It came as no surprise to the chess community when three young men- Candidate Master Sachin Pitamber, Kyle Couchman and Keron Sandiford- emerged as the top three winners of the End-of-Year Rapid and Blitz Chess competitions, held at the David Rose Special School last weekend.
Young Pitamber, who gained his Candidate Master Title in September last and played unbeaten, emerged as the winner in the Rapid Tournament with 8.5 points in the nine-round Swiss competition.
Couchman came in a close second with eight points, while Sandiford, known for his talent in fast-paced competitions, placed third with 6.5 points.
Couchman won the Blitz Tournament with eight points, while Sandiford came in second, with eight points, and Pitamber placed third with six points.
Junior Champion Ricardo Narine, playing in the Under-20 Category, emerged victorious over his counterparts with eight points.
Young Nicholas Zhang and Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Aditi Joshi placed second and third with 6.5 points each.
The Best Female prizes for the Rapid competition went to WCM Jessica Callender and Tharisha Montes De Oca in the Open and Under-20 categories respectively, while Joshi copped the Best Female prize in the Blitz competition.
Notable performances in the Rapid competition were Kishan Puran with six points and newcomer Aravinda Singh with five points; playing in the Open Category, Alexander Zhang with 6.5 points; and newcomer Krishna Singh with five points from the Under-20 Category; and Rolex Alexander and Nicholas Zhang with 5.5 points, from the Blitz competition.
The tourneys, sponsored by the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF), attracted almost 30 players vying for G$225,000 in cash prizes. The End of Year Rapid and Blitz tourneys were set to complete the 2024 calendar of chess tournaments hosted by the GCF.
The Rapid chess competition was played on Saturday, December 28, in two divisions, the Open and Under-20 categories, with a time control of 15 minutes, plus five seconds added to the clock after each move.
The Blitz competition, played on December 29, had a time control of five minutes plus five-second increments.
The GCF wishes to thank the players for their resolute commitment to chess and their participation in the tourneys, which culminated in the chess events for 2024.
Thanks to the arbiter of the tournaments, FIDE Master Anthony Drayton. The GCF would like to thank David Rose Special School for providing the venue for the tournament.
The GCF extends best wishes for 2025 to all its sponsors, supporters, and friends in the chess community.
“Join us on guyanachess.gy, Facebook, and Instagram to keep updated with chess activities,” a release outlined.
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