The UTD Mercury

Media Credit: James Stallings UTD alumnus Amon Simutowe instructs students at a chess camp. He fulfilled the requirements for the rank of Grandmaster (GM) after winning the Euwe Stimulans tournament in The Netherlands in August. [Click to enlarge]

Editor's Note: Following is part of a series highlighting the accomplishments of UTD alumni in their lives and careers after graduation from the University. If you know of someone you might like to see featured in this series, please email mercury@utdallas.edu.

At UTD alumnus Amon Simutowe's age, most graduates are just beginning to develop a game plan, but he's already plotting his next move after becoming the first African chess Grandmaster (GM) from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Simutowe graduated from UTD in December 2006 with degrees in economics and finance, and a minor in accounting.

Simutowe was born in Zambia in 1982. He taught himself to play chess when he was 10-years-old. He became junior national champion when he was 13, senior national champion at 14 and was an International Master when he was 16.

"In chess, I enjoyed the responsibility I was learning from having no one to blame for my mistakes. I also enjoyed making accurate moves at critical moments," Simutowe said. "People in my community also gave me a lot of moral support."

Simutowe said he considers his win against Nona Gaprindashvili, who became the first female GM in 1978, to be a pivotal victory. He faced her in the Euwe Stimulans Tournament in the Netherlands in August. Simutowe won the Euwe Stimulans, which was the last achievement (called a "norm") he needed to gain the title of GM.

"I played very well strategically and during the endgame. It's very unusual to outplay a very experienced GM in strategy or any element of chess, so my win against her gave me a lot of confidence that I was in great shape. I pressed hard in every game that followed," Simutowe said.

Simutowe said he also enjoyed his victory against 2005 U.S. Chess Championship winner GM Hikaru Nakamura at the 2007 U.S. Open Chess Championship.

"I predicted the way he would play based on his personality, and he reacted as I had imagined," Simutowe said.

Simutowe still needs to raise his rating, which was 2476 at the end of Sept., to 2500 to make his GM title official. Now that his requirements are behind him, he faces that challenge calmly.

"I already made the requirements to become a GM. I only need a few points for that to become official. It's not a big problem," Simutowe said.

Simutowe attended UTD on a chess scholarship, and expects the number of schools offering similar recruitment incentives to increase.

"Some schools are using chess to market their programs. I think more schools will follow UTD, Texas Tech and University of Maryland- Baltimore County in giving scholarships because chess in the U.S. is just booming at the scholastic level. I think most schools did not give scholarships because chess was relatively unpopular in American grade schools," Simutowe said.

Simutowe remembers UTD's consecutive victories in the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship (Pan Am) fondly, and retains a high opinion of the UTD team's prowess.

The Pan Am brings together the best players collegiate chess players in the western hemisphere and determines the four universities eligible to compete in the "Final Four" chess competition.

"We won the Pan Am three times. We did very well. As a team, we took a light attitude before matches, and I still find that interesting. UTD will continue to rule American college chess for a significant time," Simutowe said.

During his time at UTD, Simutowe applied his strategic skills to the challenge of teaching chess to students in Dallas grade schools.

"Since most of them had other interests, the best way to get through to them was to relate chess to real life and their desires," Simutowe said. "I called their plans and hopes for success "checkmate," and the lessons went very well."

Simutowe said chess matches usually take about four to six hours to complete, and although he said he doesn't have specific rituals, "I have noticed I am reluctant to change clothes when I am winning."

Before a match, Simutowe said he's usually interested in "being focused... I take all my opponents seriously."

He dreams about chess, and he doesn't own a chess set, because "chess is part of me... I can easily visualize chess."

Chess has taken Simutowe to 31 countries so far, but his plans for the future include improvements in his home country, Zambia.

"My long term plan is to work for the government of my country. I plan to attend graduate school next year. I will go for a joint program in something relevant to government, like economics, Master of Public Administration combined with Master of Business Administration (MBA). With the MBA, I am interested in the entrepreneurial and strategic part. Promoting chess should be part of me regardless of what I choose," Simutowe said.

Simutowe is weighing whether or not he wants to become a serious Chess World Cup candidate in 2009.

"I have to make other goals now. The Grandmaster honeymoon is over," Simutowe said.

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