Chess team bag silver at IGG

The Inter-Guiana Chess Competition held over the weekend in Paramaribo, Suriname, came to an exuberant conclusion as the Guyanese team won the silver medal after losing to Suriname.
Guyana’s junior players faced off against their Guianas counterparts, and the result was nothing short of spectacular – our boys and girls did not disappoint.
The Guyana male team consisting of Ricardo Narine, Kyle Couchman, Alexander Zhang and Nicholas Zhang scored five points in the three-round tourney, with 1.5 points against Suriname in round two and 3.5 points against French Guiana in round three. The team played their first game on November 18 against Suriname in round two. In the battle between the two countries, Suriname came out victorious.
Starting with board one for the male team, young Couchman impressed even the Suriname Coaches with his brilliant strategic plays in the complicated positions against Jason Yeung, who has an Elo rating of 1951. Couchman, with absolute will, fought to make his team proud and bring home the win for his country, but fell short after making a critical error on the kingside, causing him to make some poor exchanges and creating pawn weakness for himself. However, with resilience beyond his years, he used his knowledge to create counter play on the queenside with a passed pawn and take the game by force. Unfortunately, it was not enough, as the damage to his kingside was too extensive, and he eventually lost to his Surinamese counterpart.

Narine on board two anchored the male team by destroying his Surinamese opponent to quickly bring home the win – by probing his opponent’s defences across the board, looking for weaknesses and then reaching the endgame with a rook against two pawns. Narine also played brilliantly against his French Guiana opponent to claim a draw at will.
Alexander Zhang on board three showed massive growth in these games after dominating his Surinamese opponent in the opening, but the game eventually settled down to a draw in the endgame after Alexander made a fatal blunder when he sacrificed his extra bishop. In round three, he completely crushed his French Guiana opponent with ease.
On board four, the younger Nicholas Zhang lost to his Surinamese opponent in a seemingly drawn endgame. Nicolas fought valiantly – a battle of strategy in the French opening – but the inexperienced young player could not hold on to the drawn position and eventually collapsed at the end, giving the win to the Surinamese player.
Suriname finally won round two – 2.5-1.5, and Guyana defeated French Guiana in round three – 3.5-0.5.
The tourney ended with Suriname winning the gold; Guyana, silver and French Guiana, bronze.
The Guyana female team consisting of Aniyah Couchman, Italy Ton-Chung, Aditi Joshi, and Maliha Rajkumar had an impressive showing, putting the Surinamese team to the test in the double round-robin match.
On board one, Ton-Chung defended Guyana’s honour by fighting courageously to score a point against Suriname’s top female player, Women Candidate Master (WCM) Victoria Kaslan. Kaslan was victorious in both games, as experience proved to be the deciding factor.
On board two, 13-year-old Joshi played a perfect game to crush her opponent with style and brilliance, giving the impression that she would be one of those unstoppable forces to look out for in future. In the second game, however, Joshi found herself in a losing position after miscalculating her tactics, which led to a devastating loss.
Board three, played by Couchman, who completely dominated her opponent in game one with tactics and sacrifices, lost her grip on her opponent – allowing her an easy defence against Couchman’s crushing blows which she eventually converted to a winning endgame after winning a pawn. Couchman played a strategic battle of Knights vs Knights in Game Two. She fought to the bitter end as the endgame approached and her time dwindled, but her opponent managed to gain material and win the game.
Playing on board four, Rajkumar impressed by completely demolishing her opponent in both games, showing the true spirit of Guyanese chess. Her will and determination shone through, anchoring the female team and proving that even after only a few weeks of training by Coach Anthony Drayton and well-thought-out preparation, hard work pays off.
The girls scored three points to Suriname’s five, with Suriname taking the gold and Guyana, the silver.
The team were coached by FIDE Master Drayton, whose tireless work with the young players, before and during the tournament, led to such a favourable result. Drayton’s knowledge and experience in international team events catalysed team building and collaboration.
The Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) related that it was proud of the young, talented players and hoped that competitions of this nature continued in the future. The players were exposed to international competition and friendly rivalry, which will boost their confidence and encourage play. Thanks were extended to the coach, Preya Rajkumar and Joshi. The GCF also wished to thank the National Sports Commission and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport for organising a well-turned-out event.