28 March 2013

Pan-Am Scholastic Chess Championships begin in Port of Spain
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hi everyone, 

Moruga Chess Club president Godfrey Lee Sing, second from right, receives chess equipment from TTCA president Russell Smith last Saturday. Eight other zone co-ordinators also received their equipment for expansion of the TTCA’s Chess in Schools programme. With them are Under-20 girls champion Javanna Smith, Douglas and Daniel Lee, right. This is timely as the Pan Am Scholastic Chess tournament, which will attract some 70 players from 13 countries in the Americas, will be held in Port-of-Spain during the upcoming Easter vacation.

The Trinidad & Tobago Chess Association, in conjunction with the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs and the Ministry of Education, is hosting the 7th Pan American Scholastic Chess Championships at the National Academy of the performing Arts (NAPA) in Port of Spain. The tournament is sponsored in part by First Citizens Bank and will be run in age groups: Under-9, Under 11, Under 13, Under 15 and Under 17. This is the first time the Pan American Scholastic Chess Championship is being held in T&T.


At last year’s tournament in Margarita, the T&T squad placed second to Venezuela, with Peru third. Javanna Smith and Sanjay Roopchand brought home silver medals while Della Marie Walcott got bronze. Local players have been doing well in this and other regional tournaments for the past three years.

A total of 150 players from 10 countries are expected to participate, along with 100 local players. Among the countries invited are Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Barbados, Suriname, Jamaica, Cuba, Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru. This event is expected to boost the TTCA’s current Chess in Schools Programme, and with the Easter vacation started, schools are also invited to bring along their students to witness the competition.

The Pan American Scholastic Chess Championships will be FIDE-rated, with chief international arbiter Russell Smith, deputy international arbiter Erick Hernandez from San Salvador and FIDE Arbiter Rawlson Paul presiding.

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