Following two de-cades and a bit more of inactivity on the international circuit, chess seems to be finding its way back into the Caribbean limelight through Guyanese participation in two recent FIDE-ranked tournaments.
First, there was the FIDE Sub-Zonal Tournament which was held in Nassau two weeks ago; and running almost simultaneously with that was the special FIDE-ranked round-robin tournament for six selected Guyanese players that was organised by the World Chess Federation.
Guyana was represented at the Nassau Sub Zonal Qualifier by Errol Tiwari. Sixteen countries fielded 27 participants, including one female grandmaster from Venezuela. Guyana was the only country that did not possess an international FIDE rating. To obtain an international rank, a country has to play in international tournaments. This has not happened for Guyana in 22 years, and only became a possibility when the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) paid its dues to the World Chess Organization (FIDE) last December, following the negotiation of a waiver from that august body. FIDE is comprised of 170 nations and is the second largest organization in the world after FIFA, which boasts a membership of over 200 countries.
Immediately after the GCF obtained the coveted membership from FIDE, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony, advocated, and became insistent that Guyana must rejoin the family of Caribbean chess nations. He explained that now that we are accredited to the world body, we must be “strategically placed” and seek to sit upon the world stage of this great game. By the end of the second quarter of the year, we have succeeded in having some of players FIDE-rated.
Tiwari obtained three points from the nine rounds of the Sub Zonal tournament and thereby obtained a FIDE rating. The rating has to be certified by FIDE’s governing body before it can be handed to the player through his national federation. The same arrangement stands for the six Guyanese participants in the local FIDE tournament which was held alongside the Nassau tournament.
It was a pleasing moment for all members of the GCF to know that we were no longer isolated as a nation in chess. At the Sub Zonal in Nassau, before the tournament began, the Cuban arbiter announced that any player who obtains a 66 per cent of the total nine points becomes an International Master immediately. Such was the strength of the tournament. Jumo Pietersen took this title back to Jamaica, winning the tournament ahead of the Venezuelan grandmaster. Jumo said he prepared well for the tournament, and was not surprised at the results. He said it’s the first time his country would receive such a title and he is proud to take it home. Are we listening?
Kosintseva vs Danielian
The FIDE Women Grand Prix was played recently, in Jermuk, Armenia. Georgian grandmaster Nana Dzanidze placed first with a masterful performance of nine points from eleven games. She finished one-and-a-half points ahead of the field. The Grand Prix, a series of elite tournaments organised by FIDE and Global Chess, is being held in various countries of the world. The Jermuk Grand Prix represented one of the strongest women tournaments of all time, according to various news reports. Here is a game from the tournament in which White makes a horrendous blunder towards the end.
Kosintseva,T (2534) – Danielian,E (2473) [B12]
4th FIDE GP w Jermuk ARM (11), 05.07.2010
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 c5 6.Be3 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Ne7 8.Nd2 Nbc6 9.N2f3 Bg4 10.0-0 Bxf3 11.Nxf3 Ng6 12.c4 dxc4 13.Bxc4 Qc7 14.Bb5 Be7 15.Rc1 0-0 16.Bxc6 bxc6 17.Qd4 Rfd8 18.Qc3 Rac8 19.Rfd1 Qb8 20.g3 c5 21.h4 Qb7 22.Rxd8+ Rxd8 23.Nd2 Qd5 24.Nc4
24…h5. Giving her opponent a chance to miss some tactics. 25.Rc2?? Qd1+ 26.Kh2 Rd3 White resigns! 0-1.
