Where are they now? Dr. Kimani Stancil

Born: January 7, 1972
Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
Education: B.S./B.A. (double major) University of Maryland-Baltimore (1994), Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2002)
Peak Chess Rating: 2198 (USCF) 1967 (FIDE)
Chess Accolades: Maryland High School State Champion, Denker Tournament of H.S. Champions (1989)
Honors: Postdoctoral fellowship – Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at University of California Berkeley (2004), “AYA-All You can Aspire” (founder), Meyerhoff Scholar
Dissertation: “Molecular Recognition: Conformational Memory and the Macroscopic Functional Character of Heteropolymer Gels”
Current Profession: Assistant Professor of Math and Physics, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point, New York)
Last tournament: 2019-01-06 JANUARY PREMIER (NY)

Dr. Kimani Stancil is one of first African-American players to participate in the Denker Tournament of High School Champions. The tournament was started by GM Arnold Denker in 1984 and was generally held alongside the U.S. Open. Dr. Kimani played in the 1989 version by virtue of his winning the Maryland High School championship.

Kimani Stancil (center) looks on while Maurice Ashley (standing left) makes point to R.O. Mitchell. Both Stancil and Mitchell were competing in the Denker Tournament of Champions at the 1989 U.S. Open. Mitchell would later win the U.S. Junior Open in 1990.

Extremely cerebral and resolute, the Baltimore native comes from a proud tradition of educators. He honed his own teaching skills at his parents’ (McCauley Stancil, Jr. and wife, Kay) Maarifa Elementary and Middle School. This school immersed its students in self-affirmative and constructive activities in an African-centered curriculum. This foundation gave Dr. Kimani the confidence to master higher sciences and he gravitated toward math and physics.

Dr. Kimani playing 11-year old Fabiano Caruana at the 2004 World Open.
Photo by Daaim Shabazz.

He received a scholarship to University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) and continued his chess pursuits as a member of the club and the Pan-Am Intercollegiate team. One may ask, “Why Physics?” Dr. Kimani contends that it is the challenge of learning and applying models of nature for conceptual and hopefully social gains. He was also glad to know that he was joining an elite group of chess players who were physicists.

Walter Harris and Frank Street (now in their 70s) were the first and second Black players to earn the National Master title. Both attended UCLA and later became engrossed in their careers. Jones Murphy, Jr. is yet another physicist who earned his doctoral stripes at California Institute of Technology. Chess players are an ambitious bunch!

Dr. Jones Murphy, Jr. with Dr. Kimani Stancil
at 2013 Millionaire Chess Open in Las Vegas
Photo by Daaim Shabazz

I have attended one of Dr. Stancil’s physics lectures during a colloquium at Florida State University. While I understood very little about polymers and gels, I could appreciate his passion for what I knew was a very important topic in materials science. After finishing his Ph.D. dissertation in 2004, Dr. Stancil journey out to the University of California-Berkeley for a post-doctoral fellowship. Thereafter he taught at Howard University and now at U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in New York.

Dr. Kimani still competes and still has chess ambitions. Now married to Nicole Love, they have one daughter and reside in the Maryland.

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