THE Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) on Monday evening launched the second CARICOM Classic Team Chess Tournament at the Pegasus Suites and Hotel, Kingston, Georgetown.
The tournament is an open competition but also features a category for junior players under 16, which will run alongside the main event.

The CARICOM Classic, a collaboration between the Guyana Chess Federation and the CARICOM Secretariat, involving chess players from CARICOM nations, along with top local chess players is a nine-round Classical Swiss-format competition.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, representing President Dr Irfaan Ali, said this is another sterling example of the sport’s growth and reach.
“The investment we are making and this is sheer collaboration and the relationship they have with us, is what is moving chess so rapidly that we can be the host of the CARICOM Classic with so many countries,” said Ramson.

He added that the government’s support is a sure thing, adding, “I would like to make [a] commitment to this CARICOM Classic. We are happy to be the host of the CARICOM classic for as long as the federation would like to maintain hosting this tournament here in Guyana.”

President of the Guyana Chess Federation, Anand Ragnauth, also lauded the beneficial impact of the competition for the sport’s growth in Guyana and the Caribbean.
The first event in 2024 was hosted to coincide with CARICOM’s 50th anniversary and attracted participants from Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica, Dominica, St. Lucia, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands.

Trinidad and Tobago had won with Guyana finishing second and Barbados third.
One of the thrusts of the competition was to a biennial event, strategically held in the years between Chess Olympiads.
This year’s competition taking is place at the Exhibition Centre of the Pegasus Suites and Corporate Centre.

The event is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, APAN Energy, CB Group of Companies, Pegasus Hotel and NTS Amega Global.