Double Rooks is calling on the T&T Chess Association (T&TCA) executive to respond to a situation involving apparent charges of discrimination against two of the country’s young chess champions.
The two “victims” in this sad story are Vishnu Singh, T&T’s first International Master and winner of last year’s national and junior championship titles, and Javanna Smith who is the country’s first Woman FIDE Master, the 2014 female national senior and junior champion and the Under-18 champion. Having secured these supreme over-the-board achievements, it seems only logical and fair that the association would have honoured them with Player of the Year awards. But no, in its own wisdom, the T&TCA preferred to grant these honours to less deserving players. Earlier this year, Singh had defeated awardee Harper in several tournaments while Smith virtually ruled the roost in the women’s division during 2014. DR can only presume that the Minister of Sport had recognised the injustice done to the two champions and, in an apparent gesture to rectify it, presented them with plaques in recognition of their exceptional string of victories.
More significantly, it was suggested that the T&TCA should apply to the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs (MSYA) for grants to assist the two players to advance their careers in the sport, with training and travel in pursuit of higher international titles. Last April, after the new management committee was elected, fathers of the two chess stars appealed to the Association to apply for ministerial grants. “We were told that the new executive was busy, that they didn’t have the time for that,” Russell Smith recalled. “We were told that we could go ahead and apply for the grants ourselves.”
The fathers complied. But when, some weeks later, they approached the MSYA for a response, they learned that two T&TCA executives had visited the Ministry and were informed that they had to endorse the applications themselves and, for the future, they also had to present criteria for such grants to be released. After waiting for some time, the parents again approached the Association’s management committee to find out about the grants since the training schedule in Cuba was due to begin shortly and most of the titled tournaments, CAC U-20, CAC Festival, Panam U-20, Panam Festival, in which the two young T&T champions intended to participate, would take place during the July-August holiday.
“Much to our dismay,” Smith snr related, “We were informed that the management committee would first have to meet as an executive, then form a committee to develop the criteria, then call a special general meeting to approve it. In other words, they would have to wait until all the tournaments and holidays were over before endorsing the applications.
“One is compelled to wonder if any of the management committee’s children were involved, whether they would not have created the criteria the same week and endorse the petitions immediately after,” Smith remarked. “Apparently for other children there was no urgency.” As Secretary of FIDE Americas, Smith attended the Panams only to find two management committee members present and Akiesha Jones, a member of Palladins Chess Club and a virtual novice in the game, among the contestants! How did this inexperienced T&T player, without any notable achievement in the sport, find her way to this international tournament while the country’s two champions, deserving of every encouragement, had been receiving no end of trouble? Did Jones receive a grant from the Ministry? And how prompt and truthful was the criteria issued for her? Two weeks before the Panam Festival in Cali in July, the parents again approached the T&TCA and were told by the president that two other officers would attend to their matters.
“We objected having to spend money from our own pockets when the MYSA grants were available. Having regard to this response, we feared that nothing would be done. Eventually, nothing was really done.” Once again the fathers visited the Ministry in July and were informed that the management committee had still not endorsed the grant petitions. When they inquired who had endorsed the grant for Akeisha Jones, they were told by a Ministry official that the Association’s management committee had done so. “Following this bitter episode,” Smith snr said, “We again confronted the T&TCA executive about the grants, but the same treatment was meted out to us.” However, two days before start of the U-20 Panam Championships in El Salvador, Singh snr managed to get the Ministry to finance tickets for the tournament, involving him in a desperate last minute hustle to complete travel arrangements. Javanna, however, declined the offer stating that she was not mentally prepared for the El Salvador event; after such a long delay she assumed the grants were not forthcoming. What in heaven’s name has been going on in the T&TCA? Is this any way to treat the country’s young chess champions? Would the management committee care to explain?