The Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service announced its participation in the first Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for prisoners, scheduled for October 13-14, 2021. This competition is being hosted by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in Chicago, in collaboration with the International Chess Federation, FIDE, as part of its ‘Chess for Freedom’ project.
In the run-up to this event, the Trinidad and Tobago Chess Association (TTCA), under the expert guidance of its President, Ms. Sonja Johnson, hosted a series of qualifying events at several of the nation’s prisons, to determine the finalists, who will be part of the teams representing Trinidad and Tobago at the online competition. In 2017, the TTCA, in collaboration with the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee initiated a chess programme at the Maximum Security Programme and it is anticipated that this event will bring excitement and support to the development of a sustainable chess programme across the prison system.
During the period from September 09-17, 2021, the qualifying competitions were held at the Port of Spain Prison, Women’s Prison, Golden Grove Prison, Remand Prison and the Maximum Security Prison. These five rounds of competition were keenly contested by ninety participants from across the competing stations. The participants were thrilled and displayed open enthusiasm during the competitions. The final team would be selected by Ms Johnson and other representatives of the TTCA and would undergo the relevant training programme in preparation for the highly anticipated online event in October.
Commissioner of Prisons, Mr. Dennis Pulchan, who endorsed the initiative, has stated that he is quite pleased with the proposal and the Prison Service’s involvement in the milestone event. He has noted that it would expose the brilliance and capabilities of those under our charge, and it is hoped that based on the tremendous response, an ongoing prison chess programme can be implemented.
The event, which is coordinated under the Programmes Department of the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service, is expected to attract national, regional and international attention and would be recorded and broadcasted LIVE online.
