Latest update April 17th, 2025 8:13 AM
President Ali meets National Chess team ahead of Olympiad in Chennai
– Pledges to support expansion of Sport
Members of the GCF take a photo op with His Excellency, Dr. Irfaan Ali and the Minister of Sport, Hon. Charles Ramson Jr., during a courtesy call at State House.
The Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) made a courtesy call to His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana and Minister of Culture Youth and Sport, Hon. Charles Ramson Jr., at the State House on Friday, July 1.
Members of the GCF interact with the President of Guyana, His Excellency Dr. Irfaan Ali, during their courtesy call.
The delegation was led by GCF’s President, Frankie Farley, and members of the Olympiad team scheduled to represent Guyana at the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India later this month.
The team comprises of five males and five females; Taffin Khan, Loris Nathoo, Anthony Drayton, Roberto Neto and Ethan Lee will participate in the Open Tournament, while Sasha Shariff, Pooja Lam, Jessica Callender, Anaya Lall and Nellisha Johnson will participate in the Women’s Category.
Also in attendance were Company Secretary, Marcia Lee, Executive Director, Irshad Mohamed, Team Captain and Executive Director, Davion Mars, Executive Director and FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission Councilor, Yolander Sammy, and President of the Deaf Association of Guyana, Sabine Macintosh.
The Head of State was pleased to see the young men and women in attendance and it was noted that this will be the youngest team to ever represent Guyana at the Olympiad and the only Guyanese team to ever include a deaf player, 12-year-old Anaya Lall. Anaya will now be representing Guyana for the second time, having competed last year in the online World Chess Championship for People with Disabilities.
His Excellency has pledged Government’s assistance and support for the team to compete in India and promised continued support in further advancing the sport for persons with special needs across Guyana as well as equipment to further expand the Federation’s reach across the country.
President Ali added that he was happy with the work the Federation has done in making the sport inclusive, but charged the Federation to have chess become a sought-after pastime, accessible in every region across Guyana.
The 44th edition of the FIDE Olympiad will begin on Thursday, 28 July and end on Wednesday, 10 August, 2022.
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