After attaining St. Stanislaus College when she wrote the National Grade Six Assessment in 2017, young Chelsea Juma decided to join Saints Chess Club and give it a one-year trial.
One year, seven months later she is ranked number one for Under-14 Chess Players in Guyana on FIDE Website and has proven to one of the bright stars for the future of chess in Guyana.
For her it was all fun and games at a club level, but after joining the Wendell Meusa Chess Foundation, she decided to aim for bigger dreams. Last Easter in Paramaribo, Suriname, at the seventh CARIFTA Junior Chess Championship, she played fiercely in her first international tournament, defeating well-known regional chess players.
She then went to Barbados August to participate in the CAC Women’s Chess Championship where she fought with some the best in the Caribbean and in her second regional tournament she defeated five-time Guatemala champion and Chess Olympian Julissa Figueroa (FIDE rating 1712).
She ended 2018 on high notes with wins at Marian Scholastic Chess Championships to lead St. Stanislaus to victory. Notably, last week she secured her spot as the only female with wins against stronger players, especially Nellisha Johnson, who just represented Guyana at the 2018 World Chess Olympiad that was held in Batumi, Georgia. This was enough for DeSinco Trading – Milex to see that Guyana has a young and uprising chess talent.
As stated by Isha Dabreu, “DeSinco Trading – Milex are always looking for fresh local talent in sports to support and they are proud to support Chelsea Juma to attend the 8th CARIFTA Junior Chess Championships.”
When asked about who she felt about the support from DeSinco Trading – Milex, Chelsea responded: “I’m very thankful for such support and I’m aiming to do better than I did last year. I have been training very hard because I really wants to bring a medal back to my country and win for Guyana.”
FIDE National Instructor Wendell Meusa stated, “First, I would like to thank Ms. Isha Dabreu and DeSinco Trading – Milex for such a kind gesture. It is such support that helps chess to develop locally, helps our children achieve their dreams and creates history for our country.”
Meusa also mentioned that four of the six players will be returning to CARIFTA this year and the other 10 participants are new chess players between ages seven and 14.
“Taking them will give them that international exposure and experience and we are aiming to achieve international ratings and rankings for these players which will be a starting point for they growth and development in chess.”
The Wendell Meusa Chess Foundation is a local chess academy started by National Champion NI. CM. Wendell Meusa where he focuses greatly on teaching/coaching chess since he is a certified FIDE (World Chess Federation) National Instructor.
With the mission of creating chess champions, his chess academy was started in March 2009 at the American University of Peace Studies when it was then called the “Royal Chess Academy” and local players such as Cecil Cox, Ron Motilall, Carlos Petterson and Jessica and Julia Clementson attended.
Next Saturday (March 16) at Cara Lodge Hotel, Wendell Meusa Chess Foundation will be hosting the final fund-raising event for the children who will be participating in the 8th CARIFTA Junior Chess Championship schedule for April18-23, 2019 in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles.
Tickets are US$40 and all funds will be used to cover expenses for trip. Interested persons can call Meusa on 592-664-0124 for further details or to make contributions.
