning experience. It can give the browsers a ringside view of chess across the Atlantic.
The brief history of the site mentions the starting time as 2001 and is run from Tallahassee, Florida, USA. Also quoted in the welcome page - it is a chess website from a different perspective. It goes on to mention that the purpose of this communicative vehicle is (1) to highlight the chess activities within the worldwide African Diaspora (2) to serve as a vehicle for fostering a greater sense of community with in the chess world, and (3) to facilitate the sharing of ideas and knowledge and (4) to demonstrate the true universality of chess.
Under the left scroll are the list – The Editor’s Desk, The Drum Beat, The Chess Village and Quick reference. The bar in the center holds News spotlight, news headlines – within and outside Chess Drum links – chess drum media center, which contains Drum audio interviews and chess videos. Concluding the downside of the center of the homepage is the game of the week.
Right side scroll of the homepage starts with the web search engine with both Google and the Drum, followed by Chess Crackers, 65th square and the link of historic moments from recently concluded events.
Beginning with the editor’s desk and profile, the learn how to play chess is a text that is lucid and upto the dot. The Drum’s hall of fame is a collector’s item, for it contains a big number of rare photos not seen elsewhere. The opinion/editorial page link listed in alphabetical order holds a variety of articles for the chess lover. It’s variety can be gauged from some of its titles viz., Bobby Fischer, Matrix reloaded, Prison chess, Srilankan chess community, Lennox Lewis, Intrigue of Emory Tate etc., to name a few.
Also linked is the review article on Grandmaster Larry Christiansen’s book “Storming the Barricades” which foresees India as a big chess force in reckoning for the Olympiad gold in 2008. The article published in July 2005 after India’s young brigade of Harikrishna, Humpy, Ganguly, Mageshchandran, Chanda, Venkatesh, Kunte took the American soil by their gentle storm. Mageshchandran, incidentally emerged co-winner of the subject event, making his third and final Grandmaster in the process. Next comes the Drum blog, which has several chess postings and comments.
Under the banner of Drum beat, some exciting chess stuff is carded. The Drum beat starts with Fire on Board which deals with detailed analysis of an interesting game. The link of Chess crackers deals with a variety of positions, that conclude with material gains for the winner. Then comes the talking Drum, that lists the interviews of the top Pan-African chess players.
The 65th square is a blow up page of the editor, who goes about in detail with any topic of the day, ranging from controversial to the down-to-earth ones. Oriental browsers may find topics relating to the chess & self-actualization, quite spiritual in nature. In Daaim Shabazz words, “Chess is interesting vehicle for expression because it encourages a deeper need for satisfaction and self-fulfillment.”
Along with the game of the week, the chess drum beat is wrapped up. But more is in store as one wades through the chess village and quick reference links, which shows the remarkable consistency of the site in giving nice content from its inception. The site run by Daaim Shabazz, Associate Professor of Business at Florida A&M University (USA) is truly a great effort, and an yeomen service to the worldwide African Diaspora.
All kudos to the man who brought about the positiveness of a right vehicle that the Chess Drum is.