For the sport of chess, 2013 was a year of change, even promise, but little genuine progress. The change came in the resignation of the Russel Smith regime after a tumultuous face-off with some leading players.
The ensuing five-week-long stalemate threatened to topple the T&TCA into a constitutional limbo and it was only the positive and timely action of first vice president Roderick Noel which reactivated the organisation and opened the way for fresh elections.
Business consultant and former national chess champion Anderson Gordon took over the helm and, with his new team of ardent administrators, ushered in a new period of hope and promise.
Gordon spoke optimistically of invigorating the club structure of the associaiton, of embarking on a development programme based on ideas from the chess community, of reaching out to communities, especially the most challenged, as a way to build the base of players and hasten the emergence of T&T's first grandmaster. Basically, Gordon expressed an admirable vision for the T&TCA of "using the power of chess to build our country."
The new president's rhetoric defined a consummation for chess devoutly to be wished. But still there was a quality of deja vu about it, since many of his immediate predecessors had devised and proposed their own programmes of development without leaving any legacy of lasting achievement.
The fault, however, was not entirely in themselves or their proposals. The fact is that chess, inspite of its international acclaim as an enhancing mind game, is still relatively poorly appreciated in T&T for its intrinsic social and educational value and, as such, the sport does not enjoy the kind of fulsome organisational support it deserves.
One sad example of this is the apparent failure of the much acclaimed chess in schools programme which has not progressed beyond the memorandum of understanding signed more than a year ago among FIDE, the Ministry of Education and the Association.
The plan to introduce chess into our schools as an extra-curricular subject, of course, was an excellent one but now, recognising the problems presented by the world chess body, Gordon has apparently switched the T&TCA's strategy to one of taking the sport to the country's communities.
Again, this idea is a grand and commendable one but precisely how the association proposes to expand the sport, from its current limitations, into a virtual grassroots activity is yet to be explained. Where, for example, are the necessary resources in manpower and material to come from?
The year, however, was not without its notable moments, starting with the association's successful organisation of the Pan Am Scholastic championships at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, the first to be held in T&T. In overall performance, T&T topped the field of seven participating countries, with Sean Yearwood, Shemilah James and Mirakel Phillip winning gold and Joshua Johnson, Javanna Smith, Sean Bridgelal and Sadiqah Razark taking silver.
The Caribbean Chess Carnival, held at the Queen's Park Oval, attracted more than 40 players from overseas. Organised by the T&T Chess Foundation, the event, now in its eleventh consecutive year, has clearly become the most popular annual contest for young chess stars in the region and beyond. FM Keron Cabralis confirmed his return to open competition by topping the Under 20s, finishing on five and a half, with Orlando Husbands half a point and Vishnu Singh a full point behind. Other categories were led by Yu Tien Poon of Barbados, Pierre Chang of the Netherlands and Sean Yearwood of T&T.
The revival of chess in Tobago, a joint project of the Chess Federation and Rhand Credit Union, was successfully launched last January and its growth since then can partly be seen in the participation of Tobago's youngsters in two rapid-play tournaments held in San Fernando and Port-of-Spain.
FM Ryan Harper added the seventh title to his growing bag of national championships while CM Javanna Smith, Holy Name Convent student, ended the seven-year reign of Aditi Soondarsingh as T&T's chess queen. Three prominent youngsters, Joshua Johnson, Joseph Gill and Kevin Cupid made history by defeating two experienced Cuban GMs in simuls held at Rhand Credit Union.
Two well-known veteran players, Arnold Fortune, former national champion, and David Maynard, general manager of Rhand, made a welcome return to competitive play in the Knights' DeVerteuil Memorial Open which was won by FM Mario Merritt and Joshua Johnson. Thanks to Maynard's enlightened administration, Rhand continues to be the sport's leading benefactor.
Chess in the capital city has taken an encouraging leap forward thanks to the energy of veteran Hayden Lee, president of the Promenade Chess Club, who has inaugurated a new and novel tournament among Woodford Square players and provided a cozy Saturday afternoon arena on Henry Street for all lovers of the game.
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