Dear Editor,
The AGM of the Chess Federation was slated for Sunday and it seemed that everyone was in election mode. With Roy Sharma becoming a financial member and possibly running for a position on the executive, rumours were being spread that he was one of the reasons chess deteriorated in the 1980s.
Nothing can be further from the truth, and I am letting the younger chess players know by this letter, some chess history. I first met Mr Sharma in 1983 when chess was defunct and a group of players used to play chess under the house of Chris Shervington in Fourth Street, Campbellville. It was this group of persons, Keith Simpson, Chris Shervington, Danny Gomes, Roy Sharma, John Macedo and many others who resuscitated the Guyana Chess Federation. Within a short period of time, there was an election and office bearers were elected. Chess took an upward swing that has not been surpassed since then.
With President Forbes Burnham being the president, David Granger the Vice-President, Chris Shervington the Secretary, George Lee the Treasurer, Roy Sharma the Tournament Director , John Macedo the Team Captain, and the likes of Maurice Broomes, Ewan Devonish, Edan Warsali as committee members, chess became a much played game again. Between the years ’84 to ’87, when Guyana sportsmen and women struggled to bring home titles, Guyana ruled the English-speaking Caribbean in chess, with Maurice Broomes becoming the Caribbean Chess Champion and Andrew Walker the Junior Caribbean Chess Champion. I know for a fact that Mr Sharma ate, played and dreamed about chess for a number of years whilst he was the tournament director. Many of the present day older players graced the chess hall during his time. I can safely name Mr Errol Tiwari, Mr David Khan and the present president Shiv Nandalall as some of the present crop who played there, and if my memory serves me right, I can even remember Mr Frankie Farley in some tournaments.
Guyana produced a crop of chess players in the eighties that are legendary. Maurice Broomes, Gordon Broomes, Edan Warsali, John Macedo, Anthony Dowding, Keith Simpson, Teixeira and many other seniors whom I cannot remember, as well as juniors such as Louis Wharton, Tony Hanoman, Andrew Walker, Anand Sawh, Shailendra Sawh, Daniel Fung, Ray Grant, Jude-Philip Neri and many others who held their own in any tournament locally and internationally. Chess was played on a daily basis and there were tournaments continuously on a bi-weekly basic. You could find players competing at all hours at the chess hall on Main Street, and one can safely say that chess was spread out to the schools also. Mr Ewan Devonish and Mr Sharma were in charge of President’s College where they travelled twice weekly to impart their knowledge. Maurice Broomes was in charge of North Ruimveldt Multilateral and East Ruimveldt Secondary. Mr Patterson was at Christ Church Secondary and many other players volunteered their services to other schools. I myself worked at QC and helped to train any junior player that wanted help. There were team tournaments and persons from outlying areas were regular participants. Linden, Berbice, Bartica and Essequibo were represented at chess tournaments and I can remember that Region 7 caused the mighty Region 4 team a scare in the 1985 mass games when Mr Sharma was the chess coordinator in Linden. President of FIDE Florencio Campomanes visited Guyana in the mid-eighties and it was the hard work of our then executive that was responsible for many rewards for chess to be given by Mr Campomanes.
I can go on and on, but this ought to rectify some of the misinformation about Mr Sharma causing chess to drop down the ladder.
Everyone knows that Mr Sharma is always willing to help youngsters and give back to chess some of his knowledge. Anyone who has been around as long as Mr Sharma in a sport and is still active must have something going for them. I am sure that throughout the years, he has helped numerous persons to understand the rigours of chess. His renown as a blitz player is legendary and his nickname ‘Speed King’ was earned at the highest level in Guyanese chess lore. I can remember a game Mr Sharma played against Carlos dos Ramos of Suriname during a Guyana Open that sticks out.
This was a tournament where players were allowed two-and-a-half hours to make forty moves and thirty moves every half-hour after, and dos Ramos complained to Mr Barker, the TD that the clock was not working twice during the game. Mr Barker exchanged clocks the first time but refused the second because it was not the clock that wasn’t working but the speed of Mr Sharma’s play was so lightning fast that it seemed that the clock was moving too slowly on his side. Even at that speed of play in an open tournament, Mr Sharma was sharp enough to sacrifice his Queen for a Bishop which led to dos Ramos resigning on the thirty-fourth move. As Errol Tiwari wrote in the newspaper, “Believe it or not” Sharma used only eight minutes on his clock.
I am glad to hear that Mr Sharma is re-entering chess, and I for one would encourage all the youngsters who play to give heed to his actions because chess can surely gain, and I know that he is capable of taking chess to a level that is unheard of today.
Yours faithfully,
Chet Singh
