Sasha Shariff Impresses at the Central American and Caribbean Women’s Chess Championship 2023

The Central American and Caribbean Women’s Chess Championship 2023 provided  several days of intense competition, a wealth of experience and camaraderie for  female Guyanese player Sasha Shariff, who picked up four points from the  competition held in Carolina, Puerto Rico. The former National Women’s Chess  Champion competed in a field decorated with Women FIDE Masters, Candidate and  International Masters. Despite being one of the lowest-ranked players in the  tournament, Shariff won against the top female players from Honduras and Puerto  Rico.  

While placing fifteenth in the tournament, the Championships recorded Shariff’s  playing performance as a staggering 172 rating points above her current FIDE  ranking. While her wins were impressive, it was her losses that excited the local  Federation as she, by the smallest of margins, lost to International and Candidate  Masters, players whose rankings should have been leaps and bounds ahead of her  but who all at some point in time during their games, fell prey to Shariff’s intellect.  

Her most impressive game came against Gabriela Vera Perez from Puerto Rico, a  match that only lasted twenty moves. Shariff entered the match with a clear game  plan to counter the Sicilian opening played by her opponent until she could achieve  an advantage. After an hour of grueling play, Shariff set a trap for her opponent,  resulting in the loss of a bishop and a clear sight into future checkmate. Perez  immediately resigned. 

Shariff won against Yorelis Otero, also from Puerto Rico. This match was much  different and involved accurate end-game play between the two women. Sheriff 

maneuvered her pawns and king, resulting in two passed pawns up to Otero’s zero.  Otero then resigned, giving Shariff four points to close out the competition. 

Shariff’s performance identified her as one of the top young female talents from  the Caribbean, and at only twenty years old, her future in the sport is very bright.  The Guyana Chess Federation is happy with her performance and encourages her  to continue training to ensure success and participation in upcoming International  Tournaments. In an invited comment, Sasha said “Despite the difficulties,  participating in the tournament was an enriching experience. I learned a lot from  observing and playing against top-level players. The intense matches pushed me to  analyze positions more deeply and make calculated moves. I discovered new  strategies and techniques that I can incorporate into my future games. Each game  brought a new opportunity to demonstrate my abilities and learn from any  mistakes made.” She also thanked the federation for its sponsorship and hopes to  see many more female participation in tournaments such as these.  

The GCF offers training to chess players by coaches both locally and internationally.  Top female players are currently being coached by WGM Martha Fierro, who has  committed to preparing the girls for qualification for the next Chess Olympiad in  Hungary in September 2024. Training for the Olympiad for the Open team will  commence very soon with the assistance of an international coach.  

Anand Raghunauth, President of the GCF, has reiterated the commitment of the  GCF to providing the opportunity for training and development of chess players to  venture abroad for competitions as this allows players to earn titles and gain  experience from playing other renowned and titled chess players. Interested  persons can join the Guyana Chess Federation on its website guyanachess.gy.