‘He who would accomplish little must
sacrifice little; he who would achieve much
must sacrifice much; he who would attain
highly, must sacrifice greatly.’
-James Allen
When the final clock is stopped this evening, only then will we know who the qualifiers are for the National Chess Championships of Guyana. So brutal and unpredictable have been the games thus far that it is difficult to say with certainty who the top finishers will be.
All the participants among the seniors have lost a game. Wendell Meusa leads the tournament because he has lost only one game so far. His rivals for the number one position have each lost two.
We have witnessed some hard games, and we have seen some new talent being exhibited. Brian Thompson is a much improved player, along with Irshad Mohamed and Learie Webster. Even Kenrick Braithwaite who used to be previously overlooked and not taken seriously, played some tight games. Lack of end game experience caused him to falter against some of the stronger players. Taffin Khan is now one of the strongest seniors locally, and after five rounds he was leading the tournament.
Our players have been facing international competition over the internet, in addition to training for tournament play with the FRITZ chess programme. What we have witnessed in this tournament is a standard, certainly, that was either contained, or was not there previously.
Among the juniors we have Tutorial High School’s Sham Khan who has not lost a game so far in the tournament. He has developed his game rapidly. The two Motilall brothers from West Demerara are also managing their game well, although they only recently began to participate in tournaments.
The top five finishers in the junior category will represent their country at the Inter-Guiana games two weeks from now in Paramaribo. The results of their games would give us an indication of where we are in our development. For the juniors, I believe we have to develop a culture of personal chess training if we are at least to equal our competition within the region. If we intend to march ahead of our counterparts in the Caribbean, and lead Caricom, chess has to be taken seriously, as seriously as the CXC examinations. Only then can we forge ahead regionally, and then, internationally. It can be done.
What I have found is that chess players themselves take their game seriously. They know the importance of studying the game. But they will do better if they can count on the support of parents, their spouses, and others who sorround them and influence their direction. Chess is a huge game internationally. Over one billion people worldwide know and respect the game. They recognize its intrinsic value. More and more young people are becoming attached to the great game through the internet, and this is why we have seen such a flurry of sponsorship for the game internationally among telephone companies, internet game companies, prominent food outlets and so on. It is smart to attract young people to businesses which interest young people.
Chess will continue its march to recognition in Guyana. As time goes by, we will increase our numbers. Already, some new players have emerged, and a few are set to compete in the National Championships. Every nation relishes a champion. And the prestige of finding a champion in chess is known throughout the world. It will not be easy for Guyana, but we will persevere.
Wang v Carlsen
Six of the top guns of chess are participating in the double round robin Nanjing Pearl Spring Tournament in China. On show is chess wunderkind Magnus Carlsen. Following his two victories in the first two games of the tournament, one against former world championVeselin Topalov, Carlsen faces Chinese grandmaster Wang Yue. He is held to a draw.
Wang Yue (2736) – Carlsen, M (2772) 2nd Pearl Spring Nanjing CHN (3), 30.9.2009
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.e3 0-0 6.Rc1 Be6 7.c5 c6 8.Bd3 Bg4 9.Qc2 Nfd7 10.Bxb8 Nxb8 11.h3 Bc8 12.f4 b6 13.Na4 e5 14.dxe5 f6 15.exf6 Qxf6 16.Nf3 Qe7 17.Kf2 b5 18.Nc3 Na6 19.Qd2 Nxc5 20.Bb1 Kh8 21.b4 Nb7 22.Ne2 Nd6 23.Ned4 Nc4 24.Qd3 Bd7 25.h4 Rae8 26.Rce1 Qxb4 27.h5 Nd6 28.hxg6 Ne4+ 29.Kg1 h6 30.Rc1 Qb2 31.Qc2 Qa3 32.Nb3 c5 33.Re1 Bf5 34.Nh4 c4 35.Nxf5 Rxf5 36.Nd2 Rxf4! This probably came for Wang Yue out of the blue Nanjing sky. The rook cannot be taken: 37.exf4 Bd4+ 38.Re3 (or 38.Kh2 Qg3#; or 38.Kf1 Ng3#) 38…Qxe3+ and mate on the next move.
37.Qd1 Rf6 38.Nxe4 dxe4 39.Qd7 Qe7 40.Qxb5
40…Qe6. 41.Rh4 Rf5 42.Qa4 Ref8 43.Rxe4 Qxg6 44.Re8 Rxe8 45.Bxf5 Qf7 46.Qd7 Qxd7 47.Bxd7 Rd8 48.Rd1 c3 49.Ba4 Rxd1+ 50.Bxd1 Be5 51.Kf1 Kg7 52.Ke2 h5 53.Kd3 h4 54.Bf3 Kf6 55.Kc2 Ke6 56.Kd3 Kf6 57.Kc2 Ke6 58.Kd3 draw. 1/2——1/2.
