The Guyana Chess Association (GCF) officially commenced its Chess in Schools programme Monday aimed at introducing the discipline to approximately 200 students at two public secondary schools via a structured training schedule.
This is according to a release from the entity.
According to the correspondence, the programme targets students with no prior knowledge of the sport.
Queen’s College and St. Stanislaus College are the beneficiaries of the pilot programme.
“This initial phase of the programme seeks to introduce chess to children who have no prior exposure to the game. Queen’s College and St. Stanislaus College will benefit from the Chess in Schools programme.
The programme will see the students and teachers in grades 8 and 9 (form 2 and 3), benefitting from 10 hours of training over four days; Mondays to Thursdays,” the release stated.
“This introductory course was established by the GCF in close collaboration with Queen’s College Chess Coordinator Dianne Henry, and St. Stanislaus College Games Master Robert Fernandes, as well as the respective school administrations. The programme will be supervised and conducted by the Guyana Chess Federation Chess in Schools team.”
According to the missive, the federation successfully rolled out a similar programme at the private institution, the School of the Nations, which targeted over 150 students.
The GCF is currently engaged in commencing beginner level classes for the period of January-February 2022.
“So far the federation has been successful with its Introduction to Chess Programme at the School of Nations where over 150 children were introduced to the game. There are also chess classes on Sundays for children where the GCF has successfully guided over 100 children past the beginner level to more advanced classes and instruction. The federation is now enrolling for the January and February classes which will span six weeks. This will also be for the beginner level.”
“Despite the pandemic, the growth of chess in the 7 to 12 age group has been significant and the Guyana Chess Federation remains committed to investing in the development of youths in the sport. The Guyana Chess Federation can be followed on Facebook and on their webpage www.guyanachess.org”, the release added.
