Guyana women rebound; Open team edged by Jamaica at Chess Olympiad

Guyana’s women returned to winning ways with a 3-1 victory over San Marino, while the Open team suffered a narrow 2½-1½ defeat to Caribbean rivals Jamaica in Round 10 of the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Saturday.
The women secured three victories from four boards against San Marino. Kataleya Sam defeated Mariane Biordi on Board Two, Ciel Clement got past Cristina Giannini on Board Three, and Jessica Callender defeated Dorina Capicchioni on Board Four. Aditi Joshi, however, lost to Elena Krasnova on the top board.

The result improved Guyana’s women to eight match points ahead of Sunday’s 11th and final round. Joshi has four points from nine games, while Clement has also collected four points from eight outings. Sam and Callender have 3.5 points each, while Sasha Shariff has 2.5 points.
Guyana’s Open team, meanwhile, pushed Jamaica close but fell short despite a strong victory from Sachin Pitamber.
Pitamber, playing on Board One, defeated Joshua Christie, rated 2216, while Anthony Drayton earned a draw against Raheem Glaves on Board Three. Taffin Khan lost to Shreyas Smith, and Keron Sandiford went down to Jaden Shaw as Jamaica completed the narrow win.
Pitamber has been one of Guyana’s leading performers in the Open section, collecting four points from eight games with a performance rating of 2155. Kyle Couchman, Drayton and Sandiford have each scored 3.5 points, while Khan has 2.5. Guyana also has eight match points after 10 rounds.
The tournament concludes on Sunday with Guyana’s Open team facing Jersey, while the women will meet the Bahamas.
In the Open matchup, Pitamber is paired with Jem Gurner, Couchman faces Paul Carpenter, Drayton meets Gary Clark and Sandiford will play James Auckland.
For the women, Joshi will face Polina Karelina, Sam meets Nelissa Thomas, Shariff plays Daijah Johnson and Callender takes on Chika Pride.
The 11-round Olympiad, organised by FIDE and Uzbekistan, runs from September 16-27 in Samarkand.