The United States has imposed sanctions against President of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and former Russian regional governor Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, owing to his alleged assistance to the government of Syria.
There is no exaggeration in stating that the ever-evolving chess nation, India, came away from the 2015 World Youth and Cadets Chess Championships in Porto Carras, Greece, the absolute victors of the rigorous youth chess festival.
During the dutiful protest action to heighten awareness of the persisting, obnoxious Venezuelan claim to Guyana’s territory on Tuesday outside the United Nations in Manhattan, a Guyanese participant expressed the view that President David Granger had in essence checkmated his Venezuelan counterpart following their meeting with the UN Secretary-General.
Eight months into the year, the strength of Guyana’s player-development invisible programme was in evidence during the Forbes Burnham Memorial Chess Tournament.
At the lively awards ceremony to mark the 30th death anniversary of former president Forbes Burnham at the Carifesta Sports Club on the evening of Friday before last, there was a palpable sense of excitement among the karate kids who assembled to uplift their medals and trophies.
The World Chess Federa-tion’s Candidate Master Anthony Drayton emerged victorious in the fierce Forbes Burnham Memorial Chess Tournament last Sunday following a defeat of Plaisance’s Alexander Duncan in his final game.
Within recent years there has been a resuscitation of, and increased interest in chess, with many more annual tournaments sponsored and held than ever before in the history of the game in Guyana.
It is my fervent hope as President of the Guyana Chess Association and as the Head of a Government committed to national excellence in sports, that Ajedrez will make a contribution in further popularizing chess, to illuminate the darkness and dispel the mysteries which in some cases still surround and engulf this great game, and be a source of instruction to the inexperienced, and of pleasure to the initiate.
The mysterious game of royalty, chess, was given a plaudit over the weekend as a seven-round, Swiss-system, two-day chess tournament was conducted from yesterday, Saturday, at Congress Place, and will conclude today, Sunday.
At times, the column focuses primarily on regurgitating chess stories from around the world in juxtaposition to highlighting what is happening locally.
The 6th Hainan Danzhou chess tournament concluded yesterday. The 16-year-old chess phenomenon Wei Yi played a game with Cuba’s number two player, Lazaro Batista Bruzon.