The Guyana Chess Federation showcased chess to members of the public last Saturday at the Giftland Mall at Turkeyen, ECD. The highlight of the day was the simultaneous chess match in which ten of Guyana’s top juniors took on FIDE Master Anthony Drayton, Guyana’s top scorer for the men’s team in the recently concluded FIDE Chess Olympiad in India.
Drayton played impressively, taking on the skilled juniors all at the same time, and Kyle Couchman was the only junior player who managed a win against Drayton. Twelve-year-old Alexander Zhang and Jessica Callender also secured draws against Drayton.
Other participants in this simultaneous chess event were Micaiah Enoe, Waveney Johnson, Keron Sandiford, Italy Ton Chung, Mahir Rajkumar, 9-year-old Katelaya Sam, and 2022 Junior Champion Ricardo Narine.
Throughout the day, chess players were able to stop by the booth to challenge Junior Champion Ricardo Narine as well as top players Sasha Shariff, Maliha Rajkumar and Ethan Lee. Several parents also used the opportunity to register their children on the spot as members of the GCF, thus giving them free access to the Chesskid.com website.
Chesskid.com offers numerous chess lessons, unlimited chess puzzles, and the opportunity to play safely in rapid online chess games with other children.
The GCF also offers online chess classes and membership to the recently formed Chess Club which is held at School of the Nations every Saturday from 10am to noon.
Kyle Couchman secured a win against Drayton
Females were also given the opportunity to register as members of the Guyana Women in Chess Committee, which will be rolling out more activities soon, thereby providing women and girls with opportunities to play and learn chess.
Guyana’s top Junior and Senior chess players, male and female, will be at the Giftland Mall again this Saturday, October 1st, from 14:00hrs to 19:00hrs. Patrons will be given the chance to play Blitz and Rapid games, learn the basics of chess, purchase chess sets, and take part in chess-related quizzes and games to earn prizes.
Chess is easy to learn, and is known to improve discipline and increase creativity and logical thinking. Children learn good sportsmanship and develop friendships through the common sport of chess.
The Guyana Chess Federation hereby extends its profound gratitude to the management and staff of Giftland Mall for providing the space to promote and showcase chess to the public.
