Chess in Guyana flourished

Guyana poised to reclaim International chess place
By Stabroek staff July 13, 2010 in Sports

– FIDE Development Committee chairman Allan Herbert
By Tamica Garnett

In the late 1970s Chess in Guyana flourished. With the Broomes brothers Maurice and Gordon to the fore, Guyana participated at the 1978 Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires, Argentina and the 1980 Olympiad in Valetta, Malta with some degree of success.

Back then Maurice, who played regularly on board one, had achieved an ELO rating of 2288 and Gordon, who most times played on board two an ELO rating of 2294.

Maurice’s record at the two Olympiads as well as the Chicago Open which he contested in 1988 was nine wins, four draws and nine losses for an average score of 50 per cent which is excellent considering that among the players then on board one were grandmasters Lajos Portisch, Jan Timman, Ulf Anderson, Zoltan Ribli and a host of other national as well as international masters.

Gordon’s international career spanned the years 1978 to 1983 and he participated in the two Olympiads and the 1983 Commonwealth Games.

The younger Broomes secured nine wins, suffered eight losses and drew three times for a 52.5 per cent average score.

The Broomes brothers were not the only shining lights in chess.

Back then there were players like Edan Warsali, Patrick Wharton, Ed Greeman and others who were considered very strong players internationally.

Later on there were a new breed of players like Andrew Waklker, Ray Grant, Jude Phillip Neri, Daniel Fung and last but by no means least, Tony Hanoman, who according to reports, is now a professional chess player in Sweden.

Here is the full article.