CM Meusa, Johnson lead National Chess Championships

Candidate Master (CM) Wendell Meusa and Nellisha Johnson are currently leading in their respective tourneys, the Gaico-sponsored National Open Chess Tournament and KFC Guyana-sponsored Women’s Chess Championships.
Four rounds have been played so far, with both tournaments commencing Saturday, May 21 at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence. The two tournaments are being run concurrently, with the top 10 qualifying players participating in each tournament and will conclude on Sunday, May 29, 2022. The players are vying for the titles of National Chess Champion and Women’s National Chess Champion for 2022 respectively.

National Open Tournament Meusa is currently the only player in the Open tournament standing undefeated. So far, he has defeated Rai Sharma, Godfrey Taylor, defending champion CM Taffin Khan and FIDE Master Anthony Drayton who placed first in the qualifying tournament. Loris Nathoo and Frankie Farley both follow closely behind Meusa on three points each. Ethan Lee and Khan are on 2.5 points each, with Drayton and Roberto Neto on two points each. The remaining participants are Sharma, Taylor, and Errol Tiwari. Taylor and Tiwari entered the competition owing to the withdrawal of Rashad Hussain and Justino DaSilva.

Meusa faced Khan, the defending chess champion, in round three on Sunday, in what was more than likely the championship deciding match. Khan, with the black pieces, chose a solid and closed approach against Meusa, and the two entered the middle game in an equal position. Tiny inaccuracies by Khan allowed Meusa to scrape a small advantage. Khan’s solid play continued to slip and Meusa struck without hesitation. His white pieces stormed Khan’s king and his advantage began to snowball. Pawn after pawn fell as Khan’s king ran for safety. In an attempt to finish with stylish efficiency, Meusa sacrificed material as his position was already dominant.

Even though the computer analysis indicated that Meusa had not only sacrificed material but also his winning chances, it would be highly unlikely that a human player could defend that position. As exceptional of a player that Khan is, the position ended in victory for Meusa – a fitting result for a wonderful attacking game of chess.

National Women’s Tournament
Johnson is so far undefeated in the women’s tournament. She has defeated her sister Waveney Johnson, Adia Alphonso, Maliha Rajkumar, and Angel Rahim. On three points are Lam and defending women’s champion Sasha Shariff. After a long intense showdown, Lam and Shariff drew their match against each other, earning a half point each. The defending women’s chess champion played the white pieces against the Women’s Qualifiers winner Jessica Callender. The game began with an unorthodox but equal opening by the players and they began the middle game in an even position.
By opposite side castling, Shariff made her intention very clear that an attack was coming, and that it was coming fast. In an attempt to defend, Callender rerouted her pieces, but only worsened her position via tiny inaccuracies. Shariff’s pieces lunged at Callender’s King. Pawns marched and pieces infiltrated, but alas, Callender’s defence held. She had traded her defensive pieces with Shariff’s attacking pieces, diluting the attack altogether. Unfortunately for her, Shariff had other plans. In the end, Callender had lowered the odds of her losing in the short term, but had destined her loss in the long term. Shariff led the position into the endgame with an extremely powerful chain of pawns, one of which was a passed pawn. The passed pawn’s power rose at every piece exchange, giving Shariff an undeniable edge. But disaster struck for Shariff when she blundered her pawn. The game was now even, but there were enough pieces available for something to go wrong. Time on both players’ clocks was low, sowing the seeds of fear and doubt.
The advantage swung back and forth, as both players missed devastating winning moves against the other in a highly-complicated endgame. The final missed opportunity landed in front of Shariff, who agreed to a draw in a completely winning, but complicated and terrifying position, letting Callender get away.
The Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) wishes to thank its sponsors Gaico Construction and KFC Guyana for their support of the tourneys. The Federation is extremely grateful to these companies for providing the opportunity to its chess players, who once again are able to participate in over-the-board tournaments, and looks forward to continued partnerships in the future. At the conclusion of the National Tournaments, along with the points from its Grand Prix Tournaments, the GCF will determine the members of its 10-member Olympiad team destined for Chennai, India in July/August 2022 to participate in the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad.