December National Chess Open set to start today at National Stadium

Dec 12, 2020 Sports

Chess board

The Director of Tournaments for the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF), Rashad Hussain has indicated that the this year will end on a high with the hosting tournaments for both junior and senior players.
Dubbed the December National Chess Open, the tournament will run over the next two weekends at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence. Mr. Hussain noted that it has been 10 months since the last “Over the Board” tournament and players are growing impatient.
The tournament will be FIDE Rated and would consist of seven rounds in the Swiss pairing format. Round one is scheduled for today from 14:30 hrs.
Two rounds each will be played on the remaining three days (December 13th, 19th and 20th), with the morning round commencing at 10:00hrs and the afternoon round beginning at 14:30hrs. The time control is 90 minutes per player plus 30 seconds increments (per move).
“It has been an uphill battle getting tournaments approved for the past few months. I wanted chess to be one of the first sports to make a comeback after the Covid-19 restrictions were lifted; however members of the executive were very negative towards my initiatives. It’s sad that as Director of Tournaments, I need to beg and plead with the federation to permit tournaments, however I did what needed to be done for fatigued chess players by seeking and being granted the relevant approvals by the Covid-19 taskforce, Director of the National Stadium and the other executives of the Chess Federation,” was what Mr. Hussain had to say on the lead up to this tournament. He further stated that the junior section will serve as the 2020 National Junior Championship since some junior players will be over age as of January 1st, 2021.
Adults will be required to pay a fee of $500 while juniors are free. For more information, Mr. Hussain can be reached on 658 3004. Facemasks are required, sanitisers will be provided, covid-19 protocols will be strictly followed.