Last month chess lost one of its illustrious sons when Alex Joseph died after a brief illness.
Joseph was a dedicated chess player and a member of the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) for about 40 years.
At the beginning of each chess tournament hosted by the GCF, Joseph would be present, raring to go. He won a few and lost a few. But I cannot recall him forthrightly abandoning a tournament owing to consecutive losses. As a colleague of mine would say, “he take his licks and looked forward to the next game”. Past and current tournament directors were aware that Joseph would appear once he was registered to play. He had to be paired.
Joseph was born in the Pomeroon and studied art for three
years at the Burrowes School of Art. He was the recipient of a fair number of awards including second place in the National Drawing Competition, 1990; first place in the Year of Indigenous Peoples National Costume Competition, 1988; and first place in the Caricom 25th Anniversary Logo Competition in 1998.
Following Joseph’s passing, Trans Guyana Airways issued the following statement on
Facebook: “Over 15 years ago we had an idea to depict images of our Guyana on the tails of our aeroplanes. We were fortunate to meet the talented Alex Joseph who brought this idea to life with his paintings. Over the years he has completed 30 pieces of artwork on 15 aircraft tails. We are forever grateful for his work and are deeply saddened by his passing. We express our sincerest condolences to his family and loved ones”.
As one Facebook commentator Sattie Ramnauth remarked: “He left his mark”.
CHESS GAME
White: Anatoly Karpov
Black: Miguel Najdorf
Event: “Rook Out Behind You” Mar del Plata 1982, Mar del Plata, Argentina, February 17
Type of Game: Queen’s Indian Defence: Kasparov-Petrosian Variation, Petrosian Attack
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb7 5. a3 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. e3 Be7 8. Bb5+ c6 9. Bd3 c5 10. Nxd5 Bxd5 11. Dxc5 bxc5 12. O-O O-O 13. Qc2 h6 14. Bd2 Nd7 15. Bc3 Rb8 16. e4 Bc6 17. Rac1 Qc7 18. Rfe1 Rfc8 19. Ba6 Rd8 20. Bf1 a5 21. a4 Ra8 22. b3 Nb8 23. Qb2 Bf8 24. Ne5 Be8 25. Re3 f6 26. Nc4 Nc6 27. e5 f5 28. Nd6 Bxd6 29. exd6 Rxd6 30. Bc4 Kh7 31. Rxe6 Rad8 32. Rxd6 Rxd6 33. Bf1 Qb7 34. Qe2 Bf7 35. Qf3 Qd7 36. Ba1 Nd4 37. Bxd4 Rxd4 38. Qc3 Rb4 39. Bb5 Qd4 40. Qc2 Rxb3 41. Qxf5+ Bg6 42. Qe6 Rb2 43. Qe1 Rc2 44. Rd1 Qf4 45. Bc6 c4 46. g3 Qf5 47. Rd6 Kh8 48. Bd5 Qg5 49. f4 Qh5 50. Rd8+ Kh7 51. Bg8+ Kh8 52. Bf7+ Kh7 53. Rh8+.1-0. Black resigns.
