African chess players mourn Kobe

Chess players in Africa have joined others to mourn late basketball great Kobe Bryant.

The chess community wrote on their Facebook page a message to mourn the late basketball player, citing one of his popular quotes.

“Africa Chess Media mourns with the family of TheLegend, King Kobe Bryant, as the world lost a gem.

“We also sympathise with the families of all those on board the chopper that crashed and lost their lives.

“His most popular #chess quote, these young guys are playing checkers. I’m out there playing chess!”

The 41-year-old NBA superstar was among the nine people killed on Sunday when a helicopter crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, California.

His daughter Gianna Bryant, 13, also died in the crash.

Kobe was the youngest player in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points at 34 years and 104 days of age.