Charles Swan Wins Isaac Braswell Memorial High School Chess Prize

Evanston Chess Club is pleased to award the first Isaac Braswell Memorial High School Chess Prize to Charles Swan of Chicago. Swan earned the prize by being the highest-rated African American senior year player in IHSA chess. He played board two for the Whitney Young High School chess team that won the 2013 IHSA championship, and he is also an active USCF player. Swan will receive a $300 award at the Second Annual Isaac Braswell Memorial Blitz Tournament, to be held at Evanston Chess Club on June 8.

Isaac M. Braswell (1979-2012) was one of the strongest active African American chess players in the Chicago area. He reached a peak USCF rating of 2104 (expert level) in spite of poverty, disability and health challenges. Everyone who knew Isaac remembers what a friendly, funny, enthusiastic and kind person he was, even as he was a fierce competitor over the board. Isaac’s friendships crossed all lines of race, age, class and profession, and chess was one of many ways he connected with others. Isaac probably played chess everywhere in Chicago; he was a regular at Evanston Chess Club and many other clubs, as well as a member of a Chicago Industrial Chess League team. In February 2012 he played for an Evanston Chess Team at the US Amateur Team-North championships.

For more information about Evanston Chess Club, visit evanstonchess.org.