Chess players from at least 150 nations are assiduously refining their techniques in preparation for the world’s most pre-eminent team tournament, the spectacular Chess Olympiad. It is to be held in Tromso, Norway, from August 1-14, 2014, the forty-first of its kind. This huge chess Olympiad has been held every two years beginning in 1927, and with more than 150 participating countries, it is the world’s third largest sporting event.
Around 600 million people play chess worldwide, and Norway is home to the world’s finest chess player, Magnus Carlsen. According to the Hungarian grandmaster Susan Polgar, founder of the world’s most popular chess blog and the Susan Polgar foundation, there is “an ambition of 100 million unique internet spectators [who will observe the games] through the Olympiads internet portals.’’ In the 2012 Olympiad which was held in Istanbul, Turkey, 157 teams participated in the men’s
section and 122 in the women’s part of the tournament. Armenia took home the gold, Russia the silver and Ukraine the bronze.
In the women’s section, it was Russia which claimed the gold, China, silver and Ukraine bronze. The Soviet Union dominated for much of the Olympiad’s 87-year history, and after it dissolved in the early 1990s, its biggest republic, Russia, remains the team to beat. But evidently, the world is catching up with Russia. Some countries’ status in the global hierarchy, namely, Armenia, Ukraine, China, the United States, India, etc, are rising, while Russia’s once dominant position is waning.
Guyana attended its first chess Olympiad Oct-Nov, 1978 in Buenos Aires, Argentina . It was a landmark occasion for Guyanese chess and promised much for the continued upliftment of the game. The Broomes brothers, Maurice and Gordon were there; Edan Warsali was there, and I believe Ronald ‘Booster’ Austin was there also. I cannot recall if Edward Greenman was there and I was unable to contact Michael Sears to confirm Greenman’s participation. Guyana entered the Olympiad with the unbelievable average rating of 2200 points, finishing ahead of Japan, Belgium, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Luxembourg, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Bermuda and some African and Asian countries. That was the time when Gordon Broomes crushed a FIDE International Master from Belgium playing second board for Guyana.
Guyana participated in its last chess Olympiad in November-December in Valletta, Malta, in 1980. This time Guyana finished a point below Trinidad and half a point below Japan and Scotland, but ahead of a number of other countries like New Zealand, Jamaica, Algeria and others. However, some of the faces of the Guyana team had changed. The Broomes brothers were there, and John Macedo, an excellent player from the GDF, was there also. I cannot remember who was the other official board four player nor the reserve player.
Participation in the ’78 and ’80s chess Olympiads represented the time when president Forbes Burnham headed chess in Guyana. He was passionate about the game, and established the Guyana Chess Association in 1972, which eventually became the Guyana Chess Federation. Where chess was concerned, President Burnham operated much like other Eastern European nations who were similarly passionate about the ancient board game that was born in India. Recently, when Armenia brought home gold ahead of Russia in the 2012 Istanbul Olympiad, the President of Armenia who also heads chess in his country, organized a successful motorcade where thousands gathered to welcome their Olympiad heroes. Armenia has a population of 3.3 million. When President Burnham went to Yugoslavia on a state visit, he remembered chess, and returned with a number of chess sets, books and some analog clocks. We used to refer to them as the “red button’’ clocks.
So, thirty-four years ago, Guyana attended its last chess Olympiad. A number of our finest chess players have found new homes in other lands, primarily the United States and Canada. But the fire is still burning among our current crop of players. Since becoming national champion, Wendell Meusa has been enquiring about the August Olympiad in Norway. I know all of the big ‘guns’ would be there: Carlsen, Anand, Kasparov, Kramnik, Karpov, etc. Imagine the scenario if Guyana is chosen to play Norway or India, then Meusa would have to face Carlsen or Anand on top board. That is what the Olympiad is all about. But the question is, how are we going to reach Norway?
Chess is not a spectator sport, therefore we cannot benefit from the ‘gates’ like football and cricket. We do not benefit financially from FIDE, the world chess organization. Added to that, the Guyana currency has minimal spending power when compared to the US and Canadian dollar. So how would Taffin Khan, Anthony Drayton and others who are qualified to be at the Olympiad get to Norway?
One answer may well be to call in our reserves residing in the US and Canada to boost our local team. Fund-raisers would pay for the expenses of probably one player from Guyana. With the input of relatives and well-wishers we may manage two players at the most. A team’s composition for the Olympiad comprises six persons ‒ four players playing boards 1 to 4, one reserve player in the event a player gets ill or the country sees the need for changing a player, and a manager.
This column is proposing, therefore, that we can invite our stalwarts of the past to help us along through their limited participation. We have the Broomes brothers, the Duncan brothers, Anthony Dowding, Marland Wood, Louis Wharton and others from the US who are still active in chess. Playing competitive chess has no age limit.
We have Raymond Singh, Andrew Walker, Andy Anderson, Michael Chan and others in Canada. If we are going to make Norway 2014 happen, we have to act now. Although there is still time, this time is running out!
Meanwhile, the Guyana Chess Federa-tion begins its 2014 activities today with the Trophy Stall seven round swiss rapid tournament at the Carifesta Sports Complex. Registration for the tournament begins at 9am and play gets underway at 10 am. In addition to the winners of the tournament, prizes will be provided for juniors and outstanding female players.
