READYMIX CONCRETE LIMITED SPONSORS NATIONAL OPEN CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS

The 2024 National Chess Championship Qualifier Tournament, sponsored by Ready  Mix Concrete Limited, kicked off last Saturday, May 11th, 2024, in Georgetown at  the School of the Nations. The competition is expected to be stiff as some 40  players, both FIDE-rated and unrated, are vying for a place in the 2024 National  Championship scheduled for June 1st, 2024.  

Eight players are bunched together with outright wins after play so far.  

They are FM Anthony Drayton, Loris Nathoo, Sachin Pitamber, Aditi Joshi, Rolex  Alexander, Kyle Couchman, Ethan Lee and Keron Sandiford.  

In round two, top seed Drayton quickly defeated Ricardo Narine on board one,  while veterans Nathoo and Rashad Hussain battled it out, with Nathoo emerging  victorious in the almost three-hour game. Fourteen-year-old Kyle Couchman  emerged as the winner against experienced player Gilbert Williams. Ethan Lee  defeated veteran player Rai Sharma. Sharma lost material during exchanges and  resigned after he was at a clear disadvantage. Young Aditi Joshi won her game  against veteran player Justino Da Silva after he lost material, putting him in a  weaker position. Sandiford and Pitamber won against Matthew Singh and Stafford  Washington, respectively, while Alexander defeated Kim Shing Chong.  

Notable performances came from Shiv Nandalall and Kishan Puran who drew their  almost four-hour game. Candidate Master Ronuel Greenidge and Jayden Taylor’s  match also ended in a draw.  

The top nine players to qualify from this READY MIX-sponsored competition will  challenge defending National Champion Taffin Khan in their attempt to unseat him.  Khan successfully defended his title last year during a fast-paced playoff that lasted  less than one hour with the main challenger, Loris Nathoo. 

Two rounds of the competition were completed last Saturday, and the remaining  five will be contested next weekend, with the final round on Saturday, May 25th,  2024. 

So far, the seasoned players, as well as 14-year-old Kyle Couchman and 13-year olds Joshi and Pitamber have managed to dominate the leaderboard, with the  remaining five rounds giving players the opportunity to even the odds on how they  finish. 

The Open Championship Qualifier tournament allows male and female players to  compete for the top nine slots. The seven-round event continues May 18th, 19th,  and 25th. 

The games will be played according to the time control Swiss format with 90  minutes for each player with an additional 30 seconds after every move. Live games  can be viewed on boards one to twelve on www.view.livechesscloud.com. The  competition is being supervised by FIDE ArbitersJohn Lee and Anand Raghunauth.  

The Guyana Chess Federation extends its sincere gratitude to the tournament  sponsors, Ready Mix Concrete Limited, for their invaluable support in promoting  chess within Guyana. The GCF also wishes to thank the management of the School  of the Nations for readily facilitating the tournament venue.  

For more information on upcoming tournaments and to keep updated with player  stat details, please visit our website at www.guyanachess.gy. 

Interested persons who wish to join the federation can do so on guyanachess.gy.  The GCF also offers chess classes every Saturday from 10 am to 12 pm to school  students at School of the Nations. For additional information, please message us  on Facebook or WhatsApp number 7074529.