President of the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) Errol Tiwari says that for chess to develop and spread across Guyana the GCF must transform the game into a culture locally.
Tiwari’s comments came following a GCF hosted Chess Clinic for media operatives at the Kei-Shar’s Sports Club on Saturday.
Tiwari admitted that chess does not have a culture in Guyana like other popular sports such as cricket and football and said the GCF was now trying to create a culture by reaching out to youths and teaching them to play the game.
“What we are trying to do is establish a culture by taking chess to the schools.
“Practically we are doing it on our own, we spend our own money to go to these places and teach people chess,” said Tiwari.
“Right now what we are concentrating on more or less is to spread the game as widely as possible and not to have it concentrated in Georgetown,” he added.
Participants at Saturday’s clinic were taught the basic moves of the game and also chess notation which is used to record games.
The resource personnel from the GCF were Tiwari, GCF treasurer Shiv Nandalall and secretary Vishnu Rampersaud.
According to Tiwari, the game is played mostly in Georgetown.
He gave as an example the national schools’ chess championships held late last year.
“We had the schools’ championship where we had 30 schools participating, 30 schools, but 25 of them came from Georgetown,” said Tiwari.
According to Tiwari, there was a lack of funding going toward chess. Despite that, he said that the GCF was doing its best to promote the sport and take it to various regions across the country.
“I don’t think sponsors are inclined to sponsor players going way out of town to teach somebody chess, they are not inclined to do so,” Tiwari opined.
Tiwari declared that the game has to be introduced into more schools in outlying areas.
He lauded the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport for its contribution to the game.
“The Ministry of Sport has been very gracious to us, in that they brought in chess sets and they have distributed them to some schools,” the GCF president stated.
He also said that he was aware that Guyana has been involved in chess for a number of years and he has been often confronted with questions from people asking him, why the country has not produced a titled player.
He said that for this to happen, local players will have to compete at more international tournaments, a move that cannot be financed by the GCF without adequate sponsorship.
“We are fighting our own battle, for us to get a titled player is no easy task,” said Tiwari.
“We have an uphill struggle and we have an uphill task. I don’t know when we are going to get a titled player; I don’t know when we are going to get an international master.
“We are still trying and one day we hope to get a titled player,” said Tiwari.
