King's File Interview with Malcolm Wooten

Malcolm Wooten is the former president of the Howard Chess Team, a chess enthusiast, and a member of the Black Knights Club. He is also a good friend of mine. I first met Malcolm when the Howard team worked with the team I coach at EL Haynes High School, but since then, we’ve connected playing blitz at Chess on Tap and going to tournaments together.

As you’ll see in this interview, Malcolm is just getting started on his chess journey. He is now working to become a tournament director in addition to his own aspirations as a tournament player.

Malcolm shares a beautiful game from Week 3 of the DC Chess League in which he showcases his tactical and positional strengths. You’ll see him calmly continue with his plan even as his opponent comes at him with a strong kingside pawn storm.

I enjoyed talking to Malcolm in this first episode of The King’s File Interview series. Hopefully, this is the first of more chess conversations to come.

"After graduating, what I discovered I enjoyed most about being involved with the Howard team was mainly planning out events, meeting people, and bringing people together for something amazing. That amazing thing was chess.” - Malcolm