After four days and six rounds of intense competition at the FIDE World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad in Barranquilla, Colombia, Team Guyana has had some mixed results, with Candidate Master Sachin Pitamber the top scorer so far. The nine-round tournament runs from August 16 to August 23, 2025.
Guyanese coach FM Anthony Drayton is providing updates from Barranquilla, Colombia, with the sharp display of top Guyanese young minds participating in the highly contested competition. Guyana faced a formidable team from the host country, Colombia Team One on Sunday, August 17th 2025.
Although the Guyanese Team prepared well, their stronger opponents prevailed on the opening day Each match was a dynamic display of fighting spirit in a bid to score an upset. Spectators and broadcasters were glued to Boards One and Two of the Colombia vs Guyana matches – Kyle Couchman and CM Sachin Pitamber, respectively. Computer analysis behind the scenes revealed that Couchman was poised to gain an edge in an equal position, while Pitamber was dominating with a pawn advantage.
Unfortunately, the fortunes of the Guyanese players dwindled after WCM Aditi Joshi and Alexander Zhang lost their matches to their Colombian counterparts, leaving the team with the possibility of securing only a draw. Pitamber obtained a winning endgame position, but his more experienced opponent cleverly manoeuvred the fight into a drawn position, forcing Pitamber to accept the truce. Couchman’s lost in an endgame with a rook down.
Rounds Two and Three saw improvement with Guyana winning a match against Colombia Team Sixteen, 2.5-1.5, and dominating Guatemala 3-1 with excellent performances from all players.
Guyanese Alexander Zhang and Aditi recorded wins on Boards Three and Four, respectively.
Guyana faced off against Venezuela Team One in Round Four, and Pitamber continued his stellar performance, beating his 1900-rated opponent on Board Two with relative ease. Couchman blundered a positional move order, fighting back in a pawn-down endgame. However, his efforts were not enough to clinch the win. Guyana ended up losing the match 3-1.
In Round Five, Guyana was paired against Colombia Team Seven. Although determined to redeem themselves, the Guyanese players experienced mixed
fortunes. Zhang and Joshi went down with losses, leaving Pitamber and Kyle Couchman to keep the country’s flag flying. Pitamber pulled off a brilliant win with a Queen sac against his opponent and won the game in style. Despite several winning chances, Couchman faltered and settled for a draw since his Board One opponent defended well. Guyana was defeated 2.5-1.5 in that match up.
In Round Six, Guyana won convincingly against Colombia Team Eleven, scoring 3:1 with victories from Couchman, Zhang, and Joshi.
With the last roundsremaining, the team is united to continue the mental battles as they represent the Golden Arrowhead. Pitamber is already contending for the Board Two prize with the most games won.
Forty countries from around the world with eighty-five registered teams are participating in the competition.
