In chess as in life, when people cannot figure out what you are doing, they are kept in a state of terror – waiting, uncertain, confused. -Robert Greene
The sun is shining brightly on chess in Guyana as we begin the new year with optimism for the continued development of the game of kings. Ramesh Sunich, Manager of the Trophy Stall in Bourda Market, demonstrated his commitment towards the promotion of chess by sponsoring the first tournament of the year. The juniors, young adults and adults themselves were once more given a glorious opportunity to compete with each other for some of the largest trophies I have seen ever distributed for chess.
In my view, the trophies were a symbol of the successes of chess during the past three years. They represent a tribute to the sterling efforts which have been made to popularize the game, and create a more educated, and reasoning society. The dramatic effects which those huge trophies must have had on our junior players should not be underestimated. They would serve as encouragement, and an inspiration to our youths.
Loris Nathoo and Rashad Hussein played handsomely to win in their respective groups. Wendell Meusa also played strongly to place second among the seniors. Regrettably, he surprisingly faltered against Alexander Duncan and lost a full point. The knowledgeable player that he is, we look forward to having him, and watching him play in the Topco Juices Mashramani Chess Tournament. Meusa, Webster, Nathoo, Kriskal Persaud and Greenidge are players who are difficult to grasp over the chess board. And that which is difficult to grasp, remains difficult to consume. They are all mercilessly unpredictable, switching from one opening to another, switching from one plan to another, thereby holding their opponents in terror for most of the game. Over the chess board, when your opponent cannot figure you out, when he cannot read your strategy, you have him rattled.
We look forward now to the Mash tournament and we look forward to having Taffin Khan as a participant. He did not play the Trophy Stall. We are also hoping to have Ronuel Greenidge back as he has stepped off the stage for quite some time. 2011 promises to be a good year for chess in Guyana. Congratulations to all the prize winners in the recent Trophy Stall competition!
Fridman v Melia
The 2011 Trade-wise Gibralter Chess Festival came to a conclusion on Thursday. At the time of writing, the Ukranian grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuk was leading the tournament with eight points from nine games, while England’s Nigel Short was in second place with 7½ points. Germany’‘s Daniel Fridman was third. Salome Melia missed a win close to the end of her encounter with Fridman, according to chess analysts. The game ended in a draw, but Melia is still on course for a coveted grandmaster norm.
Fridman, D (2655) – Melia, S (2449)
Gibraltar Masters Caleta ENG (8), 1.2.2011
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Bxd2+ 5.Nbxd2 d6 6.g3 0-0 7.Bg2 Re8 8.0-0 e5 9.Qc2 h6 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.Nh4 c6 12.Rad1 Qe7 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.Bxe4 Na6 15.Rd2 Nc5 16.Rfd1 a5 17.Bh7+ Kh8 18.Bf5 e4 19.Bxc8 Rexc8 20.Nf5 Qe5 21.Nd6 Rc7 22.Rd4 Re7 23.Qc3 Kg8 24.Qa3 Rd8 25.Nf5 Rxd4 26.Nxe7+ Kh7 27.Rxd4 Qxd4 28.Qxa5 e3 29.Nf5 exf2+ 30.Kf1 Qxc4 31.Ne3 Qc1+ 32.Kxf2 Ne4+ 33.Kg2
33…Qxe3? Allowing perpetual check. Black can win with 33…c5! when, for example, 34.Kf3 Qh1+ 35.Ng2 Ng5+ 36.Kf2 Nh3+ 37.Kf3 Qf1+ wins. 34.Qf5+ Kg8 35.Qc8+ ½-½. DRAW.
