Minister Anthony tells students: ‘You are the ambassadors of chess’
THE Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCYS) in collaboration with the National Sports Commission (NSC)-sponsored Guyana Chess Federation (GCF)-organised National Schools Championship got under way yesterday, with Minister of Sport Dr Frank Anthony charging the students to help popularise the sport within the schools. “At one time, chess was just for a few elite schools, but as time went by, we saw schools from East and West Bank of Demerara, Berbice, Linden, East Coast and Georgetown battling for supremacy in a National Schools Championship,” said Dr Anthony.
He added, “You are all ambassadors of chess. We are on the right track, but at the same time we believe that if we are to sustain chess in Guyana, we have to circulate the sport in the school system, which would be a very important one for us.
“In so doing, we would like you to go out there and encourage your friends to take up the game, even if it’s as a pastime. Many of our former champions played the game during their school years, graduating from the schools to represent Guyana at the Regional and International level with success.”
Dr Anthony was quick to remind the students, who numbered 100 from 28 schools across the country and included the top three junior players in champion Ron Motilall, Cecil Cox and Sue Hei Feng, about Guyana’s affiliation to the World Chess Federation (FIDE), which occurred last year.
“The fact that Guyana is affiliated to FIDE makes us a part of the international body and this is an important factor, since some of you will compete in international competition against FIDE-rated players and have yourselves rated also.
“Added to that, arbiters, such as our very own Irshad Mohammed, are upgraded through further training, hence it is important we spread the game of chess through the schools system and I want to say that both the Ministry of Sport and the Ministry of Education will be taking the sport to the schools next year.
“I challenged the GCF to have over 100 schools competing in this tournament next year. It is my dream to see schools from all over Guyana gather here at the opening ceremony as that’s the only way we can fully call it a national schools championship,” stated Dr Anthony.
Before Dr Anthony declared the championships open, president of the GCF, Errol Tiwari, congratulated the participants for being present and wished them all the best as they seek to overthrow the defending champions St Stanislaus College. Dr Anthony made the first move against West Demerara Secondary School’s female champion 14-year-old Christine Singh.