Federation pushing for greater development of Chess in SVG

The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Chess Federation is expecting an increase in membership, training opportunities, and developmental programmes to further advance the game of Chess in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).

This comes on the heels of it’s participation in the World Chess Olympiad in India in 2022 and the successful hosting of another national championship.

Chair of the committee for competitions and development, Brian Cottle, said “We are hoping to capitalize on that and bring out from wherever they are hiding all of those persons [in] St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I think that Chess is something that works for everyone- does not matter your age or gender. We have regular training sessions on Saturdays at the cruise ship complex, and then we have participants ranging in age, I think the youngest is six years old”.

Commenting on the fees, which he described as “quite reasonable” Cottle further elaborated that: “ We do not charge anything; we can’t get more reasonable than that”.

Meanwhile, president of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Chess Federation, Israel Bruce said he is looking forward to increasing numbers turning up for training, including students, especially given the evidence which shows that students who take part in sports do very well academically.

In 2019, at the embryonic stage of the Chess Federation, St Vincent and Grenadines was able to host a visit by a delegation from Federation International des Echecs (FIDE – the International Chess Federation). That delegation comprised then vice-president of FIDE, Ian Wilkinson of Jamaica, and chess grandmaster Nigel Short.

Bruce, who coordinated that visit, said he arranged for the delegation to meet with officials from the government and opposition, including Prime Minister, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves; then Minister of Sports, Cecil McKie; and Opposition leader, Dr Godwin Friday.

And, he has promised that the Federation will continue making such contacts, with the Minister of Education being among those high on the list for a meeting.

Bruce said that in the development of the sport of Chess nationally, “we recognize the importance of the political directorate in supporting what is happening” given that the Chess Federation is an “organization that does not have a necessary income stream.”

The Federation therefore is quite dependent at this time on Corporate support as well as that of the National Lotteries Authority.

Bruce said that the bulk of the money received by the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Chess Federation “will go towards women and girls in chess, and chess in education, chess in schools.”

Training sessions are held every Saturday at ‘Caribbean on the Pier’, which is situated at the Cruise Ship Terminal.

“We’re working on a curriculum to be approved by the leadership team, so we know consistently each player who joins will be going through a sequence of curriculum development stages to arrive at where we want.”

The Federation expects to begin working shortly with five young players who participated in the Tyrone Jack Memorial National Chess Tournament in December 2022, to being them to a stage where they can “start attending regional and international tournaments representing St. Vincent (and the Grenadines)”.

Bruce said its “an opportunity for the children to become ambassadors for St. Vincent and Grenadines, to improve their critical thinking and to also excel in the academic world”.

To achieve that, Bruce noted that the trainers must be certified and this is one aspect of training that the Federation has targetted for development work.

“…we are working on that and having discussions within the Confederation of the Americas to see what training and programmes can be afforded”.

The Federation also aims to introduce the sport to inmates at H.M. Prisons and “the objective is to reduce crime.”