There is a child prodigy out there somwhere
What you can do or think you can do, begin it.
For boldness has magic, power and genius in it.
The Guyana Chess Federation, defunct for well over a decade, has been re-established. It has replaced the Interim Steering Committee for the Development of Chess which was established by Dr Frank Anthony, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport.
Four members of the previous committee were elected to be part of the new executive body, while one newcomer, Andre Griffith, completed a lean management team to carry the game forward. The interim committee had decided unanimously that it preferred to work with a contracted executive to erase the ‘head of an elephant, body of an ant’ perception which is unavoidable when new organisations are created, and to ensure each elected official is worth the confidence of members of the new Guyana Chess Federation.
As it was defined previously, the aims of the federation shall be as follows:
1. to establish and maintain a chess-playing centre for the accommodation and recreation of members;
2. to foster and develop the playing of chess throughout the country;
3. to encourage the formation of chess clubs in different areas;
4. to promote inter-Caribbean and international competition in cooperation with other Caribbean countries and other territories;
5. to organize tournaments in Guyana;
6. to promote the popularity of the game of chess ;
7. to do all things that may be requisite or necessary or conducive to the above objects.
This year, the emphasis will be placed squarely on the schools. If we can tell the nation at the end of December that 1000 kids, teenagers, young men and women and school teachers have been taught the game, and can play the game easily and smoothly, the federation would be pleased. This is a segment of the strategic vision of the federation. As the saying goes ‘Teach ’em young, and they will bring home the bun.’
The Ministry of Sport wants to have a schools’ chess competition. Those schools which have been given chess sets are expected to take part. To translate this thinking into tangible action, however, we felt it was worthwhile to appoint a competent chess trainer to visit schools and hold some training sessions. This exercise has already begun, but my first lesson was ‘gasping.’ I was disappointed to learn there is no chess being played at a school rich in the history and heritage of the game, a school synonymous with the world’s most popular board game, one of the higher institutions of learning in the secondary school system. But, this barely noticeable oversight has been corrected.
We took quick and decisive action. And we learnt something. The message is clear and unambiguous: it is imperative that we monitor the schools within our reach, for now, and see what they are doing. It is obligatory that the federation ensure that the game is actually being played in the schools, and played correctly. It is the only way for us to go forward in the schools.
The federation, however, certainly cannot do this alone. We need willing hands to help us. We need competent hands to teach the game. We need strong hands to rise to the challenges of deepening the game. Only then would we popularize the game and make Guyana proud among the nations of the world that say boldly, and resoundingly, “We play chess in this country.” It would be a first step in a journey of a thousand miles in producing a grandmaster. We have one out there. We have a child prodigy out there. We have to find him.
