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Champions of the
20th Century 1st International Match The International |
Some of Baba Sy’s Checkers Games from 1970 until 1977
 Harm Wiersma (10 years old) playing against Baba Sy in a show-game in 1963
Grandmaster Baba Sy played International checkers for almost twenty years and was loved for his modesty and gentleness by spectators and competitors alike. He never forgot those people who helped him to realise the dream of his life, which was to play International championship checkers. Many noticed how flexible Baba was and how easily Sy adapted to new and challenging circumstances. Baba’s easy charm and warm personality ensured that he made many friends during the numerous tournaments and simultaneous plays he was involved with over the years. He could certainly be seen as a mentor for young Ton Sijbrands and encouraged many fellow checkers players during their games. Sy was always willing to share his observations after a game had been completed. Baba Sy was killed in a car accident in Dakar in 1978, almost twenty years after his amazing rise to checkers ‘stardom’, and his tragic demise came as a blow for all within the international checkers scene. Throughout his checkers career, Baba Sy was not fortunate enough to win a World Championship and never held the title of World Champion while he was alive. Since the one championship checkers game that he was scheduled to play against Iser Kuperman never took place, this left a question mark as to who should become the World Champion for that year. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until 1986, eight years after the death of the African player, that the General Assembly World Draughts Federation in the Netherlands decided to honour Baba Sy by declaring him the victor of the checkers match and thus awarding him with the World title for the year 1963. Posthumously, the Senegalese master became the first African World Champion in International checkers. Although the Championship Title was indeed an honour to Baba Sy, it is such a shame that it took the Federation almost eight years to recognize his talent in this fashion. He was ready and willing to play the match against Kuperman, but it was the Russian Federation that cancelled the match and Iser Kuperman who did not show, regardless. Even in forfeit, Baba Sy should have been awarded the title of World Champion for 1963-4. The great checkers talent of Baba Sy may now be gone, but his image and skill lives on in the memory of many friends and competitors from the checkers arena. He was indeed a pioneer in the mind sport in West Africa and his legacy to the world of checkers is that he set the for a contingent of strong African players that exist today. Upon his death in Dakar in 1978, Baba Sy left the checkers/draughts world a legendary reputation and a wealth of games. In the past, a lot of valuable material has been lost for posterity, but in the memory of Baba Sy, Emile Biscons and Ton Sijbrands have ensured that Sy’s legacy lives on through their writings. According to Emile Biscons, Baba Sy was “The first and greatest African player of his generation, whose great talent allowed him to become the equal of the best draughts (checkers) players of the world.”
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See More African Checkers Below |
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More From the Checkers Chest |
| Checkers in Africa | Bassirou Ba, Sénégal | Ndiaga Samb |
| Checkers in Africa Continued | First African World Checker Champion | |
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