JAMAICA’S HISTORIC FIRST WORLD CHESS FEDERATION INTERNATIONAL CHESS ORGANIZERS

 

President of the Jamaica Chess Federation (JCF) Ian Wilkinson QC and Terence Lindo, Chairman of the JCF Tournaments Committee,made history for Jamaica when they became the country’s first Chess international Organizers (IO) last month.

Both men represented Jamaica in different capacities at the 43rd World Chess Olympiad held in Batumi, Georgia between September and October, 2018. Wilkinson was Jamaica’s delegate to the World Chess Federation (FIDE) Congress (“the United Nations of Chess”) while Lindo debuted at an Olympiad, serving as the head of Jamaica’s seventeen-member delegation.Inspite of their various obligations they found the time to register for, and attend, the relevant seminars in order to achieve the important IO title. Theysat the examination and were successful. Their IO titles were approved by FIDE’s Presidential Board at its sitting in London, England on November 9. They can now be designated “IO Wilkinson” and “IO Lindo”.

Expressing his delight at achieving these two historic titles for Jamaica, Wilkinson stated:

“We maximized our resources and decided to use our presence at the Olympiad fully. FIDE has restructured its affairs and it is now important, indeed necessary, for governing bodies to have international organizers in their ranks. Without such individualsit will prove impossible eventually for such bodies to stage events. The “IO” title will also allow the holders to organize events for other (overseas) associations or federations and individuals. We intend to apply what we have learnt and conduct seminars to share our knowledge and improve the organizational capacity of those entities and individuals wishing to arrange chess events, especially tournaments, in Jamaica.”

Wilkinson,said that achieving the IO titles was also important as it was one of his objectives before demitting office as JCF president. He has stated repeatedly in interviews with the media that he would not be seeking re-election as the JCF President (a position which he has held since 2003) when the next elections are held in June 2019.

Please email feedback and queries to jamchessfed.secretary@gmail.com for more information, especially on any upcoming tournaments. Also visit the Jamaica Chess Federation on Facebook or at www.jamchess.com.

JAMAICA CHESS FEDERATION
December 2018

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