Scores of chess players from around the Caribbean Region have converged in the Land of Many Waters for the second edition of the CARICOM Chess Classic, which will unfold over the course of this week.
Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr
The tournament is the collaborative effort of the CARICOM Secretariat and the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF), which saw its inaugural hosting last year.
Teams from Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, St Lucia and the Cayman Islands, amongst others, will be competing in the Open and Under 16 categories of the tournament.
Relating the tournament’s conception story was GCF President Anand Raghunauth, who also detailed its growth over the past year.
GCF President Anand Raghunauth
“We had to strategise; we noticed there was a push for sport tourism. In 2023, Grand Master Nigel Shortt visited Guyana, and he sat down with our [then] president; from that conversation was born a tournament that was sitting to be developed for over ten years, that is the CARICOM Classic. That tournament was visualised by Shiv Nandalall, our director way back; however, nobody wanted to execute it, and the Guyana Chess Federation took it upon themselves to grow that idea and execute that project,” Raghunauth related to the gathering.
A section of the CARICOM Chess Classic opening ceremony
He went on to divulge, “We have included and expanded this year with the under-16s. We’ve had 9 to 10 incoming persons to participate in our under-16open tournament. So, the CARICOM tournament is now growing.”
During the event’s prestigious opening ceremony on Monday evening at the Pegasus Suites in Georgetown, Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr. brought the feature remarks, speaking to the prestige of collaborating with CARICOM whilst also pledging his commitment to the future of the tournament.
Ramson expressed, “I know how important it is to have this particular tournament. Not just the fact that you’re hosting a tournament, but it’s the CARICOM Classic. I remember last year, when we had our first engagement, just to discuss this, and I was very pleased that CARICOM had given its seal of approval. In fact, it was one of the seminal events that was happening during that period [CARICOM’s 50th Anniversary celebrations], which shows the scope as well as the ability to think laterally about the role that CARICOM plays, not just about regional integration but also the importance of human development.”
The sport minister further vowed, “And I would like to make a commitment too, that 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.”
The CARICOM Chess Classic moved off today and will run until Sunday, July 6th. Trinidad and Tobago won the inaugural edition of the tournament, with Guyana finishing a close second.
