‘Home of Chess’ to be completed next year – Ramson Jr

After years of moving from one available facility to another for its tournaments, chess in Guyana will soon be the beneficiary of some stability with the construction of a home for chess.
The welcomed announcement was made on Monday evening during the opening of the second CARICOM Chess Classic tournament, being hosted by the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) in collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat.
GCF President Anand Raghunauth was the first to make the revelation, divulging how President Irfaan Ali helped the Federation realise their dreams.

“At the President’s Cup, which was held at State House, after the presentation, His Excellency came over and said, ‘Anand, what do you need to do better?’ And I said to him, ‘Well, we need you to support the CARICOM tournament that we’re having next year.’ But the other question to be answered was that we would like to have our own building. Because we cannot continue to be at the National Stadium and all these other venues and not have a constant place to practise. Immediately, the response was, ‘You will have your own building’; produce a plan.” Raghunauth related to the gathering on Monday evening.
The GCF President went on to disclose, “Many months later, we were called by Minister Ramson’s secretary, and they said to come in to discuss a building for chess. We are now on our way to having our own home for chess.”
Meanwhile, Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr later shared more details on the stage of the project.
Ramson Jr divulged, “When they met His Excellency, they spoke about the chess facility, and I’m here to confirm as well that the construction of that facility will start this year and will be completed next year. So, chess will have its own home.”
“And in fact, if you check the newspapers, you’ll see the tenders are out. So, I’m confident about the ability to achieve that objective,” the sport minister added.
Chess has recently been utilising varying facilities in the capital city, like the National Stadium, David Rose Special School, School of the Nations and, more recently, Pegasus Suites.