FIDE Master Viresh Giasi is the Guianas 2024 Champion

On August 17, Athena Chess organised the second edition of the Master of the Guianas. This online chess tournament, aimed at players from Guyana and Suriname, attracted 59 participants, of which 10 were from Guyana. The prize fund of over USD 700 was provided by the sponsor CoreStats.

The tournament consisted of 9 exciting rounds, played according to the Swiss system. Each player had 3 minutes per game with a 2-second increment per move. The entire tournament was played on the online chess platform Lichess, where an average of three million games are played daily by chess players worldwide.

As the undefeated winner, FIDE Master Viresh Giasi (Suriname) emerged victorious with 8 points. He dominated the field and proved to be the best. Imaan Kalidjo was initially crowned champion with 8.5 points. However, his account was flagged by Lichess because he had created a new account and ended his first rated games early to meet the participation requirements. Lichess compared these games with his previous ones, which led to the account being flagged. On the advice of Lichess, he is removed from the final standings.

Woman FIDE Master Catherine Kaslan (Suriname) performed outstandingly, scoring 7 points and securing second place.

In a tie for third place with 6.5 points each were FIDE Master Anthony Drayton (Guyana), Shaief Chashawa (Suriname), and Candidate Master Wendell Meusa (Guyana). After applying tie-breaks, Chashawa finished in third place, followed by Drayton and Meusa in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

The Best Woman of the tournament was Woman FIDE Master Catherine Kaslan (7 points). It was a clean sweep by the Kaslan sisters; the second-best woman was Woman Candidate Master Victoria Kaslan (Suriname) with 6 points, and the third-best woman was Woman Candidate Master Alexandra Kaslan, also with 6 points.

FIDE Master Anthony Drayton (6 points) was the best player from Guyana. In second place was Candidate Master Wendell Meusa (6 points), and third place went to Ronuel Greenidge (5.5 points). The prize for Best Woman from Guyana went for the second time to Woman Candidate Master Jessica Callender, with 5 points.

Additionally, the following category prizes will be awarded:

• Best U18 – Jason Yeung (Suriname)
• Best U16 – Kyle Couchman (Guyana)
• Youngest Participant – Scarlett Lee (Suriname)
• Oldest Participant – Rai Sharma (Guyana)

The organisation said it is very pleased with the outcome and it aims to bring chess players from Suriname and Guyana together more frequently.

There were 59 participants, with 259 games played. Athena Chess said throughout the year it will organize more online and physical tournaments.

For more information and full results: https://athenachess.com.