One woman is on a mission to change minds with the game of chess

CHESS is no easy game, which is precisely why it is considered a sport. With the King, Queen, and Rook, players are tasked with intense decision-making and must suffer the consequences of their choices. This is why the game is so highly revered for its difficulty, but more so for its ability to teach valuable lessons. This is why Marcia Lee fell in love with the game and is now seeking to teach children and women the significance of decisions.

Mother, wife, and now avid chess player, Marcia Lee describes herself as shy. A family woman, Marcia had no interest in chess several years ago. However, after learning the game of tactics from her son and husband, she knew she wanted to teach it to others. As Marcia told the Pepperpot Magazine, “I never thought that I would be interested in chess. I always looked at the game, and I said, you know, this looks boring. I don’t think I want to play this or be anywhere near chess. But then, my son and my husband taught me how to play.”

Chess began as a family game for Marcia. As she explained, “My son attended Marian Academy, and he started out by taking an interest in chess. And through the school, my husband started teaching chess; he also is a chess player and started supporting my son through the chess club there at Marian.” This was the first step into the world of chess. “In 2012, we started running the chess club there at Marian, so I started assisting my husband, because he was working. And he and I, after school on Fridays, started running the chess club, and I started getting into teaching chess,” said Marcia.

Marcia’s role in the chess community has evolved from a learner to a teacher and now a pioneer. The Chess in School programme took off during the pandemic, and Marcia became more involved with the Guyana Chess Federation in 2020 during the pandemic. “We took chess online during the pandemic. Then, I think in 2021 when they had the elections for the Chess Federation, I became the company’s secretary. Because we took several schools, we created online clubs for several schools, and we were able to get children playing chess online using our ChessKid.com platform,” she explains.

The National Junior Championship Qualifiers Tournament, a key event in the Guyanese chess calendar, has seen a remarkable increase in participation. “Every year, we have about 40 to 60 students playing chess at these tournaments. Our National Junior Championship Qualifiers Tournament gets us 75 students every year,” Marcia says.

Marcia’s most remarkable achievement, however, is her work in establishing the Guyana Women in Chess community. Launched in 2021, this initiative has been instrumental in encouraging more women and young girls to participate in the sport. “We have been successful in getting some women to sign up with the Federation. So far, we have not had a tournament. Actually, that is on the agenda before the year is out. I want to be able to have a tournament just for women,” Marcia says.

The growth of chess in Guyana has been remarkable. As Marcia explains, “I would say prior, like 2018, 2019, the interest was a bit less. But then it doubled or tripled, I would say, more during the pandemic. And then when we came out and we had tournaments and so on. The Chess Federation just grew, largely with school children, because the interest was there online,” Marcia states.

Marcia’s passion for chess extends beyond just playing the game; she believes it holds immense value for children and students. “I would like to encourage more students to play chess because I believe that it helps them as individuals and as students. It teaches them to think, to have patience. They have to think before they make a move. Basically, there are consequences to their actions. If they know that they make a mistake, it makes them, they have to make thoughtful decisions there.”
Marcia’s commitment to fostering these valuable skills in young people is evident in her tireless efforts to promote chess within the Guyanese education system. Today, her work is ongoing in promoting the beautiful game of chess among children and women as a beginner’s chess teacher. Currently, Marcia is spreading her love for the sport in local schools in Georgetown, namley, St Joseph High School and St. Stanislaus College. She recognises the game’s ability to develop essential qualities like strategic thinking, patience, and decision-making, which can serve students well in their academic and personal pursuits. Marcia’s journey from a shy skeptic to a pioneering complex chess advocate is truly an inspiration.