UG Chess and Scrabble Competition Concludes… Defending champions retain

The University of Guyana (UG) Sports Department, having staged the first part of its annual King and Queen Scrabble and Chess competitions on November 16 in the Conference Room of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, drew the curtains down on the excitement on Friday. Their conclusion is that the tournament reaped major success.

Speaking with Guyana Times Sport, Sports Organiser Lavern Fraser, when asked about her feelings at the conclusion of the tournament said, “I must say that the tournament this year, both Chess and Scrabble, gave me a feeling of achievement. This is the fourth year, and certainly it was the best to date. There’s a lot more interest in the sport of chess from students, and as I noted before, the fact that there’s a coach has been a great influencing factor.
“The Scrabble is not enjoying as much interest at the moment, but there will definitely be greater effort exerted in that direction”.
Fraser added that competition at any level always provides a platform for improvement, and it is her hope that with the interest shown, an Inter Faculty Chess Competition can be introduced.
Also speaking with Guyana Times Sport, University Chess Coach Ronuel Greenidge, FIDE certified and ranked number 8 among national players and number 6 among active players in Guyana, said: “The competition was much better than last year’s competition… the top finishing participants played really well.. However I felt that there was not enough of the killer instinct displayed during the games”.
In the competition, Davion Mars retained his crown by defeating Joshua Gopaul in a best out of three games. Mars asserted his dominance and won two consecutive games, and Anicia Patterson defeated Britney Bovell to be crowned the Chess Queen.
In the Scrabble competition, Christina Basil retained her title of Scrabble Queen for the third consecutive year, as she defeated Crystal De Cambra; while in the male competition, Jaffar Gibbons defeated Marcellus Cornelius to be crowned Scrabble King.
Fraser has said, “On behalf of the University of Guyana, I want to extend gratitude to Mr Philip Fernandes of Bryden & Fernandes, who came on board the first year of the competition and sponsored all the chess material, including boards and pieces. These are continuing to serve well”. (Timothy Jaikarran)