Hardly anyone expected Guyana to qualify for a major international chess title. It had never happened previously for a woman chess player. Maria Varona-Thomas’s magnificent performance, therefore, at the 42nd Chess Olympiad at Baku, Azerbaijan, the biennial team competition that players consider the biggest international tournament, was unlikely. For the game of chess, the victory of capturing an unprecedented title, is like capturing an Olympic medal. Guyana should be ebullient about it, especially the proponents of gender parity for women in chess.
Guyana’s women team was not a formidable lineup. Teams at the Chess Olympiad comprise five players, four of whom play each match.
