Sixteen-year-old Candidate Master (CM) Sachin Pitamber surged to the top of the Open category standings after eight rounds of the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) 2026 National Chess Championships, while defending women’s champion, Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Aditi Joshi maintained her grip on the female division following rounds seven and eight played Sunday at the David Rose Special School.
In the Open category, Pitamber now leads the standings with 6.5 points after a composed performance across rounds seven and eight. He secured a crucial victory over Leslie Campbell in round seven before playing to a draw against Rolex Alexander in round eight, enough to move him ahead in the standings.
Close behind is Kyle Couchman on six points, following a potential title-deciding round-seven victory over defending champion CM Taffin Khan. Couchman then drew with Keron Sandiford in round eight to remain firmly in contention. FIDE Master (FM) Anthony Drayton and Khan are also locked on six points, ensuring a tight race for the title entering the final round.
In the women’s category, Joshi remains firmly in the lead after eight rounds, building on her strong showing throughout the tournament. She played to back-to-back draws against WCM Jessica Callender in round seven and WCM Sasha Shariff in round eight, results that were enough to preserve her lead at the top.
After seven rounds, Joshi had accumulated 6.5 points, comfortably ahead of her closest rivals Callender and Shariff, who are tied on 5.5 points.
Meanwhile, Kataleya Sam and Treskole Archibald recorded wins over Sana Sreebalakumar and Parnita Kishun respectively.
In round eight, Archibald and Anaya Lall also shared the spoils, while Italy Ton-Chung drew with Sreebalakumar.
With just one round remaining on Saturday (March 28), both categories still hang in the balance, though Pitamber and Joshi have established themselves as the players to beat.
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