SEVERAL residents of Orealla, Region 6 (East Berbice/Corentyne), are now enjoying the benefits of playing the game of Chess. The game was introduced there by member of the Guyana Chess Federation, Rai Sharma, in collaboration with Berbice Chess enthusiast Krishnanand Raghunandan and the Orealla Village Council,   it was disclosed last week.
More than fifty residents of the village with ages ranging from six to forty have enthusiastically taken up the game and after several weeks of training are showing potential for national championships,  Sharma disclosed.
Experts have asserted that the game of chess, being played since 531 AD is probably the best game there is for developing logical, precise thinking.
They have said that chess encourages patience, sharp memory, the ability to concentrate, problem solving skills, and the understanding that certain behaviours carry certain consequences.
In addition, chess demands both inductive and deductive reasoning, requires students to look at a problem, break it down, and then put the whole thing back together, involves recall, analysis, judgment, and abstract reasoning, improves decision-making skills, increases players’ self-confidence and improves organisational habits.
Giving a background to the introduction of “the world’s greatest board game” to residents of Orealla, Raghunandan disclosed that he has been promoting the game in Berbice particularly among schoolchildren since 2007, through Berbice Chess Championships.
Raghunandan has also been bringing down Berbice players to the National Championships in Georgetown every year since 2008.
He was eventually elected a Committee member of the National Chess Federation earlier this year.
It was then that he met Sharma, a Chess instructor who volunteered to teach Chess in Berbice at just the cost of accommodation and meals.
Raghunandan said: “I said to myself if we are going to teach Chess in Berbice why not start at the farthest point in Berbice and then work our way out.”
They thus identified Orealla and after discussions with the Toshao Mr Floyd Edwards and Officials of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs launched the programme there in March.
Toshao Floyd Edwards said that the Village Council jumped at the opportunity to involve their youths in the game since it felt that these activities would lead to more positive  use of their time.
Minister of Amerindian Affairs  Pauline Sukhai launched a chess tournament among the new players there during a visit in April.
Sharma, who spent ten weeks in Orealla as a guest of the Village Council disclosed: “When I started the training many of the kids at Orealla didn’t know what a chess set looked like and those who knew had no idea what the  pieces were to be used for.  There was a single set and they used it to play games like Draughts and Ludo.”
There are now fifty trained chess players in the village and quite a few of them have shown a natural aptitude for the game and a potential to go far. Sharma has also introduced the game of Scrabble in the village.
He explained: “Scrabble for improving English and  Chess for improving Maths .”
A Chess tournament among the ‘newbies’ ended last week, but the results are not yet out.
Sharma  and Raghunandan are currently engaged in acquiring Chess sets to encourage greater participation in the game at Orealla as well as in the neighbouring village of Siparuta.
Sharma is also working towards the formation of a Chess Club in Orealla with its own rules and constitution; towards the ratings of members and the formation of a team for competition at the Berbice and National Chess Championships.