Inaugural Caricom Chess Classic underway in Guyana

Running up until March 9, the Caricom Classic Team Chess Tournament will take centre stage at the Princess Ramada Hotel, Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD) this week, with several teams from across the Caribbean competing.
Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) President Anand Raghunauth shared a bit of the origin and vision for the tournament, the first of its kind for the Region, during the launch on Sunday evening, at the same venue.
Raghunauth enlightened, “The idea was continuously developed, it was brought to the CCA, it was brought to the world body and it was embraced. It seems as though everybody had the same idea, but it was the Guyana Chess Federation that executed it. We took that bold step; we ran with the idea and our team made it happen.”

The GCF President went on to add, “We would like this tournament to be yearly or biannually. We would like this tournament to develop our young players. We would like this tournament to be the target for every Caribbean territory team to become champions of the Caribbean.”
International Chess Federation (FIDE) Vice President and five-time World Champion, Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand added to the vision for the tournament, expressing hope that it could be transformative for the sport.
“Every region has to have a beginning, and in India it would’ve been some of the annual chess tournaments we used to have, where we would face Soviet Grandmasters [who] would come and challenge us. I’m talking about 40 years back. And I believe in the Caricom region; I hope this Caricom team Chess championship will prove to be such a catalyst,” Anand opined.
Caricom Deputy Secretary General Armstrong Alexis, in revealing that the tournament is part of Caricom’s 50th anniversary celebrations, articulated a hope for regional integration.

“This tournament is taking place on the heels of the 46th Conference of the Caricom Heads of Government, where Caricom leaders emphasized the importance of sports through the weaving of the Caribbean fabric of integration, togetherness and progress. It is my hope that the friendly rivalry that will dominate these coming days will help build camaraderie, friendship and a deepened sense of Caribbean identity,” Alexis envisioned.
Thinking along similar lines was Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr, who also encouraged players to seize the opportunity of the Grandmaster’s presence.
Ramson stated at the launch, “I think that we need to take more of the opportunity that we have by having him here, because all of you, every single one of you who are participating in this tournament and it’s a great tournament, not just for yourselves but for regional integration.”
“And I would like to commend Caricom for sanctioning this tournament as part of the calendar of events. Improving regional integration is something that our Government is committed to and I hope we were able to manifest and demonstrate that in the last week,” the Sport Minister added.
The tournament has also received backing from ExxonMobil; Republic Bank (Guyana); NEW GPC INC; KFC; Guyoil; Sterling Products Ltd; Marics & Co Ltd and Topco, among others.