On Thursday evening, German grandmaster Rainer Buhmann delivered a chess lecture at the Foreign Service Institute for students and adult chess players. The grandmaster engaged participants in a lively discussion about chess, after which there was a vibrant question and answer session. At right of the photo above is Sheriffa Ali, tournament player. Next to her is Guyana’s junior chess champion, Taffin Khan.

Grandmaster Buhmann introduced some fresh ideas

The Guyana Chess Federa-tion (GCF) does not have the magical crystal ball to predict exactly the future for chess in Guyana, but what it sees gives us hope for the upliftment of the game.

After three decades of reading about grandmasters and looking at their photographs in the print media and on the internet, one actually is with us. And he is a European grandmaster, representing the elite group of grandmasters in the world. Rainer Buhmann, rated at 2582 and ranked among the top ten chess players in Germany, leaves today following a hectic four-day visit to Guyana.

On Thursday morning, as soon as he arrived, German grandmaster Rainer Buhmann paid a courtesy call on Dr Frank Anthony, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport. Buhmann presented Dr Anthony with a digital chess clock and calculator on behalf of the Fédération Internationale des Echecs (FIDE), and the Minister in turn gave the grandmaster a book about Guyana. In photograph, Minister Anthony displays the gift which he received from grandmaster Buhmann.

Grandmaster Buhmann’s visit was unscheduled. It took us by surprise. The Fédération Internationale des Echecs (FIDE), the World Chess Federation, comprising 162 countries and headed by President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, despatched grandmaster Buhmann to Guyana based on the sudden explosion of activity in chess here during the last two years.

The press has been primarily responsible for engaging the attention of an international chess audience for Guyana. Our activities have succeeded in capturing the imagination of chess players in the region and internationally, especially through the internet. The chess column, for example, is featured from time to time on the Susan Polgar Chess Blog and other sites as well.

Minister of Sport Dr Frank Anthony, keeps emphasising the crucial importance of re-joining FIDE as a bona-fide member. Our contributions to FIDE have been mounting over the years, as we were being charged our annual obligatory fees for the years when we were inactive. Efforts are under way to have these costs erased, or lessened at the least, and representation is being made on our behalf by FIDE’s regional director for the Caribbean, Allan Herbert. We are optimistic that with the visit of grandmaster Buhmann, our chances of benefiting in this direction would be boosted.

Grandmaster Buhmann introduced us to some fresh ideas for the development of the game in Guyana. He said that perhaps we can introduce a diploma ladder system for the kids, climbing the ladder as we get stronger and stronger. At the start of the diploma programme, kids would compete for the Chess Pawn Diploma, then the Chess Knight Diploma, then Chess Bishop Diploma, Chess Rook Diploma, Chess Queen Diploma and finally, the Chess King Diploma. Such a system would stimulate kids to keep with the game, and play to reach the higher stages.

During a conversation with the grandmaster, Minister Anthony noted the importance of motivating kids to play chess. He explained, for example, that his daughter Ashley tries hard to win each game she plays against the computer, which is set to her level. Why? The pieces are animated, and when the human player wins a game, the animated King dances on the board to music from the computer. Obviously, to make the King dance, you have to win the game. In much the same way, the Minister suggested that it would be a motivating factor for the kids who played against the grandmaster in the “grand” simultaneous exhibition, to receive a Chess Certificate signed by grandmaster Buhmann certifying that they had indeed opposed him over the chess board.

Buhmann has played against Viswanathan Anand, the current world champion, but lost the game. Anand, he said, analysed the game with him, and commended him for his standard of play. One month ago, Buhmann played against grandmaster Michael Adams, England’s strongest chess player, and drew the game. At one time in his career, Adams was rated in the top ten of the world.

Could you imagine how stimulating to a kid it would be to receive a signed certificate from grandmaster Buhmann? And this is how a number of kids were given Chess certificates for their participation in the simultaneous exhibition at Queen’s College.

Grandmaster Buhmann is inclined to play a positive role in the development of local chess. He is a busy professional who is very active on the international circuit. When he leaves Guyana today, he will participate in the Heroes Day Chess Cup, a grandmaster tournament which begins in Barbados tomorrow. He is one of the highest-ranked players in the tournament along with grandmaster Shabalov. We extend our best wishes to him.

Buhmann said that he would like to see Guyana participating in the next Chess Olympiad, and he can help us to prepare for the event. We are pleased with his offer, and trust he would find the time to work with us electronically, as we prepare to meet the challenges ahead.

We do not need a crystal ball to show us the future of chess. We know Taffin Khan is the future. If things had fallen apart during the last two decades, we are here to fix them. The process will be a long and tedious one, but we are determined to keep chess alive, and make Guyana a great chess playing nation.

Chess has entered the age of stability in Guyana.