CARIFTA Chess Team experiences mixed fortunes in opening rounds

The young Guyanese Chess Team which is currently testing its limits at the 8th CARIFTA Junior Chess Championships in Curacao has gotten off to a flying start after two rounds of completed competition.

Chelsea Juma preparing for battle

So far, the team has gathered an impressive 11 points from 28 games played; but while the older, more experienced players have shown their worth, the younger competitors are yet to find their footing in what is their first regional outing.
Round One has seen “Lil Anand”, Ghansham Allijohn, using the white pieces and playing to an impressive draw after losing the initiative and advantage. With a beautiful Rook sacrifice, he created a perfect stalemate or drawn endgame.
In Round Two, he bounced back with the black pieces after his opponent was unable to break down his defence. “Lil Anand” was keen to find his opponent’s slight inaccuracies, and counter- attacked successfully to capture a full point. This propelled the youngster to 1.5 points from 2 games.
Jaden “Mikhail Tall” Taylor also stands on 1.5 points with his fellow school mate Allijohn. In the first round of play, he defeated his opponent brilliantly. However, after a tactical combination that left Taylor with a material advantage and an outside passed pawn, he played too fast and threw away his advantage, and his opponent salvaged a draw in the second round.
Guyana’s under-20 representative Jarrell Troyer also got off to a good start, sitting on 1.5 points. In Round One, he swept aside his opponent’s Sicilian Paulsen with the white pieces after he went for the aggressive English Attack. In the following round, Troyer threw away a material advantage similar to his school mate Jaden, which allowed his opponent to gain a half of a point.
Female Chess sensation Chelsea Juma went down in Round One on time in a completely even game. However, Juma had the white pieces in Round Two, and tactically blew her opponent away.
Another Saint Stanislaus College student, Savir Gookul, fell sick after vomiting in Round One and was forced to forfeit his first game. Thanks to medical personnel and parents Dr. Rajkumar and Dr. Ryhan Singh, who took good care of the youngster, he was able to compete in Round Two. A revived Gookul was in much better shape in Round 2, and with the black pieces easily thumped his weaker opponent.
Samirah Gobin got off to a shaky start in Round One when she had a better position but lost her way in the endgame. She came back nicely in the second round to execute a beautiful checkmate against her opponent.
Young Milan Ramataursing won against fellow Wendell Meusa Chess Foundation (WMCF) club mate Mahesa Boodhoo in Round One, and managed to hold a draw against a higher ranked opponent in Round Two.
Mahir Rajkumar also won his first game against a higher ranked player, but unfortunately lost in Round 2.
Meanwhile, Arysh Raghunauth, who was nervous about competing in his first regional tournament, played solidly to take two draws in Rounds 1 and 2.
The other players — Joshua Khan, Jacob McDonald and Mahesa Boodhoo — are yet to come off the mark.
Team Guyana has a total of 11 points from 28 games after the initial rounds, and will continue to compete over the Easter weekend.