JAMIE Kenmure, the deputy president of the Oceania Chess Confederation, was on Saipan over the weekend to meet with some of the island’s chess players.
“I have been to Guam three times but never visited Saipan or the CNMI for that matter,” he said in an online interview Sunday. “So far my impressions are great and I would love to come back here to promote chess a lot.”
He believes that chess will be an ideal alternative sport to play on island.
Kenmure, who is from Melbourne, Australia, has been a chess coach for 15 years now.
“I was late starting chess at the age of 16,” he said. “Usually people learn from a much earlier age. I am not a professional player but I am a professional arbiter (referee), organizer and trainer.”
Asked who his favorite chess players are, Kenmure said: “This all depends on what era we look at. If we take, say, the era of the 1890’s to the 1930’s you can easily say Jose Capablanca. In the last 10 years, Magnus Carlsen. If we look at when I just got into chess, Teimour Radjabov. So it all depends on what era.”
As for the chess books he would recommend, he said “it all depends on if we are thinking of openings, tactics, endgames, understanding of chess. If it is just an overall guide, I would recommend the Chess Exam series by Igor Khmelnitsky.”
As for the chess scene on Guam, he said it is becoming very active, “thanks to the hard work of the committee promoting chess, holding weekly rapid and blitz tournaments that are FIDE rated and encouraging juniors to play.”
On Saipan, chess has been dormant for the past 20 years. The few remaining players are still active, but they play online.
For Kenmure, the key to reviving chess on island is to start bringing the game to schools. “We need to get the children and the youth involved, and then after that we need to have weekly events so they can practice. We need to have government support. We need to have publicity to show where the weekly chess events are, and people will start turning up. Having chess in public places is the best thing to revive chess in the CNMI.”
Chess is ideal for children and the youth, he added.
“It can help improve their educational learning in subjects like math and science. It also improves their social skills. It is a great way for kids to make new friends. Chess teaches them about distinguishing right from wrong, and making important decisions. Most important, kids will have fun playing chess.”
