“It is also important to explore how the Region’s policymakers and development specialists can partner to exploit the untapped opportunities for securing positive educational outcomes, strengthening community development and facilitating greater youth engagement through chess.”
Dr Armstrong Alexis | Deputy Secretary-General | CARICOM
CARICOM Deputy Secretary-General, Dr Armstrong Alexis, believes that participation in sport can unlock young people’s potential to secure the Region’s future.
He shared this view at the opening of the CARICOM Chess Classic 2025, held at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown, Guyana, on Monday, 30 June 2025. The event was organised by the Guyana Chess Federation.
“Not only has chess been associated with increased intelligence and academic performance, but its characteristics as a cognitively demanding game have also made it of high interest in educational spheres, youth engagement, and in promoting mental well-being,” stated Dr Alexis.
He added, “So, this event goes beyond bragging rights and chess mastery. I do not think I exaggerate when I say that this Tournament is also about securing the Region’s future through youth development.”
Please read his complete remarks below.
Salutations
I am honoured and excited to be in your midst this evening. Thank you for the invitation and for the opportunity to address you briefly.
I wish to commend the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF ) for its commitment, not just to nation building but to an even more ambitious goal of deeper regional integration, by taking the lead in organising and hosting yet another chess tournament for the CARICOM Region. Last year, the Secretariat collaborated with the GCF in hosting the Inaugural Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Classic Chess Tournament under the umbrella of the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of CARICOM and this year, we are pleased to once again welcome the nine teams from eight territories in the CARICOM Region that have journeyed to Guyana to do battle for chess supremacy.
The Secretariat is thrilled to collaborate with the Federation to execute this event. We are keen on exploring how this partnership can be strengthened and integrated into the wider programmatic and strategic activities associated with the Community’s Sport Development Programme.
I wish to also commend the Pegasus Hotel Guyana and all sponsors for placing their support behind this initiative. The successful execution of this event truly is a demonstration of the role that partnerships can play in accelerating sport development in the Region.
The Caribbean Community places strong emphasis on sport as a vector of change in the Region. The Secretariat’s Sport Development Programme is strategically moving to mobilise partners across the Region in an effort to strengthen the governance of the sector and widen the spectrum of sports available to youth. We all know that participation in sport serves as a vehicle to mitigate against crime and other antisocial behaviour, especially amongst youth. I therefore urge not only the participants, but the organizers of this tournament to continue the effort to ensure that the young citizens of our beloved Caribbean continue to use sport and in this particular instance, Chess, as a means of remaining gainfully engaged, gain useful life skills and values, strengthen bonds, and impact positively on our nations.
Ladies and gentlemen, the initiative that we are gathered here to get underway is a consequential one. Given the rising concerns with youth disengagement in the Region and the persistent productivity gaps when compared with the rest of the world, mind sports, such as chess, offer solutions – if we are able to leverage them effectively.
So, this event goes beyond bragging rights and chess mastery. I do not think I exaggerate when I say that this Tournament is also about securing the region’s future through youth development.
It is now well known that there are various cognitive and non-cognitive benefits of chess. Chess promotes mental focus, strategic thinking, cognitive agility, impulse control, and a greater capacity to make decisions in the face of ambiguity.
The skills learned through chess are transferable to domains such as socio-affective development, memory and creativity, visuo-spatial abilities, problem-solving abilities, and even reductions in risk-aversion.
Not only has chess been associated with increased intelligence and academic performance, but its characteristics as a cognitively demanding game have also made it of high interest in educational spheres, youth engagement and in promoting mental well-being.
The CARICOM Secretariat is, therefore, happy to be partnering with Chess Federations and members of the Region’s sporting fraternity gathered here today, to explore how chess can be routinised as a sport to which all children have access from early and throughout the various stages of their development.
It is also important to explore how the Region’s policymakers and development specialists can partner to exploit the untapped opportunities for securing positive educational outcomes, strengthening community development and facilitating greater youth engagement through chess.
The Secretariat expresses well wishes to all the players and teams who are here to participate in this Tournament, and I look forward to seeing the knock-on effects that this year’s tournament will likely catalyse.
Thank you!
