Making chess a national pastime

Chess
By Errol Tiwari
April 12, 2009 in Features, Sunday

All should be involved in making chess a national pastime

The momentum for the recognition of chess in Guyana has been rising steadily over the past months much to the appreciation of members of the federation. We have been successful in our efforts to introduce the game into some schools, and we have witnessed an increase in the number of persons who play competitive chess.

The number of participants in tournaments recently has been fluctuating, but generally speaking, the numbers have been increasing. And it is encouraging to note that more adolescents are gravitating towards chess and thereby reassuring us that we are making some progress with the development of the game.

There is a word of caution, however, for us optimists who believe that chess is progressing rapidly within the schools and to some extent, in a sprinkling of communities here and there. We are pleased to teach you the game and give in-depth instruction from time to time, but the responsibility is with you, the people, the youths, the schoolteachers, the sport administrators, the veteran chess players, to continue the process of promoting the game countrywide. The federation does not have the manpower, nor the time, to fulfil all the requirements necessary for the continuous teaching of the game in one distinct school, or one distinct club, or even to a distinct set of people. We have to keep moving on. We have to honour our programme of spreading the game as widely as possible.

Source: http://www.stabroeknews.com