MARIAN ACADEMY WINS NATION’S CHESS INTERSCHOOL INVITATIONAL

Marian Academy emerged victorious at the National Chess Interschool Invitational,  hosted by the School of the Nations on March 26th, 2024. The tournament, which  attracted fifty participants, aimed to ignite a passion for chess among beginners  and intermediate players. 

In a surprising outcome, Queen’s College secured second place, tying with the host  school. However, the individual champion title belonged to Queen’s College’s  Mahir Rajkumar, who dominated the field with six wins and a single draw. Marian  Academy dominated the remaining top spots, with 12-year-old Alek Ubaldo Singh  and 14-year-old Micaiah Enoe taking the second and third places in the male  division. The top female players were all from Marian Academy – Chelsea Harrison  (10 years old), Kristen Xavier (14 years old), and Tharisha Montes DeOca. 

Marian Academy’s chess team’s success highlights the school’s enduring  commitment to chess development, particularly amongst beginners and  intermediates. Their strong performance begs the question: who will be the next chess prodigy to emerge? 

The tournament also awarded top finishers in each age category. Jaden Jagoo  claimed the Under-18 title, while Samuel Barkoye and Tremusa Marshall secured  first and second place in the Under-16 category. Omar Shariff and Tejasvarun  Kandavel emerged victorious in the Under-14 division, with Julian Mohabir and  Javier Davenand taking the top spots for Under-12 players. 

Beyond competition, the event fostered connections between established chess  powerhouses and young-bloods in the community. With the essential backing of  the Guyana Chess Federation, the School of the Nations rolled out the royal  treatment, enlisting the expertise of National Arbiter Odit Rodrigues to assist their  very own chess teacher, Oluwadare Oyeyipo, in orchestrating this grand event. 

Oyeyipo invited local chess royalty, Women’s Champion Jessica Callender, Junior  Champion Keron Sandiford, and former Junior Champion Ricardo Narine to  supervise and ensure fair play throughout the competition as official arbiters. 

But the School of the Nations has more than just victory on their minds. By  integrating chess into their primary curriculum, they’ve become trailblazers in 

Guyana, offering their students a clear path to success from an early age. It’s a move  that will hopefully shake up the academic scene favoring the growth of chess. 

As the chess pieces advance across the board and with new alliances formed, one  thing is certain: the world of chess is reaching a boiling point in Guyana, which is  sure to produce many more competitions and subsequent champions on the  chessboard of Guyana’s future. 

The Guyana Chess Federation is delighted with the initiative of School of the  Nations as the tournament was organized by the young people within the  federation. President of the GCF, Anand Raghunauth, lauds the success of the  tournament and encourages more similar events which will promote a competitive chess environment among beginners of the game.