Baba Sy was a Senegalese international draughts player and the first world champion from Africa.
He is said to have been “discovered” by a French player visiting Dakar. In 1959. Baba Sy won the French championship in Châtellerault. A dispute in 1963–64 World Championship was undecided by his death in a car accident in 1978, but he was posthumously declared 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.
On January 28 1962 Baba Sy played in the Hague facing 150 opponents in a simultaneous exhibition.
His tactical style appealed to the masses and he rose to the top of the draughts world. In 1986, he was declared the 1963-64 World Champion when the International Draughts Federation ruled that he should have been awarded the title when his opponent Iser Kouperman failed to show.
After dominating the international draughts scene for many years, Sy died in a car accident in Dakar, the capitol of Senegal. However, he remains a legendary cultural icon in Senegal as well as Europe and the draught-playing world.
Snippet of History 