Chess
The Guyana Chess Federation continues to foster the enhancement of chess countrywide by reaching out to those communities which never had an opportunity to learn and play the ancient game. Last Saturday, the Federation visited the Essequibo coast to teach some schoolteachers and students the game.
The visit to Essequibo was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, which in turn was successful in attracting the efforts of the resident business community. Mr Alfro Alphonso supplied media coverage for Essequibians and provided the meals for the event. Minister Frank Anthony encouraged the hosting of the workshop because he believes chess should be played in all ten regions of Guyana, as a leisure pursuit and competitively. But the Minister has a more tactical motive for encouraging chess-playing in Essequibo: He wants a team from that county to participate in the 2009 National Schools Chess Championship in December.
For this to become a reality, the teachers and students who attended the workshop on Saturday would have to work assiduously to develop their game. Some people are known to grasp the rudiments of the game more quickly than others. And this is why we tried to impress upon the teachers the importance of teaching the game to other students who were not at the workshop. Additionally, we asked each of the participating students to teach one new person the game – perhaps a relative, a friend, a parent, etc.
In May, Dr Anthony distributed some chess sets to schools on the coast, and we made certain those schools were represented at the workshop. The teacher from Charity was impressive for the speed with which he grasped the game, and we are trusting that he will share what he learnt with residents of his community. This is how we learn and develop ourselves. Wendell Meusa told me he saw two men playing the game outside a shop in Linden when he was just a kid, and eventually, they taught him to play the game. In Barbados he took up the game and became that country’s national junior champion . He also played in some regional tournaments. Today, he is one of the strongest chess players in Guyana.
The workshop was held at the Anna Regina Multilateral school. Members of the Federation all commented upon the cleanliness of the surroundings and the feeling of tranquillity which we experienced while we were conducting the session. Immediately, I felt that chess belonged to that school, and that we were in the right place, doing the right thing. I would not be surprised if Anna Regina Multilateral produces a winner in chess.
The Federation will try to pay another visit to the Essequibo before December, to hold a more advanced chess session. But ultimately, it is up to the students themselves and the teachers on the coast, to guarantee their own development. The Federation will copy some instructive games of the masters and make them available to them. The book that I recommended, Logical Chess Move By Move by Irving Chernev is critical for their development.
I remain optimistic that Essequibo would be able to field a team of four players and one reserve to participate in this year’s National Schools Chess Championship. At that forum, they would meet chess players their age from all over Guyana. And that would be wonderful.
