The 2024 National Chess Championship Qualifier Tournament, sponsored by Ready Mix Concrete Limited, kicked off last Saturday, May 11th, 2024, in Georgetown at the School of the Nations. The competition is expected to be stiff as some 40 players, both FIDE-rated and unrated, are vying for a place in the 2024 National Championship scheduled for June 1st, 2024.
Eight players are bunched together with outright wins after play so far.
They are FM Anthony Drayton, Loris Nathoo, Sachin Pitamber, Aditi Joshi, Rolex Alexander, Kyle Couchman, Ethan Lee and Keron Sandiford.
In round two, top seed Drayton quickly defeated Ricardo Narine on board one, while veterans Nathoo and Rashad Hussain battled it out, with Nathoo emerging victorious in the almost three-hour game. Fourteen-year-old Kyle Couchman emerged as the winner against experienced player Gilbert Williams. Ethan Lee defeated veteran player Rai Sharma. Sharma lost material during exchanges and resigned after he was at a clear disadvantage. Young Aditi Joshi won her game against veteran player Justino Da Silva after he lost material, putting him in a weaker position. Sandiford and Pitamber won against Matthew Singh and Stafford Washington, respectively, while Alexander defeated Kim Shing Chong.
Notable performances came from Shiv Nandalall and Kishan Puran who drew their almost four-hour game. Candidate Master Ronuel Greenidge and Jayden Taylor’s match also ended in a draw.
The top nine players to qualify from this READY MIX-sponsored competition will challenge defending National Champion Taffin Khan in their attempt to unseat him. Khan successfully defended his title last year during a fast-paced playoff that lasted less than one hour with the main challenger, Loris Nathoo.
Two rounds of the competition were completed last Saturday, and the remaining five will be contested next weekend, with the final round on Saturday, May 25th, 2024.
So far, the seasoned players, as well as 14-year-old Kyle Couchman and 13-year olds Joshi and Pitamber have managed to dominate the leaderboard, with the remaining five rounds giving players the opportunity to even the odds on how they finish.
The Open Championship Qualifier tournament allows male and female players to compete for the top nine slots. The seven-round event continues May 18th, 19th, and 25th.
The games will be played according to the time control Swiss format with 90 minutes for each player with an additional 30 seconds after every move. Live games can be viewed on boards one to twelve on www.view.livechesscloud.com. The competition is being supervised by FIDE ArbitersJohn Lee and Anand Raghunauth.
The Guyana Chess Federation extends its sincere gratitude to the tournament sponsors, Ready Mix Concrete Limited, for their invaluable support in promoting chess within Guyana. The GCF also wishes to thank the management of the School of the Nations for readily facilitating the tournament venue.
For more information on upcoming tournaments and to keep updated with player stat details, please visit our website at www.guyanachess.gy.
Interested persons who wish to join the federation can do so on guyanachess.gy. The GCF also offers chess classes every Saturday from 10 am to 12 pm to school students at School of the Nations. For additional information, please message us on Facebook or WhatsApp number 7074529.