Potential chess players soon to represent Guyana

DPI, GUYANA, Monday, December 16, 2019

The top performers at next year’s Inter-Schools Chess Tournament will have a shot at representing the country at the regional and international levels.

This is according to Director of Sport Christopher Jones in a DPI interview on his department’s ‘Chess-in-Schools – Grassroots Initiative.’

The aim is to have chess taught countrywide not only as an extracurricular activity but also as an educational tool. The department has so far implemented the initiative in schools in Regions 3, 6, 10 and 5.

“Within the four regions where we have started such programme we have been able to identify six students to represent us,” Jones said.

He added that they have started a train-the-trainers programme for teachers across the country to replicate the successes.

The director said his department would continue with the initiative not only because of the interest but also the value it adds to the school system.

More than 100 countries worldwide promote the Chess-in-School programme, including Russia, China, Armenia and several European countries.

In 2018, the department, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, conducted part one of the Chess-in-Schools -Teachers’ Training Programme, which targeted teachers from Primary and Secondary schools.

The programme is structured around the FIDE Chess-in-School initiative which aims to have chess implemented in schools either as a mandatory subject or as an after-school club.