2025 Chess Educator of the Year

Dr. Daaim Shabazz To Be Honored as Chess Educator of the Year

Dr. Daaim Shabazz, founder of The Chess Drum and associate professor of global business and marketing at Florida A&M University, is the 2025 University of Texas at Dallas Chess Educator of the Year. He will be recognized at an award ceremony during the Chess Educator Banquet at the McDermott Suite (located on the fourth floor of the McDermott Library) on February 25.

Shabazz began his chess career as a scholastic player in Chicago, leading Chicago Vocational High School to a city championship his senior year. Two years later, he won the Illinois Junior Invitational.

During his graduate studies at Clark Atlanta University, Shabazz created a marketing plan for a global chess network for the African Diaspora. That idea would become The Chess Drum, which was launched in 2001. It now has over 25,000 pages.

He is a board member of an initiative to get more students at Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) to develop their chess clubs. He also serves as faculty advisor for the Florida A&M Chess Club and is an advocate of having chess as part of academic courses such as business negotiations and marketing strategy.

Shabazz has covered seven FIDE Olympiad tournaments, two World Championships, Grand Chess Tour events and many other competitions. He has served the journalist community for more than 30 years and is still an active tournament competitor.

Shabazz holds a bachelor’s in computer science from Chicago State University, an MBA and a PhD in International Affairs & Development, both from Clark Atlanta.

A reception with refreshments opens the event at 6:15 p.m. The ceremony and talk with Shabazz will be held from 7-8 p.m. To reserve a spot and obtain a parking permit, please email the UT Dallas Chess Program (Tim.Steiner@UTDallas.edu).