“Good morning and Happy New Year to all!” Good morning to the Guyana Chess Federation and friends of chess. The year 2016 has arrived and with it we wish to thwart the barricade of obstacles which surrounded the game and hindered its coherent acceleration during the past year. To the sprinkling of chess players with whom I chatted, who argued for the rooting out of inertia of all sorts and an end to fecklessness, who criticized a failure of imagination and a failure of good planning, I was impelled to empathize, partly with selected chess officials.
As far as I am aware, there are little or no financial perks in managing chess. The job is not a paying one. Officials do not receive cash from ‘gates.’ The job is purely symbolic, sentimental I would say, and stimulates a natural instinct to attract new followers, especially when one learns of the intellectual benefits chess offers. The job establishes a desire to promote the game; to better the lives of people, especially the young and eager of the world. Attracting new followers to the game of chess remains a highly noble tradition. Those who stand at the helm of chess have their other jobs from which they obtain their sustenance. We have a situation therefore, where chess officials work for free on a part-time basis.
Lack of money is a stubborn obstacle to the promotion of chess countrywide. But before we get to that aspect of perennial hindrance, recognition of the game is vital. We cannot promote chess if we fail to recognize its challenges, its attractiveness and its potential. And one of the ways of endearing and cementing chess into the hearts and minds of Guyanese, is excelling at international competitions, which is going to be a tedious and dire process, a mountainous task. But we have to begin somewhere. Pakistan and Bangladesh began their quest for test cricket honours sometime in the mid-20th century
2016 is the year of the summer Olympics and the chess Olympiad to be held respectively in Brazil and Azerbaijan. Chess players continue to be spectators at the summer Olympics because they cannot convince a skeptical International Olympic Committee (IOC) that they belong, given their decided lack of physical activity. Mind sports, because of their nature, cannot be part of the programme, one IOC official contends. Nonsense, critics say. Chess players argue that ancient Olympics featured contests in poetry and the arts. Altogether, until the mindset changes, chess players would have to content themselves with their alternate Olympiad. Everything being equal, therefore, Guyana should attend both competitions. For the magnificent Olympiad, at which 172 nations should be participating, the same as in 2014, Guyana may be fielding men’s and women’s teams. If this becomes possible, it would be the first time ever that our nation would be fielding a women’s chess team for an international competition! The Federation should consider, perhaps, the hosting of a qualifying chess tournament to select the participants for the Olympiad prior to the commencement of the competition at the beginning of September.
This would serve to obliterate the arcane pitfalls we experienced in 2014. What better time for the Federation to host the qualifier than in May, and what better place to make it happen than at the resplendent 50th anniversary celebrations of our independence in the capital city. In one way or another, the Federation has to include Berbice in its elaborate plans for 2016.
The county’s school chess is on the move. It came as no surprise to me when Darwin London emerged winner of the individual schoolboy category in the recent school chess competition. I travelled to the Tain University campus during 2013 for a Berbice open chess tournament, met Darwin and saw him in action for the first time. He was about 11 years old. Darwin understood the ideas behind his chess moves rather than playing by rote, as so many others do when they learn the chess openings by cramming the moves of select openings. Certainly, Darwin is a bright prospect for the future of Guyana’s chess.
Accessing money for the unlocking of local chess potential remains a difficult prospect for the Federation. Chess is not for the specially initiated alone, or for an esoteric few. Chess is for everyone. Key to the Federation’s plans for the year would undoubtedly be the management of fund-raising activities to boost its coffers. The lack of funds remains the most debilitating factor for the Federation. Perhaps we can change that.
Finally, the election of office bearers for the Federation is constitutionally due by March 31. But should we wait for the end of March?
Chess games
The games listed hereunder were played at the 2015 Qatar Masters Open Tournament in Doha. World champion Magnus Carlsen won the tournament.
White: Lu Shanglei
Black: Wei Yi
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. O-O Bg7 6. Re1 Rb8 7. c3 Nf6 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 O-O 10. Nc3 d6 11. h3 Nd7 12. b3 c5 13. Be3 Ba6 14. Rc1 Rc8 15. Qd2 Re8 16. Na4 Bb7 17. dxc5 Bxe4 18. cxd6 Bxf3 19. dxe7 Qxe7 20. Bg5 Qf8 21. Qxd7 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Ba8 23. Rd1 h6 24. Be3 Re7 25. Qd8 Re8 26. Qc7 Qb4 27. Nc5 Qb6 28. Qxb6 axb6 29. Na6 Bb7 30. Nc7 Re7 31. Nd5 Re6 32. Nxb6 Be4 33. a4 Bc3 34. Rc1 Bb4 35. Rc8+ Kh7 36. Bd4 g5 37. Nd7 Bb7 38. Rh8+ Kg6 39. Nf8+ Bxf8 40. Rg8+ Kh5 41. Rxf8 1-0.
White: Vladimir Kramnik
Black: Sanan Sjugirov
1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 cxd4 6. exd4 Bf5 7. c3 e6 8. Qb3 Qc8 9. Nh4 Bg6 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. Bd3 Nh5 12. Be3 Bd6 13. O-O-O a6 14. Kb1 b5 15. Qc2 Na5 16. Nf3 Nc4 17. Bc1 Qc7 18. Ng5 Nf4 19. Bf1 O-O-O 20. a4 Qb7 21. axb5 axb5 22. b3 Na5 23. Qa2 Nc6 24. g3 Nh5 25. Bd3 Kb8 26. Qe2 Na7 27. Bd2 Rc8 28. Kb2 Rc6 29. Ra1 Rf8 30. Ra2 Ra6 31. Rxa6 Qxa6 32. Ra1 Qb7 33. b4 Nf6 34. Ra5 Bc7 35. Bf4 Bxf4 36. gxf4 Qc7 37. Bxb5 Qxf4 38. Nf3 Ne4 39. e5 Rh8 40. Nc6+ Nxc6 41. Bxc6 Nxc3 42. Kxc3 Rh3+ 43. Kc2 Qxd4 44. Qb5+ Kc7 45. Qb7+ Kd6 46. Qb8+ Ke7 47. Qa7+ Qxa7 48. Rxa7+ Kd6 49. Ba4 Rh4 50. Kb3 Rh3+ 51. Kb2 Rh4 52. Rd7+ Ke5 53. Ka3 Kd4 54. Rxf7 Rxh2 55. b5 Kc5 56. Rc7+ 1-0.
White: Magnus Carlsen
Black: Vladimir Kramnik
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. c3 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 13. Bf4 d5 14. Bd3 g6 15. Nd2 Ng7 16. Nf3 Bf5 17. Bxf5 Nxf5 18. Qe2 c6 19. Re1 Ng7 20. Be5 Bxe5 21. Nxe5 Qd6 22. Qf3 f6 23. Nd3 Re8 24. Rxe8+ Nxe8 25. Qe3 Ng7 26. h3 Kf7 27. Qh6 Kg8 28. Qe3 Kf7 29. Qh6 Kg8 30. Qe3 Kf7 1/2-1/2.
White: Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Black: Magnus Carlsen
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. Ne4 Qe7 12. exd4 Rd8 13. Qe2 Nc6 14. Rfd1 Ba5 15. Ng3 Bb6 16. Qe4 Bd7 17. h4 Be8 18. a3 Rd6 19. Qg4 Rad8 20. d5 Qf8 21. Qe4 Ne7 22. Bd3 f5 23. Qe5 Nxd5 24. Bxf5 exf5 25. Nxf5 Rc6 0-1.
