WHERE has David Martin gone? The question is now somewhat urgent as the successful one-man chess developer has become conspicuous by his absence from major chess tournaments for more than a year. The fact is that the southern businessman and former president of the T&TCA has grow into something of a legend for his achievements as founder and coach of the Grant Memorial Presbyterian School Chess Club which, in a span of seven years, has won more than 550 trophies, produced ten national junior champions and captured the national primary school championship three years in a row.
The GMPSCC has also produced a record level of enthusiasm for chess as its members have amounted to more than 30 percent of participation in almost every junior tournament during the past eight years. Also, the club has hosted the largest ever one-day Open rapid-play tournament at which 50 trophies and cash prizes have been awarded. As a means of encouraging fresh talent in the sport, Martin also introduced two sections for novices in the GMPSCC.
"This move has been quite successful," he recalls, "In fact, it is interesting to note that, some years later, the national chess body has decided to implement this change for the 2017 junior national championships after poor turnouts at both junior and senior tournaments."
As another measure of its success, the GMPSCC has assisted in producing two first-placed SEA students, Sandhya Sookoo and Anusha Saha. Both scholarship winners are keen chess players who have been featured in the columns of Double Rooks.
After eight months in the post, Martin resigned as president of the T&TCA. Now, with his lifelong interest in the sport, his training assistance to the Point Fortin chess development effort, plus the exceptional success he has achieved as founder and leader of GMPSCC, Martin's abrupt and notable absence from major tournaments last year strikes Double Rooks as something of a mystery. When asked about it, the southern businessman said his enthusiasm for the sport had been shattered by persons both inside and outside the chess community without naming names or explaining the circumstances.
"I have sacrificed my company and my family life for students to have an opportunity to play the game of chess and to benefit from it," Martin said. In spite of these problems, however, he has no intention of abandoning his role in promoting the mind game among youngsters and, in fact, he continues to teach chess at three additional institutions.
When asked whether GMPSC would ever return to its glory days, Martin's answer was "maybe", adding that "there must be change by the stakeholders of the sport so that envy, self-serving and opportunistic tendencies are significantly reduced." When asked why membership in the GMPS Chess Club has drastically decreased, Martin refused to comment but noted that several top class chess players had left the sport never to return. "The government needs to have audits of sporting organisations and not depend on administrators to provide the numbers," he noted.
With respect to the Junior Nationals 2017, Martin was critical of the attempt by current administrators to increase numbers by including novices where several of these players "may not even understand the concepts of "check" and "checkmate."
To support his point he referred to the "horrific" attendance of junior players in last years tournaments: Under 8 Absolute - three players; Under 8 Female - No results available; Under 10 Absolute - 13; Under 10 Female - six; Under 12 Absolute - six; Under 12 Female - six; Under 14 Absolute - 19; Under 14 Female - four; Under 16 Absolute - 8; Under 16 Female - 7; Under 18 Absolute 7; Under 18 Female - No results available.
Even with this reduced participation, the GMPSCC provided 21 players or 27 percent.
Martin's absence from many tournaments over the last year is troubling. Even his successes have seen a fall off. Whatever the reason, he seems hurt by it, but he is unwilling to say why. Whatever the cause, DR can only hope, in the interest of chess, he has the courage to overcome.
Indeed, the general decline in participation by school children in this beneficial mind game should be seen as something of a crisis, calling for joint action among the T&TCA, the Ministry of Sport, the GMPSCC and other concerned stakeholders.