At times, the column focuses primarily on regurgitating chess stories from around the world in juxtaposition to highlighting what is happening locally. Some believe there is simply no comparison in that regard, because we learn from the masters and their games, in addition to relishing the exploits of active chess players from other countries. Simultaneously, we continue to experience a severe paucity of tournament chess locally. Guyana remains a limited (in numbers and rank) chess-playing country and has been like that for at least a century. At present, we are a member of the World Chess Federation, the game’s governing body, and we have a single vote at the quadrennial congress when it meets to elect a new president or re-attach itself to the incumbent one. One hundred and seventy countries,
