David Rose Special School dominates first chess meet for SEN teachers

Feb 05, 2023 Sports

Kaieteur News – Intending to ensure the growth and development of chess within the nation, the Guyana Chess Federation remains committed to providing equal access to resources and opportunities for all persons interested in the sport across Guyana.

A Chess meet on Friday, February 3^rd, at the David Rose Special School brought together Special Education Needs (SEN) teachers from the school as well as from New Amsterdam Special Needs School, Diamond Special Needs School, Linden Centre for Special Children and the Schoonord Centre for Children with Diverse Needs.

Chess was first introduced at special needs schools in the first quarter of 2022 where teachers were exposed to the game for varying periods of time – some even for just a few short weeks.

Some of the participants engaged in the tournament

All of the teachers were excited about the experience of the meet which mimicked an abbreviated version of a swiss-system chess tournament with just three rounds.

Of the 17 participants; Roumelia Seer-Daniels, Deputy Head Mistress from David Rose Special School took home the first-place trophy after winning all of her matches. Second place went to Karlina Prakash-Phillips (also of David Rose) who finished on 2.5 points. Third place is Tineisha Isaacs, of the New Amsterdam Special Needs School with two points.

Notable performances also came from Oxana Cox from David Rose Special School, Sarah Ramkarran and Nakita Granum from Diamond Special Needs School and Fiona Phillips from Schoonord Special Needs School.

All participants played commendably and this meet is expected to be held at least once a year as chess grows in special needs schools across the country. Furthermore, a meet is expected to be held this year for students in these schools.

This event was hosted by the Federation in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and organized by Sabine McIntosh, Managing Director of the Guyana Deaf Association, who also leads the chess in Special Needs Committee within the Federation.

Keon Cheong, Assistant Chief Education Officer for Disability, remarked on the positive program and the importance of chess in the development of individuals. He applauded the efforts of Sabine McIntosh and the GCF and the anticipated growth of the program in other institutions in Guyana.

Vice President of the GCF, Anand Raghunauth, congratulated Ms McIntosh for the excellent job in organizing the event and also tasked the SEN teachers with the job of teaching chess and spotting talent within their student body. Twelve-year-old deaf player Anaya Lall who has been playing chess for several years was also present to lend a hand at the event.

Anaya represented Guyana on the women’s team at the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad in India in 2022.

The Guyana Chess Federation extends sincere gratitude to Beacon Cafe, for their generous support in providing free lunches to participants and officials and to the David Rose Special School for the use of the venue for the hosting of the event. These contributions are deeply appreciated and add immense value to the event. We are truly grateful for your kindness and for the meaningful impact it has made.

(This is an official release of the GCF)

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Nakita Granum, Oxana Cox, Roumelia Seer-Daniels, Sarah Ramkarran, Tineisha Isaacs

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