''Baba Sy'' was an African

international draughts International draughts (also called international checkers or Polish draughts) is a Abstract strategy, strategy board game for two players, one of the variants of draughts. The gameboard comprises 10×10 squares in alternating dark and light co ...

player and the first world champion from Africa. He is said to have been "discovered" by an American player visiting

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

in 1959. In 1962 Germany organized a "big game/party", he was the only Senegalese and only African. He played against 150 players simultaneously spending few seconds per table. Several champions are part of the "big game/party" and he is declared the winner. By some accounts he is said to have beat each of the 150 players, in other accounts the results were 122 wins, 33 draws, and 5 loses. In either case, a remarkable achievement. During the 1963–64 World Championship, a controversial dispute arose between him and

Iser Kuperman Iser Kuperman, sometimes spelled Koeperman, (russian: Исер Иосифович Куперман; April 21, 1922 - March 6, 2006) was a player of international draughts from the USSR. He had been the seven-time world champion, the four-time Panam ...

, and the final match was not played. The championship title for this competition remained unresolved at the time of Baba Sy's death (car accident) in 1978. He was posthumously declared the victor in 1986. The matter caused some debate over the years. He is sometimes seen as a pioneer who paved the way for other African players.

Publications

* Ton Sijbrands: ''Le grand livre de Baba Sy = Het groot Baba Sy boek.'' Voorst, 1989. * Govert Westerveld: ''Baba Sy, the World Champion of 1963-1964 of 10×10 Draughts'' - Volume I. Blanca, 2015. * Govert Westerveld: ''Baba Sy, the World Champion of 1963-1964 of 10×10 Draughts''- Volume II. Blanca, 2015.

External links

Official site for Baba Sy on a French language checkers site
1935 births Senegalese draughts players Road incident deaths in Senegal 1978 deaths 1978 road incidents Players of international draughts {{Senegal-sport-bio-stub