Marian Academy chess competition slated for Saturday

Marian Academy is once again gearing up to host its chess competition, which is held each term and has become a fixture in the school’s extracurricular activities. The tournament will be held at the school’s auditorium this Saturday, June 30 from 09:00h to 15:00h.
For in excess of six years, Marian Academy has been able to successfully implement the Chess in School Initiative as an extracurricular activity for both primary and secondary school students. The programme not only teaches students the game of chess, but it also contributes to their academic excellence. This competition will seek to test the skill and knowledge that they have been acquiring during the programme.
The Chess in School initiative is a worldwide programme being implemented in school systems where chess is used as a sport and a tool to improve students’ performance academically. Guyana, through the National Sports Commission, has moved to introduce the programme this year to schools across the nation. With over 80 registered students, this tournament is expected to be yet another exciting event for pupils who are between the ages of 7 and 16.
Top players such as Ethan Lee and Sasha Shariff are expected to participate on Saturday. Lee, who is ranked at number four amongst Guyana’s top junior players, recently won the St Stanislaus College Open Chess Competition and Sasha was recently selected to represent Guyana at this year’s World Chess Championships scheduled to be held in Batumi, Georgia.
Both players also participated in this year’s CARIFTA Chess Championships that were held in Paramaribo, Suriname last March. Both of them have had an excellent year tournament-wise, and as such, are tournament favourites and are expected to perform excellently. Keen eyes will also be on Roshawn Washington and Dwayne Bess, who also participated in this year’s National Junior Chess Championship.