Chess still robust among Guyanese players in New York

Guyanese chess players of yesteryear! Andrew Walker (left), who resides in the New York area, Shiv Nandalall of the ERC and Michael Sears of the Caricom Secretariat. Walker represented Guyana overseas at the junior level, while Nandalall is a former president of the Guyana Chess Federation and Sears has been adviser to chess over the years.
Guyanese chess players of yesteryear! Andrew Walker (left), who resides in the New York area, Shiv Nandalall of the ERC and Michael Sears of the Caricom Secretariat. Walker represented Guyana overseas at the junior level, while Nandalall is a former president of the Guyana Chess Federation and Sears has been adviser to chess over the years.

Andrew Walker, a former Queen’s College student and a veteran chess player now residing in the New York tri-state area, visited Guyana last week after 30 years.

He said chess among Guyanese in New York is robust, and recently Dr Edan Warsali, a former elite player during the 1970s, who now practices immigration law, sponsor-ed a milestone tournament enriched with notable Guyanese chess stalwarts. Warsali had represented Guyana at the 1978 Chess Olympiad in Argentina.

Buxton’s Marland Wood, who fetes Guyanese chess players regularly, still has his show at his home in Queens. One year I was present and was able to greet the cream of Guyana’s chess players on his lawns. These included the Broomes, the Whartons, the Duncans, Anthony Dowding, Chris Shervington and others whose names I cannot recall at the time of writ-ing. Wood had explained to me that invitations are free once you have a connection with Guyana. When I was present, people were coming and going. It was a great show!

Chess game

White: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

Black: Bogdan-Daniel Deac

Event: GCT Bucharest Classic, June 6, 2021 

Type of Game: Spanish Game, Open,

Bernstein Variation 

1. E4e5 2. Nf3Nc6 3. Bb5a6 4. Ba4Nf6 5. O-ONxe4 6. D4b5 7. Bb3d5 8. dxe5Be6 9. Nbd2Be7 10. c3O-O 11. Bc2f5 12. exf6Nxf6 13. A4b4

14. Re1Bg4 15. Nf1Bc5 16. Be3d4 17. cxd4Nxd4 18. Bxd4Bxf3 19. Qxf3Qxd4 20. Rad1Qxb2

21. Re2Qc3 22. Rd3Qa1 23. Rd1Qc3 24. Rd3Qa1 25. G4b3 26. Bxb3+Kh8 27. g5Ng8 28. Qd5Bd6 29. Rh3g6 30. Qd3Rf5 31. Qc3+Qxc3

32. Rxc3Rxg5+ 33. Ng3Nf6 34. Kf1Rb8 35. h3Re5 36. Bc4Rc5 37. Rcc2Ra5 38. Ne4Nxe4

39. Rxe4Rxa4 40. h4Kg7 41. H5gxh5 42. Re1Rbb4 43. Be2Rh4 44. Bf3a5. 0-1. White resigns.