Drayton confident as the Senior Championships kick off

The 2019 Senior Chess Champion, FIDE Master Anthony Drayton, got a kid-like excitement about him because of his desire to get back to chess competition in person.
The event was the first round of the 2020 Senior Chess Championships, which had to be postponed since last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with the necessary permission from the COVID-19 National Task Force, Drayton and nine others have had the opportunity to compete again.
“It’s been very difficult. But this year we’ll know, because it will be the first chess tournament over the board since 2019 for us. So, it was basically online tournaments, ”Drayton said when asked about the time away from personal competition.
He continued on the subject by saying, “Online tournaments are a bit different from the over the top, because it’s shorter span games and you don’t have to play chess like in chess.”
Drayton was in a good mood on Saturday afternoon at the National Stadium, Providence as he prepared for his first game of the tournament.
“I hope to bring my best, seeing that I will represent my title; so, i hope to get it back. I have some confidence that I will, but we have yet to see what will happen, ”said Drayton as he gained confidence.
When asked about competing against Candidate Masters Wendell Meusa and Taffin Khan, who are both former Senior Champions, the reigning champion shared that he was not too worried about the stiff competition that would develop over the next few weekends.
He answered in the affirmative, stating, “Yes. I like the pairs, and I’ve been working with him so far, and I hope I can keep my title. “
Apart from Drayton, Meusa and Khan, other players taking part include Loris Nathoo, Glenford Corlette, Davion Mars, Errol Tiwari, Saeed Ali, Roy Sharma and Justino DaSilva. (Jemima Holmes)