Godfrey Lee Sing's dream is to produce a national chess champion from among the school children of Moruga, the rural area where he was born.
Since he returned to his family home after his schooling at St Mary's College and a brief stay in Port-of-Spain, Lee Sing has virtually dedicated the rest of his life to teaching and advancing the sport among the pupils of Moruga's eight primary schools.
His love for chess blossomed at St Mary's where he became the school's champion. Afterwards he honed his youthful skills as a member of the prestigious RVI Chess Club learning from such giants as Fred Brassington, Carl Brown and the Sabga brothers.
Now the Moruga businessman contributes to development of the mind game by his secretarial duties at the Moruga Chess Club and the teaching and coaching of dozens of primary school children in his home district. "The task is a difficult one," he says, "as there are eight schools in the area but only five working days in the week." Also, Lee Sing remains unperturbed by the fact that he receives no payment whatever for his efforts as chess tutor. His reward instead comes from the contribution he makes to the mental and social development of the region's youngsters through their indulgence in the globe-girdling mind game.
While his chess coaching is largely a solo effort, Lee Sing is also grateful for the contribution of the club's PRO Nancy Allard who was instrumental in obtaining 30 chess sets from the Ministry of Community Development. These sets are now being distributed among the eight schools of the district. In addition, Lee Sing gratefully credits librarian Vidya Singh for her idea of organising a public chess exhibition by Moruga players as part of the Men's International Day observance.
A measure of the progress Lee Sing's dedicated efforts have achieved may be seen in the results of this year's Primary Schools Championship event. Of the 19 schools taking part, two from Moruga produced winners; Chelsea Joefield of Rock River RC topping the girls category and Darien Mollineau of Basse Terre RC excelling among the boys. Another mark of progress was made by Kelvin Dover, the first player from Moruga to earn a FIDE rating.
Whether Lee Sing will realise his dream of producing the first national chess champion from among the primary school children of Moruga is left to be seen. There seems little doubt however that love for the world wide mind-enhancing game that he inspires among them will make a positive difference in their lives.
The schools of Moruga: St Mary's Government; Rock River RC; Basse Terre RC; Santa Maria RC; Holy Trinity Anglican; Moruga RC; La Lune RC; Marac Baptist; Moruga Secondary.