Mars captivated by Chess Olympiad experience

Guyana competed at the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad held in Chennai, India from July 28 to August 10, 2022. The Open team, captained by Davion Mars, was able to improve its ranking from number 152 to number 148 with a total of four team wins: against Seychelles, Gabon, Brunei Darussalam and Burundi.

To top it all off, Guyana’s Open team is now ranked fifth of the Caribbean chess teams.

Mars has disclosed that the experience he gained while at the Olympiad was truly captivating. In an interview he had with this publication, he was asked about the experience he had gained at the tournament, and he said,

“From the POV (point of view) of purely a chess enthusiast amongst a congregation of the best chess talents across the globe, there are few better feelings in the world. It was truly captivating. Of course, there were many highs and lows across the entire spectrum of the event, but the overall experience was indeed a memorable one, and one I would most definitely like to experience again.

“As a captain, it was very different from my previous experiences during the 2 prior Online Olympiads, where everything was done remotely. There were some challenges regarding the lack of physical workspace, but much of that difficulty was offset by the experience of the players in the team.

“We did everything as a group, and pooled our knowledge, experience and resources to support each member of the team with regards to our on-the-ground preparation and match-day readiness.”

Relative to what he has learned, Mars noted that there were a lot of positives to take away from the experience, the most notable being the tremendous impact a high-level instructor such as Grandmaster Georg Mohr can have on the team’s performance. He explained that Mohr worked exclusively with the Women’s Team, but had conducted sessions with both teams prior.

He further relayed that the testimony of Mohr’s influence is evident in the 3rd place finish of the women in their category. He also touted the experience of the women’s team, as both the Women’s and the Open team had picked up vital points to secure the team’s strong finish.

Mars has said this shows the value of structured chess education, which he believes to be the primary force needed for Guyana as a country to close the gap between itself and the high-performing nations.

Mars lamented that Guyana still has a long way to go, but it is clear that young players, especially the young female players, have an illustrious future ahead of them, and they need only stay the course.

“In the Open Section, we may not have finished as strong as we would have hoped, but our final position does not reflect how close a race it was between our final position (6th) and the 1st place finishers in our category. A victory in the final round against Haiti would have seen us tied for 1st place on match points, and possibly even take the paramount position on the podium if the tiebreaks were also in our favour.

“We picked up victories against Seychelles, Gabon, Brunei, and Burundi. Our most critical losses were against Suriname and Cape Verde. However, draws in these rounds were very possible, given our match situation, and would have helped in our bid for a podium finish. Even so, it is worthwhile to consider that changing a single result can also alter the entirety of a team’s following pairings, and by extension, the teams anticipated results as well,” he shared.

In relation to what is next for Mars, he said that while he is just an instructor for the time being, he intends to direct his energies towards bringing his students to the best possible level. However, he also intends to resume personal training after completing his academic studies, as it is his desire to always compete at the highest level and win. Thus, he will keep doing everything he can to satisfy that desire, and to instill this same desire in his students as well.