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.
