THE Guyana Women in Chess Community’s (WICC) core goal is to close the gender parity gap in the game. Great strides towards achieving this was made with a landmark event last Saturday with the Jumbo Jet Auto Sales sponsored ‘Queen Side’ girls’ chess camp.

This one-day chess camp, organised by the WICC, is the first-ever girls-only chess camp hosted in the history of the Guyana Chess Federation, and had an impressive turnout of nearly 50 women and girls.

The event, which was held at Duke Lodge, provided up-and-coming players with a chance to learn chess tactics and get advice from more experienced players in a relaxed and casual setting. This event exceeded expectations in terms of participation and engagement, where over 40 girls under the age of 18 registered for the camp.

The girls also had the chance to play against each other, and receive feedback, with an emphasis on building confidence and developing skills in a supportive and friendly environment.

Most of the experienced female chess players, WCM Sheriffa Ali, Anaya Lall, Italy Ton- Chung, Aniyah Couchman, Angel Rahim and Maliha Rajkumar were on hand to provide instruction and guidance to participants, covering basic chess tactics and strategies, and offering tips on how to improve their game.

This event was sponsored by Jumbo Jet Auto Sales, along with Sunshine Snacks, Nadeem Khan and Associates, Duke Lodge and Banks DIH Limited.