KINGSTON, Jamaica – Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, has reiterated the Government’s support for the popularisation of chess across the island as another avenue through which Jamaicans can pursue and achieve greatness.

Holness was speaking at a Meet & Greet event held at the Medallion Hall Hotel in Kingston on Saturday, where young chess players met Jamaican-American Chess Grandmaster Maurice Ashley and Hungarian Chess Grandmaster, Judit Polgár.

The event was organised by the Jamaica Chess Federation, which is undertaking the ‘Grandmaster in 10’ initiative to create Jamaica’s first chess Grandmaster within the next 10 years.

The initiative got under way last year with an initial investment of $40 million from the Government.

While noting the Government’s commitment to the programme, the prime minister emphasised the importance of supporting non-traditional skill sets.

“We tend to focus on one set of skills and we tend to value only one set of achievements, so, we only tend to have one set of heroes. But if we were to truly mine the greatness of Jamaica, we would have excellence in every sphere of activity. Whether it is classical music, whether it is chess, whether it is academics, whether it is in artificial intelligence and technology, or whether it is to have the fastest people on earth; we can be great in every undertaking,” he contended.

He said that the Government’s investment in the ‘Grandmaster in 10’ programme is supporting the infrastructure for young talent to excel.

“We’re going to create the superstructure to ensure that the talent we discover and support, that they are facilitated, that the connections are made so that they get the exposure, because that’s a critical part of it. But more importantly, that you (young people) know that your Government and your country value your effort,” Holness emphasised.

Holness commended the leadership of the Jamaica Chess Federation for its work with Jamaica’s children.

The prime minister, a former competitive chess player, stressed the importance of the sport, stating, “It is not just [about] playing the game; it is what you take from it to apply to life. So, I may not be in the competitive sport anymore, but all the moves have been applied to my current endeavours.

“So, you would have heard me say, I don’t play draft, I play chess. All the principles – patience, being strategic, being thoughtful, but the most important is being resilient. Because you could be the most brilliant mind in chess and if you make a wrong move and you are not resilient, you will not recover. So, resilience is also an important principle,” he said.

In her remarks, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, encouraged the young chess players to continue chasing their dream of becoming a Grandmaster.

“I see the passion, I feel the passion, I see the excitement and I wish you all the success as we all work towards, sometime in the future, presenting another Grandmaster coming out of Jamaican soil,” she encouraged.

Grange added that the Government is committed to continuing its support of the programmes being carried out by the Jamaica Chess Federation.

Chairman of the ‘Grandmaster in 10’ Committee, Ian Wilkinson, thanked the prime minister and Grange for their support for the sport.

“We want to be the envy of the world. Not many countries have this programme, so we are on to something great, and I want to thank the prime minister and Minister Grange for having the courage, the vision, to do what we are doing,” Wilkinson said.

–         JIS