Amon Simutowe is a Zambian chess player who is the first grandmaster from sub-Saharan Africa. He was born on January 6, 1982, in Ndola, Zambia. Despite a lack of local chess resources, Simutowe excelled at international play. He achieved the FIDE Master title in 1998 at the 1998 Chess Olympiad. In 2000, Simutowe won a scholarship to the University of Texas at Dallas. This university is known for its strong chess program.
Upon coming back home, Simutowe achieved his third and final grandmaster norm, thereby securing his grandmaster title by winning the 2007 Euwe Stimulans tournament in Arnhem, Netherlands. This accomplishment retroactively earned him the title, which he had just narrowly missed a few years before.
Simutowe’s chess journey has not only brought pride to his home country of Zambia but also to all of Africa. He is the third African chess player to achieve the prestigious title of Grandmaster, following grandmasters Essam El-Gindy and Ahmed Adly of Egypt. Despite constraints and opposition, Simutowe’s perseverance has been inspiring to many, both within and outside the chess fraternity.