Chess with Errol

Contemplating his next move: Wendell Meusa played undefeated to win the 2018 Senior National Chess Championship recently. Meusa entered into a playoff with Anthony Drayton to decide who would be the National Champion. Meusa won handsomely in the two best-in-three playoff. In the background is Saeed Ali, one of the participants of the National Championship.

Fischer, faith and the age of opulence

I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry for help, He pulled me out of a horrible pit, out of the mud and clay.

President of the Guyana Chess Federation James Bond (back, centre) with the Junior Carifta Chess Team before they departed for Suriname recently. The overseas sojourn follows the hosting of National Junior Championship last month.

India’s Pragg fails to break Karjakin’s ‘youngest chess grandmaster’ record

A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.

Can Caruana do what Bobby Fischer did?

When your past calls, don’t answer. It has nothing new to say.

When the National Chess Championships ended on Monday evening at the Racquet Centre, Wendell Meusa and Joshua Gopaul were victorious. They won the Senior and Junior titles respectively. In photo from left are: Director of Sport Christopher Jones, Joshua Gopaul, Wendell Meusa and President of the Guyana Chess Federation James Bond.

Chess is moving in a new, positive direction

A new breeze is blowing, and a nation refreshed by freedom stands ready to push on.

During the Senior National Chess Cham-pionship last Sunday evening at the Wind-jammer Hotel in Kitty, Loris Nathoo (right) stunned FIDE Candi-date Master Anthony Drayton (left) with a nasty single move checkmate at the height of a complicated middle game. Drayton had meticulously launched an attack on a knight on the sixth rank which was bothering him and unconsciously exposed his king to checkmate. Nathoo guaranteed the gift of a checkmate for his opponent with his queen.

A new vitality is expressing itself

The seven-round National Chess Championships continued yesterday and will conclude today at the National Resource Centre, Woolford Avenue.

The Guyana Chess Federation hosted a Mashramani Blitz Chess Tournament recently at the National Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal. Blitz is usually referred to as speed chess and during blitz games, each player has five minutes on his/her timer to complete the game. In the photo Cassandra Khan (left) faces Saeed Ali. Khan was adjudged the best female junior chess player of the competition, while Ali, who qualified for the National Senior Chess Championship, is playing today at the Windjammer Hotel in Kitty.

Important chess championships being contested

Who will win the 2018 National Senior Chess Championship? The question is uppermost in our minds.

Two significant chess tournaments begin on Saturday

“Tactics is knowing what to do when there is something to do; strategy is knowing what to do when there is nothing to do.”

Anthony Drayton is seen receiving his trophy recently from President of the Guyana Chess Federation James Bond at the Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal. Drayton won the strong National Senior Qualifier Chess Tournament and is a favourite to win the 2018 National Chess Championship. He won the inaugural Caribbean Chess Cup in December in Barbados.

Gopaul favoured to win junior chess championship

“[Chess] makes man wiser and far-sighted.” – Vladimir Putin, during the 2001 World Championship knockout in Moscow, as quoted in Chess Base.

During the recent National Senior Qualifier Chess Tournament at the Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal, a number
of casual games were played as lunches were served. Stephanie Chung (right), a student of chess and onlooker at the qualifier, faces Rose Hall’s Kriskal Persaud during a fun game. Next to Chung is former national chess player David Khan. Rashad Hussain is in concentration against Maria Varona-Thomas in the background.

There should be more chess tournaments

There is some sort of expectation that the top finishers of the National Chess Championship would be guaranteed a place on the Guyana team for the spectacular biennial 2018 Chess Olympiad in September.

President of the Guyana Chess Federation James Bond (seated, right) with the seven participants who qualified to compete in the Senior National Chess Championship later in the year. The qualifiers will be joined by National Chess Champion Wendell Meusa for the championship. The seven qualifiers are: (standing left to right) Ronuel Greenidge, Taffin Khan Saeed Ali, Glenford Corlette and Loris Nathoo. Seated are: Anthony Drayton and Maria Varona-Thomas.

Chess champion qualifier was eye-opener

The policy implemented by the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) of hosting a preliminary qualifying tournament to determine the participants for the 2018 National Chess Championship is admirable.

National chess player and FIDE Candidate Master Anthony Drayton (left) leads the National Senior Qualifier Chess Tournament with a perfect score of three points from his three games. Next to Drayton is Glenford Corlette and Rashad Hussein. The tournament continues today from 10 am at the Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal.

Seven to qualify today for national champion tournament

Countries and governments vary vastly in size and ‘weight’… That does not mean that the biggest, meanest countries always get their way: their huge resources may not be easy to apply on the scale that counts.

Joshua Gopaul is one to watch in local chess

One of the things that first attracted me to chess is that it brings you into contact with intelligent, civilized people – men of the stature of Garry Kasparov, the former world champion, who was my part-time coach.

Anand strikes! Veteran chess player and Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, 48, studying the chess board intently as he demolished American grandmaster Fabiano Caruana (not in picture) in the third round of the Tata Steel Masters Tournament last week at Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands. The curious onlooker is World Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway. Following his victory over Caruana, Anand joined Anish Giri for the lead in the Tournament which ends next Sunday. (Photo: Alina l’Ami)

Anand takes lead in Tata Steel Masters

India’s chess superstar Viswanathan Anand, Holland’s Anish Giri, Azerbaijan’s Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and the US’s Wesley So are co-leaders in the exclusive Masters category of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament ongoing in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, after five rounds of the 13-game competition.

Chinese chess grandmaster Ding Liren, 25, who captured the Best Game Award for 2017 for his fiery encounter against Bai Jinshi in Round 18 of the Chinese Team Champ-ionship. Ding, renowned as a solid positional player, engaged his opponent in a particularly spectacular combination to win the thrilling encounter. A former World Under-10 and a World Under-12 champion and also the winner of the Olympiad gold medal in 2014, Ding will play in the Candidates Tournament in March in Berlin. (Photo: Amruta Mokal)

Closing the 2017 notebook on chess

2017 was a great year for world chess. The column highlighted whatever was of importance in chess locally and internationally.

Viswanathan Anand (left) and Ju Wenjun, seasoned international grandmasters from India and China respectively, won the male and female 2017 World Rapid Chess Championships in December in Saudi Arabia. The Rapid Championships are prestigious titles equalling the World Blitz Championships and to a lesser extent, the World Classical Chess Championships. Anand succeeded Vassily Ivanchuk, the 2016 champion, while Wenjun replaced Anna Muzychuk. (Photo: Anastasia Karlovich)

Anand, Wenjun, Carlsen and Dzagnidze ended 2017 on top of chess world

Chess grandmasters Viswanathan Anand and Ju Wenjun, and Magnus Carlsen and Nana Dzagnidze completed 2017 in fine style as they won the World Rapid Championships and the World Blitz Championships.

Anthony Drayton, a resident of Lodge and Candidate chess master, ended 2017 on a high as he won the inaugural Caribbean Chess Cup in Barbados earlier this month. He finished the tournament with a clear one point lead. Drayton gained the FIDE title of Candidate Master at the last chess Olympiad held at Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2016. He was once Guyana’s national junior champion.

The year in chess

Guyana’s chess for 2017 has both been invigorating and disappointing. On the positive side, the Berbice Chess Association was established, an overture was made to the Georgetown Prison, Guyana was represented at an important World Chess Federation (FIDE) overseas meeting, the Berbice Inter-Schools Chess Championship was held and Guyana won the inaugural Caribbean Chess Cup.