Last Sunday morning, the illegal Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) strolled without purpose in its usual manner, into the meeting room of the National Resource Centre. A ridiculously small gathering met there to contest a one day 15-minute-per-player chess competition, referring to it comically as the Independence Chess Tournament. The notification for the tournament arrived the previous Friday evening, leaving players limited time to psychologically 
prepare, and to seriously consider competing in the suggested competition. What was the rush? Was it to create an organized show for the beginning of September, the month of the Chess Olympiad? In this column’s opinion, convening the tournament at such short and trivial notice, falls within the swirl of distractions which is occupying the mind of the GCF currently.
With the federation mired in an ongoing embarrassing standoff with some of its more reliable members, one may be wont to agree that instead of a one day tournament, the constituted body could have named a date for an Annual General Meeting in accordance with the constitution of the GCF. The tournament could have waited, thereby giving it more time to work properly. At the AGM, the election of office bearers takes place.
