Guyanese FIDE Master Anthony Drayton is the Champion of the Caribbean Blitz 2024 hosted by the Guyana Chess Federation on Wednesday, March 6th, at the Ramada Georgetown Princess Hotel. The competition was open to all members of the visiting teams for the ongoing CARICOM Classic Chess Tournament, and Guyanese chess players and attracted more than forty participants. Among the players were females from both the visiting CARICOM and Associated Members and local teams. The fast-paced intense chess competition was played over seven rounds with three minutes on each side plus 2 seconds increment after each move.
Drayton triumphed over his opponents to gain an undefeated 6.5 points. He won against Guyanese players Rolex Alexander, Sachin Pitamber, Trinidadians Ysvett Hermoso Rodriguez, Quinn Cabralis, Joshua Johnson, and Jamaican Nathan Hinds. He drew with Surinamese Jason Yeung in the last round.
Coming in second, third, and fourth place with 5.5 points each were FM Joshua Johnson, FM Quinn Cabralis, and Jason Yeung, respectively.
Guyanese Candidate Master Ronuel Greenidge placed 5th with 5 points. Rodriguez, Jhustice-Demonte McDonald (Jamaica), Phillip Corbin (Barbados), and Ryan Blackwood (Cayman Islands) also gained 5 points with the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th positions. Barbados Emar Edwards took the 10th position with 4.5 points.
Cash prizes totaling USD 1,250, sponsored by the Guyana Chess Federation, were presented to the top ten winners, and the U14 prize went to Guyanese 13-year-old Sachin Pitamber.
The chess tournament was supervised by FIDE Arbiter John Lee and International FIDE Arbiter Kelvin Daniel from Barbados. Several Guyanese players who are known for playing the speed chess format also participated. They included Davion Mars and the Motilall brothers. The speed chess format forces players to overwhelm opponents in a few minutes.
The GCF congratulates Anthony Drayton on his achievement and thanks all the players who participated in the Blitz.
The CARICOM Classic games continue on March 7th with rounds five and six, and March 8th with rounds seven and eight. The week-long tournament will conclude on March 9th. The games can be viewed live at https://guyanachess.gy/caricom2024/caricom-2024-live-games/.
