Guyana’s National Chess Champion Anthony Drayton, representing Guyana at the St Lucia Chess Festival on August 28 and 29, emerged the second-place finisher with five points.
Top participants at the St Lucia Chess Festival
He lost to Reginald Martyr of St Lucia, who finished on 5.5 points to claim the overall title.
Guyana was also represented by Ronan Lee, who won the under-20 division of the tournament.
In an interview with Guyana Times Sport Drayton was asked about his performance in the tournament, and he said, “My experience at the tournament was awesome. I got to try out new ideas that I was studying and new ideas I can implement in my games. On top of that, I got to experience coaching two of my students, which went very well.
“In the Saint Lucia Chess Festival, I…placed second in that tournament. At the Saint Lucia Chess Festival, I won US$300.00 for my second place prize. The local players still have lots more to learn, especially the juniors.
“Also, I want to say thanks to the sponsors (who) made this all possible. A special thanks to GT&T, Guyana’s number one telephone company, and also the Barbados Chess Federation.”
Drayton is considered as standing at the pinnacle of local chess, having made a name for himself among many of the world’s top chess players. By his FIDE ratings, Drayton is Guyana’s top player, and he has a lofty ELO rating of 2030, the highest locally.
He attained the title of Candidate Master at the Chess Olympiad of 2014 Open, and that of FIDE Master at the 43rd World Chess Olympiad in 2018.
He is also the only Guyanese player to have a ranking above 2000. Anthony Drayton’s FIDE ranking – 2007 — is impressive among the many chess players in Guyana.
The results of the tournament are as follows:
1st place – Reginald Martyr (St Lucia)
2nd place – Anthony Drayton (FM) (Guyana)
3rd place – Adam Hart (St Lucia)
Women’s Champion – Tris-Ann Richards (St Lucia)
U20 Champion – Ronan Lee (Guyana)
