Couchman wins Moo Milk Junior Chess qualifiers

…Top ten placements advance to Junior Chess Championships

Fourteen-year-old Kyle Couchman, with six points, emerged victorious in the MOO MILK National Junior Chess Championship Qualifiers, ahead of almost 70 participants.
The seven-round competition, held at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, EBD, ended on Tuesday July 9th with a short presentation ceremony for the top 10 players and fellow participants.

Second to seventh positions were earned as follows: Sachin Pitamber, Ricardo Narine, Aditi Joshi, Matthew Singh, Kishan Puran, and Italy Ton-Chung respectively; these all ended the tournament with 5.5 points each. Alexander Zhang, Treskole Archibald, and Alek Ubaldo Singh took the final three remaining spots for the top ten with 5 points each.
Notable performances came from Omar Shariff, Ciel Clement, Micaiah Enoe, Yan Wen Chen, Tremusa Marshall, Darrel Abrams, Rafael Park and Saura Ruplall, who all gained 4.5 points.
The prize for the best female participant went to Aditi Joshi. The best Under- 10 Open prize went to Yan Wen Chen, and the best U12 Open prize went to Alek Ubaldo-Singh. Saura Ruplall took away both the U10 and U12 prizes for girls. The best newcomer prize went to Tivon Grant, and the youngest player prize went to seven-year-old Joshua Patterson.
The qualifying tournament paved the way for junior chess players from the New Amsterdam Special Needs School, St. Joseph’s High, St. Winifried’s, Dolphin Secondary, Queen’s College, Marian Academy, Saint Stanislaus College, New Guyana School, Mae’s School, Wisburg Secondary School, Georgetown Seventh Day Adventist, Valmiki Vidyalaya, Garden City Academy, President’s College, St. Roses High, Bishop’s High, Westminster Secondary, and School of the Nations to compete for the top ten positions.
Hosted by the Guyana Chess Federation, the event proved to be an excellent opportunity for some of the younger players in the field to gain invaluable experience playing against opponents at various levels. Tournament organizers were pleased with the turnout of juniors, and with the level of discipline displayed by the students throughout the four days of the tournament.
Notable performances were returned by Abigail Jairam and Samuel Foo, both from the New Amsterdam Special School, who each won 3 games.
This year’s qualifiers have shattered both records and expectations. Emerging from the Qualifiers for the first time are three promising female players – Aditi Joshi, Treskole Archibald and Italy Ton-Chung. They are heading into the championship to make their mark alongside seven male players.
The competition saw the most rated juniors ever, with nine of them making it to Nationals, and four players are poised to become rated from their victories in the qualifiers. The scene is set for an epic showdown.
Despite former feats, Couchman remains humble, only saying, “I am preparing and focusing, since this year’s competition is tough. I have never won the Junior Champion title, and I hope this year can be my first.”
Considering that players who held him from the first seat last year are now retired, perhaps his dreams will come true. With heavyweights like Sandiford, Lee, and Oyeyipo retiring from the junior circuit, the new contenders are stepping up. Treskole Archibald is a rising star who is new to the Guyana scene. Alek Ubaldo-Singh is a young lad chasing his place in history, and Italy Ton-Chung, after honing her skills and representing the nation abroad, has finally cleared this milestone, as they have all snatched places in the Championships.
This tournament saw the rise of some four players into the ranks of our ‘FIDE rated’ lineup, as some of our seasoned players were subjected to unexpected losses. It is testament that the bar has been raised in competition at the junior level. The level of competition required supervision from not only FIDE Arbiter John Lee, but also WCM Jessica Callender and National Arbiter Odit Rodrigues.
Qualifiers were brutal, but now these players enter the tactically elite arena of The National Championships. As old empires fall, new kings and queens shall rise. The GCF wishes the best of luck to all.
Representatives of the DeSinco Moo Milk brand were present to hand over certificates, medals and trophies to the winners and participants at the closing ceremony. The National Championships will be run from July 26th to July 31st 2024, where the ten players will battle for the 2024 Title at the David Rose Special School, Thomas Lands.
The GCF also wishes to thank the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport for providing the venue for the competition, and the MOO MILK representatives DeSinco for their support.