Yesterday we showed you a first of its kind chess tournament in Belmopan, where a British grandmaster competed against twenty local and regional players simultaneously - and won.
Nigel Short's job is to travel the globe educating countries about chess and developing the sport - yes, you heard that, right - chess IS considered a sport. And a massive, global one at that, and Short wants countries like Belize to reach international heights.
Courtney Menzies spoke with him and the local chess federation executives yesterday after the tournament and has this story.
Yesterday, twenty members of the Belize Chess Federation simultaneously took on UK grandmaster, Nigel Short in a tournament that was the first of its kind in Belize.
The entire competition took about two and a half hours, and at the end, Short had won all of the matches - though he admitted some were more difficult than others.
Nigel Short, Chess Grandmaster
"It's quite tiring so I'm glad I won all my games because I had some difficulty in one or two games but it worked out well in the end."
"I always think, people who don't play chess, they're somehow missing out in life so at least they should know how to play the game. Chess is one of the most global sports, it's right up there, I mean we've got 200 member federations, it's colossal."
And while most may not see chess as exciting as action sports, it's just as competitive, requiring intense focus and strategizing. One misstep can cost you the entire game, which is exactly what happened to 28-year-old Joshua Baeza.
Joshua Baeza, VP, Belize Chess Federation
"It went well, I can't say it went bad, I had fun, the most important thing is that I had fun, I enjoyed myself. I lost, I won't say that I won but I enjoyed the game and it was a tough match, I mean, he is a grandmaster, basically he has a rating of over 2,000, I'm nowhere near that so it was pretty much already decided who was going to win."
Courtney Menzies:
"Was it harder than you expected though?"
Joshua Baeza, VP, Belize Chess Federation
"Not necessarily, no, I kind of expected more or less how difficult the game could've been so I had prepared myself but unfortunately, I made a mistake, he caught up on it, and he capitalized on it and therefore, I'm one of the first ones to lose among the executives."
Steve Flowers, President, Belize Chess Federation
"I think it's going well from start to finish, on my game, I could attest that he just squeezed my throat for the entire game but it was nice and the kids, they're holding their own as well which is something I take pride in."
Courtney Menzies:
"How long have you been playing chess?"
Rasheed Blades, Player
"When I was six."
Courtney Menzies:
"And how was this match for you, was it very hard?"
Rasheed Blades, Player
"Yes."
Reporter:
"Tell me how you felt when you were playing?"
Rasheed Blades, Player
"Hard."
Courtney Menzies:
"But did you have fun?"
Rasheed Blades, Player
"Yes."
But Short's trip to Belize wasn't just to play the game, but his job at the International Chess Federation is to travel the globe, developing the sport in different countries. He got in touch with the British High Commissioner to Belize hoping he can do the same here.
Nicole Davison, British High Commissioner To Belize
"He was a child prodigy, and when I was growing up, he was on kids TV as this kind of famous child who was really good at chess and he became a grandmaster at the age of 19 or so but he is, for people in my generation, he was incredibly well known."
Nigel Short, Chess Grandmaster
"Belize is a very interesting country from a chess point of view because in fact there are a huge number of players here relative to the population. So there was an extensive chess in schools program going on a number of years ago so there are literally thousands of people who play chess in this country and it doesn't have a big population so I think the potential is very substantial."
"Belize was one of the very few countries that did not go to the chess olympiad in Chennai last year, you had a 185 countries going there and Belize didn't send a team and that just means there's poor organization so i think there is recognition amongst the people here that they just need to be a little more disciplined."
"I hope that my visit here will prove a catalyst for better things to come and there are some evidence of that already that something's starting to move but you know, these people, and there are some good players here, they will not improve if they're playing in a small pond, they have to play regionally where the standards are higher, they meet different players with different styles and they have to become accustomed to that so I think that is what I'd like to see."
