SANDIFORD LEADS OPEN CHESS QUALIFIERS

After four rounds of intense battle over the chessboard, Keron Sandiford and Ciel  Clement lead the National Open Chess Championship Qualifiers and Diamond  Fire-sponsored Women’s Chess Championship Qualifiers, respectively. The  tourneys, hosted by the Guyana Chess Federation, got underway last Saturday,  February 28, 2026, at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.  

In the Open category, Sandiford took the lead with an unbeaten four points with  his most notable victory over the weekend against FM Anthony Drayton in the  third round. The mostly drawn match between the two dynamic players saw a  shifting of the advantage ever so slightly between each player. However, the  game took a turn when Sandiford forced his passed pawn for promotion, causing  Drayton to turn his attention towards striking Sandiford’s king. However, in the  end, Drayton was unable to stop the advancing pawn. 

Current Junior Champion Kyle Couchman is in second place with 3.5 points.  Couchman also played unbeaten for the weekend, recording a draw in the fourth  round against U16 Open Champion, CM Sachin Pitamber. Pitamber, also on 3.5  points, sits in third due to the tie-breaker system. Pitamber also maintained his  unbeaten streak through the weekend, concluding the fourth round with a hard fought draw against Couchman. 

Drayton, Jaden Taylor, and Joshua Gopaul all concluded the weekend with three  points each, occupying the fourth through sixth positions, respectively, on the  table. This cluster of players remains within striking distance of the leaders as  they head into the final four rounds next weekend. 

Roberto Neto, Alexander Zhang, Rashad Hussian, and Kishan Puran all finished  within the top ten with 2.5 points apiece. Notably, Puran appears to have found  his stride in this tournament by defeating veteran players, CM Greenidge and  Gilbert Williams in the first two rounds, and drawing with the formidable Zhang.  He has secured his best tournament results yet. 

Clement scored an impressive 3.5 points after four rounds of play. Her bid for a  perfect score was only halted by a strategic draw against WCM Sasha Shariff  during their fourth-round encounter, leaving Clement at the top of the  leaderboard heading into the final four rounds this weekend. 

In second place is WCM Jessica Callender on 3 points. Her only setback thus far  came in the second round, where she lost to Shariff after a hard-fought 3-hour  battle. 

In third place is the current National U14 and U16 Girls Champion Kataleya Sam.  Sam played unbeaten throughout the weekend, securing back-to-back victories  with two wins in the first two rounds against Emma John and Anaya Lall, followed  by two hard-fought draws in the third and fourth rounds against Treskole  Archibald and Shariff. 

Maintaining their pursuit of the top spots, Shariff, Archibald, and Parnita Kishun  each concluded the weekend with a solid 3 points. Through a series of resilient  wins and strategic draws, the trio currently occupies the fourth, fifth, and sixth  positions, respectively. Their consistent play across the opening rounds set the  stage for a high-stakes battle as the tournament moves into its final four rounds. 

Holding steady in the seventh and eighth positions are Italy, Ton-Chung, and  Anaya Lall, each finishing the weekend with a respectable 2.5 points. Rounding  off the top ten for the Women’s category are Chelsea Harrison and Amaya  Sharma, occupying the ninth and tenth positions respectively, finishing with 2  points each. 

The final four rounds of the qualifiers will continue on March 7th and 8th at the  Cliff Anderson Sports Hall from 9:00am. The top nine finishers from each  category will earn a stake to participate in the National Open Chess  Championship and Women’s Chess Championship 2026, set to begin on March  14th, 2026. 

The GCF expresses thanks to Diamond Fire and General Insurance for their  steadfast support of women’s chess over the years. The company has been the  proud sponsor of the National Women’s Chess Qualifiers and Championships for  several years. Thanks to the National Sports Commission for the use of the Cliff  Anderson Sports Hall. 

The top four boards of the Women’s Category are being live-streamed on  lichess.org by John Lee, FIDE Arbiter and Technical Director for the GCF. Results  and pairings can be viewed on chess-results.com. Visit guyanachess.gy to learn  more about the GCF and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.