Guyana Women in Chess Committee holds first interactive community session

The Guyana Women in Chess Community recently met for their first interactive session for women and girls involved in the sport.

Samirah Gobin (left) playing next to her sister Suriyah. The photo was taken during the 2020 National Women’s Chess Championship (GCF)

The Guyana Women in Chess community held a virtual interactive session for females in the chess community on February 20th, 2022.

This is the inaugural event of the recently formed Women in Chess Community, the first body for the sport to be formed in Guyana which will deal exclusively with women and girls.

The session served to educate attendees on the history of chess as an art, science and sport.

It also included a brief history of Guyanese women chess players and female grandmasters from around the globe.

The committee also gave an overview of planned activities for 2022.

These include special classes and lectures, an international women’s day programme, quarterly chess day camps, outreach and volunteer programmes – all geared towards inspiring, growing and empowering female chess players of all ages.

Yolander Sammy (Photo: GCF)

Special Guest Yolander Sammy also spoke at the event to share her experience in the sport to inspire younger players.

Sammy is the current Vice-Chair of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Ethics Committee and the only female on that board.

She has also represented Guyana numerous times at all levels of the game, including the Fide Chess Olympiad.

Vice President of the Guyana Chess Federation Anand Raghunauth was also in attendance, throwing his support behind the initiative.

Anand Raghunauth (Photo: GCF)

He lauded the efforts of the steering committee and looks forward to seeing our female membership growing in strength.

The Women in Chess committee aims to caters to the unique needs of the female players to build a community where girls can feel confident and excited about the game of chess.

The Women in Chess Committee’s main goal is to promote, encourage and teach the game of chess and increase the awareness of the educational value of chess among women in Guyana.

There is also the intention to encourage more female players to take part in the sport.

Notably, this year was declared by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) to be the “Year of the Woman in Chess”.