There was a promising time in Guyana following the creation of the chess association in the early 1970s, when the nation benefited from men who demonstrated commitment to the game, integrity, and polish. In conversation, people sometimes dispute those acclaims saying “it ain’t true,” to the disappointment of the column.
Forbes Burnham was the president of the novel Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) and additionally, the Prime Minister of the Cooperative Republic. He managed organization and country. At that time also, well into the 1980s, Guyana attained the height of its chess possibilities, its absolute peak. As a raw chess nation, the quality of play was quietly and steadily improving. The standard was set, painstakingly, with method, during the revolutionary seventies. For one, the GCF mounted its most impressive number, 160 persons or thereabouts, for competitive play in a single tournament. Burnham’s appeal was wide, as it was simple, yet heart-warming. “Chess is for everyone,” he advocated.