The sport of chess in T&T has an interesting history, dating back by almost a century, but sadly enough the story has never been told. Even worse, the chances of it ever being told are well nigh zero.
The reasons for this are fairly simple; there are no official records that would assist an interested biographer of the game. To attempt such a task, in fact, he would have to rely almost exclusively on pages of the Trinidad Guardian, a herculean task that would require searching for chess reports in daily editions of the paper going back almost a hundred years.
As much as he loves the sport, not even DR could produce that kind of painstaking commitment. But what about traditional chess clubs, such as the once prominent RVI, which have dominated the sport over several decades? Tragically, whatever records they had kept of their operations have all disappeared with the passage of time and the demise of the clubs themselves.
Today, however, DR is happy to report that all is not lost. Thanks to his clubmate and close friend Carlyle Singh, DR is now in possession of a Guardian clipping that snapshots an early, fascinating and long forgotten period in the history of the royal game. The clipping, from the Guardian of Thursday June 1997 is an extract from the paper's once popular daily column, From Our Files, and provides a window into the sport 75 years before. The relevant period then was shortly after the turn of the century, long before T&T abandoned its colonial status.
The picture this clipping recalls is of an active sport played almost exclusively by members of the upper class, the colonial elite if one may call them so. At that time, it seems, chess was also a popular activity at the YMCA where, it was reported, simultaneous exhibitions were frequently played.
The clipping, in fact, reports on three such exhibitions, their presenters and their results. The first display was given by Mr Em E. Mouttet on Monday May 29. He played 17 opponents in an exhibition that lasted three and a half hours. He won 11, drew one and lost five. The winners were Messrs H. Dunn, A. Dos Santos, H. Ferreira, G. Ferreira and M. Lange. Mr R. McDowell drew his game.
The next display was given by Mr James E. Gordon on Wednesday, 7th June. He faced 12 players and, in a little over three hours, won nine and lost three games. The winners were Messrs A.M. Nolte, A. Dos Santos and C New.
The third and last display was given by Mr. D.D. Campbell-Williams. He played 14 opponents and took just under three hours, as he guaranteed he would. He won seven, drew four and lost three. The winners were Messrs H. Knights, H. Husbands, and R. McDowell. Messrs A.M. Nolte, C.A. James, J. Licorish and C. Ferreira drew their games.
Members of an older generation may well remember many of these chess players as belonging to the top of the country's colonial society. The RVI Chess Club which had the Royal Victoria Institute as its first centre must be credited for the early democratising of the sport, as promising young players joined its ranks. However, after the stalwarts of that era, champions such as George Stanford, Carl Brown, Fred Sabga and Fred Brassington passed on, the RVI died a natural death to be replaced by the Knights Chess Club which is celebrating its diamond anniversary this year.
The final paragraph of the From Our Files clipping is interesting: "The section meets tomorrow at 8pm at the club room when a lightning tournament open to all players but the first class players of the now broken-up section of the Royal Victoria Institute will not be allowed to compete." Broken-up section of the RVI? What could that possibly mean? How was this reputable chess club that laid the foundation for the royal game in Trinidad broken up? What was the cause celebre?
Unfortunately, no one now will ever know.
