17-member Guyana youth chess team for Pan American Festival

Guyana will be represented by a 17-member youth team at the XXXVI Pan American Youth Chess Festival, scheduled for July 26 to August 2 in Medellín, Colombia.
The Guyanese team comprise national junior champion Kyle Couchman; Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Aditi Joshi, Alexander Zhang, Alek Ubaldo-Singh, Aiden Tinnie, Amaya Sharma, Vir Narine, Abel Fernandez Ciria, Mark Defreitas, Jeremiah Jacobs, Jordon Jacobs, Emma John, Rebha Lachhman, Divya Persaud, Pranav Suman, Sanjay Suman, and Arian Tinnie.
Couchman is the highest-rated Guyanese player entered with an international rating of 1962. WCM Joshi is rated 1745, while Zhang has a rating of 1634 and Ubaldo-Singh is rated 1582.

Aiden Tinnie will enter with a rating of 1510, followed by Sharma at 1479, Narine at 1452 and Fernandez Ciria at 1412. Defreitas, Jeremiah Jacobs, Jordon Jacobs, John, Lachhman, Persaud, Pranav Suman, Sanjay Suman and Arian Tinnie are not yet rated at the international level.
The competition will be played from July 27 to August 1 at the Guillermo Gaviria Correa Combat Coliseum in Medellín. It will feature nine rounds under the Swiss system and international ratings will be on offer.
Players will have 90 minutes for their games, with an additional 30 seconds added after each move.
The festival covers the Open and Girls’ Under-8 to Under-18 divisions.
The event is being organised by the Confederation of Chess for America and the Colombian Chess Federation. Jenny Panesso Rivera is the tournament director, while International Arbiter Norbey Rodriguez Alvarez will serve as the chief arbiter.