The eight-member team of junior chess players will return home soon after representing Guyana at the recently concluded Pan-Am Youth Championship. The team performed exceptionally well overall, accumulating a total of 25.5 points.
The event, organized by the US Chess Federation, the Confederation of Chess for Americas, and Rosen Shingle Creek, was hosted in Orlando, Florida, from July 15th to July 20th, 2024. Three hundred and sixty-eight junior chess players from twenty-eight chess federations participated in the nine-round tournament in the Open and Girls categories.
The Guyana team represented both divisions of the Under 16, Under 14, Under 12, and 10 categories of the six-day event. The Guyana delegation consisted of Kyle Couchman, Maliha Rajkumar, Sachin Pitamber, Aditi Joshi, Jeremy Cole, Kataleya Sam, Vir Narine, and Saura Ruplal.
The accumulative points were gained by Joshi with 4.5, Couchman and Sam with 4, Pitamber with 3.5, and Rajkumar, Cole, and Ruplal gaining 2.5 points each. Nine-year-old Narine ended on 2 points.
Earlier in the first round, Couchman defeated his 2200-rated opponent American Nathan Yan in the U16 category after Yan missed a critical move. Couchman also won against Jamaican Zuberi Edwards in round four and drew four of his games with rated players. The fourteen year old is well on his way to gaining rating points which will make him the youngest Guyanese player to reach 1800 ELO rating at his age. When asked for a comment, the young Couchman says the tournament was a valuable experience and he aims to perform better in future tournaments.
Fourteen year old Aditi Joshi playing in the U14 Girls category, scored three wins and three draws, one of her draws being against Mexican Andrea Sanchez, the third ranked player in the category. Joshi’s best performances were also defeating USA’s Tanya Prabhu and drawing with Brazilian Mariana Yassuda. Joshi says her experience at the Pan American Youth Chess Championship was insightful and exposed her to a higher level of competition, more seasoned opponents and a wide learning experience.
With 36 medals for the taking, Team USA took first place, capturing 25 medals, including 11 gold, 8 silver, and 6 bronze, while Team Costa Rica won 1 gold and Team Ecuador won 2 silver medals. Team Canada won 1 silver and two bronze medals.
The Guyana Chess Federation is pleased with the team’s effort shown by the players who displayed their analytical skills, competitiveness, and strategy over the chess board. The time spent over a chess board shows the dedication and love of chess from these young players, some of whom challenged their opponents in three to four-hour-long games. The experience and knowledge gained by the players in this tournament will strengthen their confidence in future competitions, both locally and internationally. FIDE ratings are also up for grabs for some of these players as they would have won against other FIDE-rated players.
The GCF wishes to thank the parents for making the trip possible and the head of the Guyana delegation, Mrs. Archana Joshi for her guidance and leadership.
