Caricom Classic Chess tournament 2024: Guyana Team One overcomes Cayman, Dominica in Rounds 7 & 8

The Guyana Team One chess team, consisting of CM Taffin Khan, FM Anthony Drayton, Jessica Callender and Shazeeda Rahim, continues to perform excellently, with Khan, Drayton and Rahim racking up most of the points for Guyana, which steadfastly hold on to the second position in the Caricom Classic Chess Team Tournament.
Taffin Khan has remained undefeated, winning all eight games played so far; while Anthony Drayton recorded seven wins and a draw, and Shazeeda Rahim won five games, drew two, and lost one. Jessica Callender has gained 2.5 points.
Team One was triumphant in round seven with match points 3.5-.5 against the Cayman Islands. Khan and Drayton defeated veterans Clifford Shaw and Christopher Young, while Rahim defeated young Zara Majid, and Callender drew with Laia Swaminathan.
In round eight, Team One dominated Dominican team members Nigel Francis, Nicholas Goldberg, Zahidu Henry and Ayani Casimir – 4-1.

The Guyana Team Two, comprising Keron Sandiford, Kyle Couchman, Sasha Shariff and Aditi Joshi, finally recorded a win in the week-long battle with the Caribbean nations. This win has come against the Cayman Islands in the eighth round.
The round-robin format saw Team Two coming up against Barbados in the seventh round and the Cayman Islands in the eighth round. Team Two lost to Barbados 1-3, but prevailed against Cayman Islands 2.5-1.5.
The female players on Team Two defeated their opponents from the Cayman Islands. Joshi played white versus Zara Majid of the Cayman Islands, who played black, and they were embroiled in a tense game position, for which Joshi admitted she sacrificed a rook by taking Majid’s knight to relieve the pressure. They infiltrated each other’s territory, but black missed a grave white threat, and Joshi moved in with her Queen for a quick checkmate, and Majid lost.
Sasha Shariff defeated Laia Swaminathan of the Cayman Islands in 24 moves. Shariff used her Knight to threaten her opponent’s King, but Shariff’s rook finally ended the game with checkmate.
Kyle Couchman drew with Christopher Young, while Keron Sandiford lost to Clifford Shaw.
In the final round, scheduled for Saturday, Trinidad and Tobago were set to battle Guyana Team One for the Caricom Classic chess title. The intense and exciting outcome of this inaugural Caricom Classic tournament will depend on how well the home team performs.
After eight rounds, Trinidad and Tobago lead with 16 points, Guyana Team One have 14 points, Barbados have 12 points, Jamaica have 11 points, Bahamas have 7 points; Suriname, Saint Lucia and the Cayman Islands each have 6 points, and Guyana Team Two and Dominica close out the points’ spread.