National chess champion Wendell Meusa and national chess player Loris Nathoo are representing Guyana in the Jamaican Open Chess Championship which is ongoing in Kingston, Jamaica.
Several of the Caribbean Community chess playing nations are usually competitors in the Jamaican Open, in addition to other selected overseas players. However, at the time of writing, the final lineup could not be ascertained.
Some of Jamaica’s chess players are FIDE ELO higher-ranked than the brightest chess stars from Guyana. Participation in this tournament, therefore, is an attempt to lessen the gap of ELO rating points, to expose our participants to serious international competition, and to prepare us for the gruelling September 2018 Chess Olympiad at which some 170 nations are expected to participate.