Anthony Drayton wins Gaico Grand Prix Chess Tourney

The Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) concluded its first over-the-board tournament last weekend with FIDE Master (FM) Anthony Drayton playing unbeaten in the eight-round battle.

The chess tournament is the first of several tournaments which will determine the team for the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad games to be held in Chennai, India on July 28 to August 10 of this year.
Drayton, one of Guyana’s top-ranked players, secured 7.5 points against his counterparts with his half point resulting from his one draw against second-place finisher and seasoned player Adrian Roopnarine. Roopnarine ended with six points after he lost to veteran player Loris Nathoo and also drew with third-place finisher Davion Mars.
Mars gained 5.5 points after also drawing with Ethan Lee and Nathoo. His only loss was against Drayton. Nathoo came in fourth with 5.5 points as well, and also suffered his only loss against Drayton. Keron Sandiford copped the best junior prize also with 5.5 points after losing to Drayton and Mars and drawing with Lee.

Chelsea Juma was presented with the best female prize and Pooja Lam received the best junior female prize.
Trophies and cash prizes were presented to the top three finishers, and medals were given to those finishing fourth to 10th – Nathoo, Sandiford, Lee, Oluwadare Oyeyipo, Jaden Taylor, Juma and 12-year-old Arysh Raghunauth, respectively. Female player Jessica Callender was unable to continue the competition owing to an accident on the way to the tournament on the final day.

Anand Raghunauth, Vice President and FIDE Arbiter, at the award ceremony, thanked the committee members of the GCF for their contributions over the past months and encouraged the talented young Guyanese chess players to continue to train in the game of chess as well as to be involved in the other aspects of the Federation. Drayton and Mars are currently involved in the training of new members of the GCF, and it is hoped that more young people can come on board to work towards creating a viable chess community in Guyana.

The GCF expressed thanks to the participants and its sponsor, Gaico Construction, and everyone who assisted in making the tourney a success. Special thanks to FIDE Arbiter John Lee and head of Development of Chess, who ensured that the games were streamed live on the GCF’s webpage guyanachess.org and YouTube, keeping viewers at home up to date with the progress of the games. The GCF, for the first time, has broadcast live games utilising electronic chess boards supported by programmes which allow games to be streamed over the Internet in real time. This venture will continue to be a vibrant aspect of future chess tournaments and the Federation hopes to acquire more electronic boards in order to improve and develop its mandate in taking chess to higher levels in Guyana.