There is a peculiar independence and strength in Guyana’s junior chess players that is becoming evident as one replays and studies the games of the National Junior Championship. These young people are expressing their personalities through their games. Maturity is manifest, as it is becoming clear that they take little or nothing for granted as they strive for successes and national recognition.
As I and a chess colleague reasoned, it is only a matter of time before we witness the juniors blossoming into prominence on the competitive adult chess scene. Those 12 years old and under can take their inspiration from Iranian-French grandmaster Alireza Firouzja (FIDE 2804) who at 19 years old is ranked Number Two in chess worldwide just under the world champion, Norway’s Magnus Carlsen.
Since the emergence of Covid in 2020, a number of people worldwide switched to online chess. Guyana was no exception. What is more appealing, is that in Guyana, we have attracted, additionally, a fair number of erryoung, new players.
In the Junior Championship which ended yesterday, Ethan Lee and Ricardo Narine emerged as the two top prospects. They each finished with 6.5 points. According to the notable tie-break system which is used internationally to resolve ties among chess players, it was determined by arbiter John Lee that Ethan and Ricardo should have a playoff. A two-best-of-three match was deem-ed appropriate and that match was contested yesterday afternoon at the National Stadium, Provi-dence. Overall, the standard of chess for the Junior Championship was pleasing and not way below that of the adults.
