Cole and Sam win Kitty Square Mall National Under-12 Rapid Chess Tourneys

After seven rounds of play and hours of mental endurance, the Kitty Square Mall sponsored, National Under-12 Chess Championships came to an end with 10-year olds Kataleya Sam and Jeremy Cole earning the Chess Championship titles of  National Under-12 Girls Champion and National Under-12 Open Champion,  respectively.  

The annual competition organized by the Guyana Chess Federation was played at  School of the Nations on Saturday January 20th 2024. 

The competition attracted 41 participants and it was the first time the National  Under-12 was played in an Open and Girls section.  

The junior chess players, all under twelve years, contested in 7 rounds of games to  earn the highest points, all in hopes of securing the top 3 ranking in the Open and Girls Chess Championships.  

Primary and secondary school students represented from nine schools, both public  and private: School of The Nations, Marian Academy, New Guyana School, Mae’s  School, Covent Garden Primary, Cornelius Primary School, Apex Education, Valmiki  Vidyalaya Primary, and the Georgetown International Academy. 

In the National Under-12 Open division, 22 boys were vying for the top three spots.  After dominating six games, ten-year-old Jeremy Cole, from Mae’s School, earned  first place with 6 points. Second and third places were decided by a tie-break and  awarded to last year’s Nation Under-12 Champion, Aquilani Swaminadha and Julian  Mohabir respectively, both students of the School of Nations. Trophies were  awarded during the short prize-giving ceremony for the young winners. 

A medal was presented to the Best Under-10 Open player, which went to Vir Narine  of Marian Academy, who scored 4.5 points. In the Under-8 Open, the best player  medal was awarded to seven-year-old Landon Mohabir of the School of the  Nations, who scored 4 points. 

Over on the girl’s side, reigning U-12 Girls Champion Kataleya Sam of Mae’s Schools  holds on to her championship title for yet another year. Sam played undefeated, 

winning all seven games against her female counterparts. Young Kataleya, who is  yet to earn her ELO ratings, holds a conditional Women Candidate Master Title,  which was bestowed upon her in last year’s CAC Youth Chess Festival in Trinidad  after placing third in the Under-10 category in that competition. Sam will have to  gain an ELO rating of 1800 before she can claim her chess title.  

Second place went to Saura Ruplall of Marian Academy with 5.5 points. Third in  place was Chelsea Harrison, also of Marian Academy with 5 points. 

All winners were awarded a trophy, with champions Cole and Sam receiving a gift  voucher, each worth $6000 provided by the sponsor, Kitty Square Mall.  

Supervising the tournaments were FIDE Arbiter John Lee, assisted by National  Arbiters Odit Rodrigues and Kim Shing Chong, and senior players Ethan Lee,  Oluwadare Oyeyipo, Keron Sandiford and Justino DaSilva.  

On hand to express his sentiments was the President of the Guyana Chess  Federation, Anand Raghunauth. The GCF’s president was heartened by the turnout  of young chess players, especially the girls. It is the first year the GCF was able to  host a National Girls Under-12 competition due to the large number of girls in that  age category. Raghunauth gave thanks to the parents who constantly support their  children in chess.  

All the winners will be entered automatically in the National Under-14 Chess  Tournaments scheduled for Saturday, January 27th, at Queen’s College. Registration must be done online at guyanachess.gy or through a registration form.  Participants must be a member of the GCF. Persons interested in joining the GCF  can visit the website and can also contact the federation on  guyanachess@gmail.com.  

The Guyana Chess Federation thanks the Kitty Square Mall for supporting junior  chess in Guyana. Gratitude is extended to the School of the Nations for providing  the venue for the tournament.