ROUGE SALON AND SPA SPONSORS UPCOMING NATIONAL JUNIOR CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS

Rouge Salon and Spa is sponsoring the upcoming National Junior Chess  Championship Qualifiers Tournament, scheduled from Friday, July 25, to Tuesday,  July 29, 2025, with Sunday as a rest day. 

This seven-round competition, hosted by the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF), will  be held at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence, aiming to select the top nine  junior chess players who will challenge the current National Junior Chess Champion,  Ricardo Narine, in the National Junior Chess Championships scheduled to begin on  August 1st, 2025. 

This eagerly awaited annual competition, open to players under 20, will be  conducted using the Swiss format. Each match will feature a 90-minute time control  with an additional 30 seconds added to the clock after every move. 

The tournament boasts a formidable lineup of top junior talent. Reigning  champions expected to compete include Candidate Master Sachin Pitamber (U16),  and Woman Candidate Master Aditi Joshi (Women’s and U16 Girls Chess). Other  key players contesting are Kyle Couchman, Alexander Zhang, Kishan Puran, Alek  Ubaldo-Singh, Micaiah Enoe, Tremusa Marshall, Omar Shariff, Arysh Raghunauth,  Rafael Park, Jaden Todd, and Ciel Clement, to name a few.  

Champions for the 2025 age category competitions: Nicholas Zhang (U14 Open),  Emma John (U14 Girls), Abel Fernandez Ciria (U12 Open), and Kataleya Sam (U12  Girls) will all vie for a chance to make the top nine contenders for the 2025 National  Junior Chess Championship title.  

With over 70 competitors participating in the National Junior Qualifiers annually,  the GCF is setting an ambitious goal to boost attendance by 20 percent this year.  Chess activities hosted by the GCF, including tournaments, chess camps, chess  clubs, and training sessions, have encouraged children’s participation over the past  year.  

The GCF has expanded its reach to thousands of children over the past two years,  thanks to chess being on the curriculum in Georgetown secondary schools through  the Ministry of Education’s Five Priority Areas Programme. With this initiative, the 

federation is actively considering plans to include chess-in-schools in other Regions  outside of Georgetown.  

The GCF expresses its appreciation to Rouge Salon and Spa, a consistent sponsor of  chess, especially noted for their significant contributions to the Women in Chess  program. The GCF acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and  Sport which will be providing the venue for the tournament.  

The FIDE-rated tournament will be supervised by FIDE Arbiters, Mr. John Lee and  Mr. Anand Raghunauth.  

For more information on the tournament and sign-up details, please visit the GCF  website (guyanachess.gy). 

Follow the GCF on Facebook and Instagram for further updates.