chess

Chess Star On The Rise: 12 Year Old Diamond Shakoor Climbs The Ranks Of The Game

Erin Williams — Fri, 03 May 2013 10:00:00 +0000

At the age of seven, it’s safe to say that most kids want to be just like their parents – walk like them, act like them, work like them. For Diamond Shakoor, that meant being intrigued by her dad Abdul, who at the time was teaching older kids on how to play chess. “I asked him one day if I could play and he was like ‘Sure, if you stop getting in trouble in school.’ And so that’s how the journey started," she says.

Webster U. Celebrates College Chess Title, As New Hire Pays Off

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 19:56:39 +0000

If there's no such thing as bad publicity, how much is good publicity worth? Webster University wants to find out.

Last year, the university didn't have a chess team. On Sunday, its team took home the national college championship, the President's Cup, after winning what is often called the "Final Four" of chess.

Webster, which is located just outside of St. Louis, picked up its team nearly intact last year from Texas Tech.

St. Louis Scores A Checkmate For International Students

Erin Williams — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 18:06:03 +0000

Young people from across the world are turning St. Louis into the premiere international location for chess. This academic year marks the first that Webster and Lindenwood Universities are spearheading new competitive programs and offering scholarships to students from around the world. Those are among the moves in recent years that has allowed the city to emerge as one of the best and brightest hubs for the complex board game’s talent.

St. Louisan, chess champ Nakamura: Next Bobby Fischer?

NPR Staff — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:49:02 +0000

At the U.S. Chess Championships under way in St. Louis, all eyes are on America's top-ranked player, and the favorite going into the tournament, Hikaru Nakamura.

During the past decade, Nakamura has made a name for himself as the new superstar of American chess, and with it, he's become a kind of spokesperson for a game that hasn't been too popular in this country since the days of world champion Bobby Fischer.

In an interview with NPR's Michel Martin for Tell Me More's series on Asian-American "game changers," Nakamura says the comparisons with Fischer are always present.

A banner year for St. Louis Chess

Tony Rich — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:00:16 +0000

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/national/local-national-997837.mp3

2011 has been a banner year for Chess in the city of Saint Louis.