Lonestar Chess Team Departs Liberia For 44th World Chess Olympia

Lonestar Chess Team Departs Liberia For 44th World Chess Olympia

Liberia national chess team has departed the country by way of the Roberts International Airport (RIA) for India to participate in the 44th World Chess Olympia.

The team departed the country on July 25, 2022 with a 13-person delegation which included players, technical staff and officials.
Liberia Chess Federation (LCF) President, Mr. Thomas Karyah heads the delegation.
Karyah told the media during a press engagement when the team visited Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson T. Koijee at his City Hall office before departing, that the team will be participating in its second World Chess Olympia.

The tournament which will be hosted in the City of Jina is expected to run from the 28th of July to the 10th of August 2022.
“This is a tournament that is equivalent to the World Cup in football. It is where all the top countries in the world perform for the top medals and Liberia first participation was in 2018.

“This time around we are taking a delegation of 13 persons. An open session team of five male players and a female team of five players, the head of delegation and two captains”, Mr. Karyah stated.
He added that the team is expected to compete in several sessions. All of the 187 countries will be battling for the top three prizes, gold, silver and bronze.

However he said, “We have set for ourselves a benchmark that we must win our category. This is the team that was set to go to the Olympia in 2020 but because of COVID-19 we were not able to go. That preparation added to the preparation we did in 2021 we trust that we are going to win our category.”

Most importantly, according to him, the World Chess Federation has declared 2022 as the year of women in chess and they have asked all federations to promote the initiative.
So we are excited by this support from the government of the Republic of Liberia that we are able for the first time in our history to carry a team representing all the females in Liberia. We are also excited that the team is dominated by teen players, the LCF President and head of delegation further remarked.

While interacting with the departing chess team, the Mayor of the City of Monrovia, Jefferson T. Koijee said he is glad that the young Liberians are trying to put the country on the global stage of chess.

“We must begin to look for some value that this country has. In other countries chess is a serious resource game. That is why we said we are very grateful to President George Manneh, who under his leadership we are beginning to put spot light on those hidden talents that the country can be proud of in different dimensions.”
You have become symbol of nationalism and patriotism, Mayor Koijee expressed and disclosed that the Liberia Chess Federation has been captured in the national budget.

He thanked the LCF leadership for the exceptional brilliance in championing the cause for the team, mentioning that the country can build on the current team to project the image of the nation globally.
“On behalf of the President of the Republic of Liberia, Dr. George Manneh Weah and the good people of Monrovia, we want to bid you farewell to inspire you, because what you are doing is in the interest of this country. We want you to bear in mind that you are representing every Liberian because we see a generation and a future in what you do.

“We want to call on the President directly so that we can put more focus on chess. You are already on the budget, but we need to think on how we can think about increasing your budget. We will see if we can take that burden of your schooling. We must create that environment that can support you”, Koijee told the team.