Baba Sy

Baba Sy (1935 in Donaye, Senegal – August 20 1978) 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.

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, beating the other 150 players.

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.

• Ton Sijbrands: Le grand livre de Baba Sy = Het groot Baba Sy boek. Voorst, 1989. ISBN 90-71811-03-4
• Govert Westerveld: Baba Sy, the World Champion of 1963-1964 of 10×10 Draughts -Volume I. Blanca, 2015. ISBN 978-1-326-39729-6
• Govert Westerveld: Baba Sy, the World Champion of 1963-1964 of 10×10 Draughts-Volume II. Blanca, 2015. ISBN 978-1-326-43862-3