THE Guyana Chess Federation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education’s Priority Areas Programme, will host the Inter-School Chess Tournament on December 11th and 12th, 2024, at Queen’s College.

Some 15 schools, eight of which are under the MOE’s Priority Areas Programme, and 160 children are registered to participate in the Rapid competition, where each player will have 25 minutes to play and a 10-second increment after each move. Schools vying for the championship title are the Bishops’ High, Christ Church Secondary, Dolphin Secondary, Houston Secondary, Kingston Secondary, Marian Academy, New Guyana School, Richard Ishmael Secondary, School of the Nations, St. John’s College, St. Joseph High, St. Roses High, St. Stanislaus High, Queen’s College and Queenstown Secondary.

The tournament will play in three categories: an Open Team, a Female Team, and an Individual Section. Schools were invited to send a team of four players for both Open and Female, one reserve each, and five for the Individual competition.

President of the GCF, Anand Raghunauth is ecstatic that this competition, the first since the 2019 Covid pandemic, is again being held. He stated that the Ministry of Education’s initiative for the Priority Areas Programme has paved the way for chess in schools on the curriculum. He is pleased to be working closely with the MOE in introducing chess in schools, especially in schools that have not had an opportunity to participate in the sport. Raghunauth further said that chess coaches from the GCF, after obtaining the FIDE (International Chess Federation) School Instructor certification, introduced chess to more than 1000 children from non-traditional chess-playing schools around Georgetown. Raghunauth said that the programme, which has been running for over a year, has increased chess awareness and has generated more interest among students. The head of the GCF is confident that the competition, which only includes students from the Georgetown Educational District, will expand to other regions as the federation plans to develop its chess in-school programme outside of Georgetown.

The collective effort by the Priority Areas Programme and the GCF will see a dramatic increase in chess players in the future. The skills acquired will stimulate critical thinking and creativity among children in a fun way.

The tournament will last from 9:00 hours to 15:00 hours each day, commencing with an Opening Ceremony and an Award Ceremony at the end of the competition. The tournament is also being supported by TOPCO and Sunshine Snacks.