ANAND RAGHUNAUTH RETURNS AS GUYANA CHESS FEDERATION PRESIDENT

Anand Raghunauth will serve another consecutive term as President of the  Guyana Chess Federation (GCF), following the Federation’s biennial National  Conference held virtually on Sunday, November 16, 2025. Raghunauth and his  entire slate for the 2025-2027 Board of Directors returned to office unopposed,  as declared by the Returning Officer, Attorney at Law, Mrs. Tanya Warren Clement. 

Returning as Vice President is Irshad Mohamad, Company Secretary Marcia Lee;  Directors Loris Nathoo, Davion Mars, Shiv Nandalall, and Yolander Sammy. 

Committee members serving on the Board are John Lee, Pritima Balgobin,  Gilbert Williams, Sabine McIntosh, and new addition Roberto Neto. 

The meeting also highlighted the achievements and events of the last two years  and the financial report of 2024. 

President Raghunauth presented his report detailing the partnership and  enhanced level of support to the GCF by the International Chess Federation  (FIDE), the Confederation of Chess for the Americas (CCA), and the Government  of Guyana through the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and the National  Sports Commission. Raghunauth noted the growth in membership and  acknowledged the growth of chess among school children through the Chess in  Education program, which was bolstered significantly by the Ministry of  Education’s Priority Areas Programme in schools around Georgetown, resulting  in more than 2000 children being exposed to the game of chess. 

Raghunauth noted the landmark achievement of the GCF with the successful  conceptualization and execution of the CARICOM Classic Chess Tournament,  which saw its inaugural event in 2024 and a successful second edition in 2025.  He mentioned significant investment was made in the Special Education Needs  schools, where training programs and competitive chess were introduced to  both teachers and students. The GCF received recognition when two deaf chess  players won the Sportswoman of the Year for Persons with Disabilities award  from the National Sports Commission for 2023 and 2024. 

The President highlighted the growth of chess through the chess clubs at School  of the Nations, the Pegasus Chess Club, the distribution of chess sets to school students by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, the Gift of Chess program,  and the expansion of rated chess players in Guyana.  

Raghunauth credited the GCF’s accomplishments to its hard-working and  dedicated management team.  

In his Financial Report presentation, Mr. Loris Nathoo, Chief Financial Officer,  highlighted the two international tournaments, the CARICOM Classic and the  Chess Olympiad, that the GCF would have required an enormous amount of  funding, and these came from FIDE, the Government of Guyana through the  Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and the National Sports Commission, and  tremendous support from Corporate Guyana. Nathoo also stated that the cost  of the National tournaments and other tournaments requires funding, which the  GCF was able to obtain from Corporate Guyana. He reported that the federation  is now in a position to sponsor some of the smaller rapid and blitz tournaments  as compared to the previous years when this was not possible. 

Raghunauth and his team thanked the membership for their support over the  years. The new Board of Directors will serve for the next two years, concentrating  on the continued development of chess within the country, with plans for  expansion in some regions as its main goal.