Vice President Raghunauth represents GCF at FIDE meeting in Mexico

The Guyana Chess Federation was represented by Vice President Anand Raghunauth at the meeting organised by the Planning and Development Committee of FIDE and hosted by the CCA in Mexico City, Mexico.

Present at that meeting were FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich; Managing Director Dana Reniznice-Ozloa; Executive Director Victor Bologan, GM; and President of FIDE-America’s IA, Jorge Vega, along with delegates from 28 Federations from North, Central and South America.
The GCF was able to secure an in-person meeting with the FIDE president, and interacted with the major players in the development of chess in the region and throughout the world. The GCF presented its ambitions, and was able to forge relationships to better prepare its players for the future.
Promising agreements were made with the Federations of Uruguay, Costa Rica and Barbados to provide mutual support and assistance.
The first joint project will be to assist Guyanese chess players to acquire FIDE ratings, which is the first step on the journey to gaining international titles like FIDE Master and Grand Master. The project will consist of staging hybrid chess tournaments to be recognised by FIDE, and therefore qualifying players to earn rating points. Hybrid tournaments are structured so that players from each country are seated in a single location in their home jurisdictions, and playing against others located similarly in their own countries. Each location will be supervised by FIDE-certified arbiters, who will be in constant communication with each other throughout the tournament, to resolve issues and to ensure fair play.
This opportunity is important for the long-term and sustainable development of chess within the country. The exposure would ensure the GCF creates a larger pool of rated players, hence the natural progression towards titles.
The GCF has said, “We are humbled by the generosity of the community of Chess Federations in the Americas, in their willingness and enthusiasm to assist in the development of Chess in Guyana. Coupled with the GCF’s chess in schools programme, chess players will have a valuable opportunity to become even more competitive on the international stage.
“The creation of invitational tournaments with close collaboration with the larger federations in the region will influence our strategic approach to development. This approach will have an immediate impact on player development as their goals become more defined, concrete and achievable.
“The Federation continues to make progress at the beginner level, with players in outlying regions being trained to play the game.”