MINISTER of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony yesterday declared open the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF)-organised Seven Seas National Chess Championship which will involve eight battle-ready chess players at the Ocean Spray Hotel in Kitty.
This year’s Junior champion Ron Motilall of St Stanislaus College is the lone junior playing in the senior league, where he will be going up against players in the calibre of David Khan, Learie Webster, Errol Tiwari, Kriskal Persaud, Frankie Farley, and Ryan Singh in fierce chess battles over the next few weekends for the coveted title of Senior National Champion.
Minister Anthony wished all the players well in the championship, observing that chess which was absent before is now being included as one of the disciplines in the Inter-Guiana Games.
He noted that some players in the tournament already have international ratings which would give other local players an opportunity to be rated similarly and urged everyone countrywide who has some exposure or skill at chess to spread the game.
Geddes Grant Pharmaceutical Manager, June-Ann Eastman, who was also present at the opening, expressed her company’s pleasure in collaborating with Seven Seas and partnering with the GCF for the championship.      
The 2009 champion, Wendell Meusa became ineligible to defend his title following unproven allegations he made public earlier this year against the GCF.
In a letter to Meusa in May of this year, the GCF asked Meusa to prove his allegations or alternatively, apologise for his remarks, to which he did neither and was faced with a six-month suspension which ends in December, 2010.
The championship which is a double round tournament will culminate on November 28.