The Central American and Caribbean Women’s Chess Championship 2023 provided several days of intense competition, a wealth of experience and camaraderie for female Guyanese player Sasha Shariff, who picked up four points from the competition held in Carolina, Puerto Rico. The former National Women’s Chess Champion competed in a field decorated with Women FIDE Masters, Candidate and International Masters. Despite being one of the lowest-ranked players in the tournament, Shariff won against the top female players from Honduras and Puerto Rico.
While placing fifteenth in the tournament, the Championships recorded Shariff’s playing performance as a staggering 172 rating points above her current FIDE ranking. While her wins were impressive, it was her losses that excited the local Federation as she, by the smallest of margins, lost to International and Candidate Masters, players whose rankings should have been leaps and bounds ahead of her but who all at some point in time during their games, fell prey to Shariff’s intellect.
Her most impressive game came against Gabriela Vera Perez from Puerto Rico, a match that only lasted twenty moves. Shariff entered the match with a clear game plan to counter the Sicilian opening played by her opponent until she could achieve an advantage. After an hour of grueling play, Shariff set a trap for her opponent, resulting in the loss of a bishop and a clear sight into future checkmate. Perez immediately resigned.
Shariff won against Yorelis Otero, also from Puerto Rico. This match was much different and involved accurate end-game play between the two women. Sheriff
maneuvered her pawns and king, resulting in two passed pawns up to Otero’s zero. Otero then resigned, giving Shariff four points to close out the competition.
Shariff’s performance identified her as one of the top young female talents from the Caribbean, and at only twenty years old, her future in the sport is very bright. The Guyana Chess Federation is happy with her performance and encourages her to continue training to ensure success and participation in upcoming International Tournaments. In an invited comment, Sasha said “Despite the difficulties, participating in the tournament was an enriching experience. I learned a lot from observing and playing against top-level players. The intense matches pushed me to analyze positions more deeply and make calculated moves. I discovered new strategies and techniques that I can incorporate into my future games. Each game brought a new opportunity to demonstrate my abilities and learn from any mistakes made.” She also thanked the federation for its sponsorship and hopes to see many more female participation in tournaments such as these.
The GCF offers training to chess players by coaches both locally and internationally. Top female players are currently being coached by WGM Martha Fierro, who has committed to preparing the girls for qualification for the next Chess Olympiad in Hungary in September 2024. Training for the Olympiad for the Open team will commence very soon with the assistance of an international coach.
Anand Raghunauth, President of the GCF, has reiterated the commitment of the GCF to providing the opportunity for training and development of chess players to venture abroad for competitions as this allows players to earn titles and gain experience from playing other renowned and titled chess players. Interested persons can join the Guyana Chess Federation on its website guyanachess.gy.
