2019 was a good year for local chess

By Errol Tiwari On In Chess with Errol |
Jaden Taylor of St Stanislaus College (left) and Queens College’s Rajiv Lee locked in battle during a junior competition at the National Aquatic Centre in 2019. The two were, perhaps, the more enterprising junior chess players of the past year. Let us see what will happen in the 2020 National Chess Qualifiers where it will be every man for himself. The prize? Ten participants will qualify to play the National Chess Championship. Can a junior qualify? (Photo by John Lee)
Jaden Taylor of St Stanislaus College (left) and Queens College’s Rajiv Lee locked in battle during a junior competition at the National Aquatic Centre in 2019. The two were, perhaps, the more enterprising junior chess players of the past year. Let us see what will happen in the 2020 National Chess Qualifiers where it will be every man for himself. The prize? Ten participants will qualify to play the National Chess Championship. Can a junior qualify? (Photo by John Lee)

A new year has begun and with it comes the responsibility of a select few positively administering chess for 2020.

Former president Forbes Burnham had brought chess to the masses with the establishment of the Guyana Chess Association in 1972. Through five decades of regular associations, membership has climbed, fallen, climbed again and so on. The vicissitudes have been many, and, undoubtedly, will continue. Nevertheless, we have to soldier on, as we are aware of the benefits to be derived from playing the ancient game.

We thank the participants of our local tournaments; juniors and seniors, whose steady streams into the various tournament halls made chess richer in 2019. The juniors were more prominent in that regard and their commitment sent a distinct message that chess is beginning to show its face. It is only by their unrelenting commitment that we would be able to peer into a robust chess future, and indirectly,  into a broader society’s future.