– National Junior Chess Championships set for this weekend
19-year-old Ethan Lee has emerged victorious after tense rivalry over the last four days in the Guyana Chess Federation’s Junior Chess Qualifiers.
Lee, former student of Marian Academy, racked up 6 points after playing undefeated for five rounds, and drawing his final two matches against top player Ricardo Narine and his own brother Ronan Lee.
Ethan Lee
Ricardo Narine, former Queen’s College and current University of Guyana student, placed second, with Keron Sandiford of Saint Stanislaus College earning third place. The top three players each finished on 6 points.
These players have earned their spot at the Junior Nationals, alongside Marian Academy’s Ronan Lee with 5.5 points, School of the Nations student Rajiv Lee with 5.5 points, University of Guyana’s Sasha Shariff with 5.5 points, MTV employee Jessica Callender with 5 points, Matthew Singh of Queen’s College with 5 points, Kyle Couchman of Queen’s College with 5 points, and Mayas Khan of Marian Academy with 5 points, who all finished 4th to 10th respectively.
Tie-break systems Direct Encounter, Buchholz and Sonneborn-Berger were used to determine the positions of the players. Marian Academy student Micaiah Enoe, who also finished on 5 points, was awarded a trophy for the best U16 player. Pooja Lam from the Saraswati Vidya Niketan School finished on 4.5 points and received the trophy for best U14 player. Nicholas Zhang, from School of the Nations was best U12 player with 4.5 points. Mae’s students Julian Mohabir (4 points) and his brother Landon Mohabir (3 points) were best U10 and U8 players respectively.
Prize winners pose with Director of Sport Steve Ninvalle
Prizes were distributed outside of the top ten players. Regional prizes were awarded to the following players: Anasie Fredericks of Tapakuma, a student of Anna Regina Secondary in Region Two, who finished with 4 points. Oluwadare Oyeyipo of the University of Guyana, who, with 4 points, was the top player from Region Three. Queen’s College students Ciel Clement from Region 6 and Jasmine Simpson from Region 10, who finished on 3 and 2 points respectively, took home medals.
Queen’s College children comprised the largest contingent at the qualifiers, while Bishops’ High School, Saint Stanislaus College, Marian Academy, Mae’s and School of the Nations were the main schools participating in the tournament.
Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, was present at the awards ceremony. The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Honourable Charles Ramson Jr, was unable to attend because of prior commitments. Ninvalle praised the progress the Guyana Chess Federation has made in developing the sport across Guyana, and attributed the success to strong leadership by GCF President Frankie Farley and his executive committee.
He was also very impressed with the Federation’s expansive nursery programme after noting that this tournament saw nearly 70 junior players competing at a high level. He has pledged the National Sports Commission’s support in advancing the game even further in the future.
Frankie Farley, President of the Guyana Chess Federation, also remarked on the progress of the GCF over the past years, and attributed its success to the executive committee who has been working diligently to ensure that the game of chess would continue to grow in Guyana and provide opportunities to players of all ages.
Anand Raghunauth, GCF Vice President, in his address, emphasised the need for funding for various aspects in order for the Federation to carry out its mandate.
The Guyana Chess Federation wishes to express its gratitude to its main sponsor of the event, De Sinco Ltd, who provided Beep products in the form of sanitizers and disinfectant sprays for the tournament, as well as medals, trophies and gifts for the prize winners. The GCF looks forward to continued partnership with De Sinco Ltd. Gratitude is also extended to the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport for granting use of the National Stadium for the holding of the event; to the GEA for providing water for the players, and to Sunshine Snacks for the snacks provided.
The Nationals will be played in a round-robin format that would last for nine rounds. Games will be played on Saturday April 16th and on Wednesday April 20th, when a winner will emerge as the National Junior Champion 2022.
