The CARIFTA Chess Championships has officially been postponed due to the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak across the region.
The tournament was expected to be played in Guyana next month but its cancellation comes in light of Guyana confirming four cases of the virus.
This was confirmed by Guyana Chess Federation Tournament Director, Rashaad Hussain, who also indicated that the body had written to president of the Confederation of Chess for Americas, Jorge Vega Fernandez requesting a rescheduling, which was granted.
No date has been proposed but the body suggested the tournament be held in 2021 or upon the alleviation of the virus.
The Tournament Director also noted that Caribbean countries have expressed a similar approach to their local competitions, highlighting Antigua as one who has opted to suspend their local competitions and forcing a delay in their preparations for the regional meet.
Hussain added that both the national senior and junior championships had to be postponed for a third time due to the virus. He said that on the first occasion the tournament was switched due to the President’s chess tournament while the second time, it was due to the aftermath of the recent General Elections with persons fearing to come out.
Hussain also indicated that the body has not yet set a date for resumption of its activities but is closely monitoring information coming out of the Ministry of Health.
He indicated that the federation will be seeking directives from the ministry as to when things can go back to normalcy.
