Dr. Anthony challenges GCF to get more schools involved
MINISTER of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS) Dr Frank Anthony yesterday challenged the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) to get more schools involved in the sport for next year’s National Schools Chess Championship (NSCC) which is being sponsored by the MCYS.
Speaking at the presentation of prizes to the respective winners in the just concluded GCF-organised Neal and Massy Seven Seas-sponsored national championships, Dr. Anthony lauded the GCF for its achievements this year, while congratulating the respective winners.
“Being a man who loves to challenge, I would like to see at least 100 schools participating in next year’s schools championships, with the GCF playing same on a zone basis, wherein at the end of the day, we can see the fruits of our labour coming out of the schools.”
Dr Anthony further stated that his Ministry plans to work in the schools along with the Ministry of Education, to have a more elaborate sports programme in schools – one area that can be used as a foundation for sports.
He further stated; “The GCF made great efforts to be affiliated with FIDE this year, but while we are competing with sweet results at the national level, the time has come for us to look at how we can field a team to represent us at the international level.
“Having said that, I would also like to see a bigger and better national championship next year and that can only come into effect if the GCF encourages others to play the sport. In doing such, they need to hold workshops to improve the public’s awareness on the sport.”
Prior to Dr Anthony delivering his remarks, president of the GCF, Dr Errol Tiwari, labelled the national championships as one of the most important chess tournaments of the year which may in time be surpassed by the NSCC.
He expressed his delight at being present at the presentation ceremony where both the junior and senior champions were present, while using the final match between present champion Taffin Khan and former champion Kriskal Persaud as an example to describe the intensity of the tournament.
“These two players battled each other in the final match to decide the national champion. Their matchup was one of high intensity, depicting the exemplary performance of the tournament, with a high rivalry between the two, with Taffin Khan coming out victorious in the end,” stated Dr Tiwari.
He thanked the sponsors, namely Neal and Massy, Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T), RRT Enterprise, Keishar’s Gift Shoppe among others, for their tangible support to the GCF this year and looks forward to working with them in the coming year.
Taffin Khan, Kriskal Persaud, David Khan (Taffin’s dad) and Learie Webster occupied the top four positions in the senior category, while Ron Motilall, former champion Cecil Cox, Sue Hen Feng and Rashad Hussain were the top four finishers in the junior category.