Guyana’s junior chess players perform commendably in Barbados

…Ubaldo-Singh places fifth in Group C category

National Junior Champion Ricardo Narine, Candidate Master Sachin Pitamber, and Alek Ubaldo-Singh represented Guyana in the SITTU Barbados Open Chess Competition, contested between February 20th and 24th in Bridgetown, St. Michael, Barbados.
In this five-day competition, in which these young and talented players came up against highly rated players from Barbados and around the Caribbean, Ubaldo-Singh won the fifth-place cash prize after he ended with 5.5 points in the Group C category for ELO-rated players between 1400-1699.
This young and emerging Guyanese chess talent maintained his position in the top six during the tournament, delivering stellar performances against rated Barbadian players Harewood (1637), Moore (1636) and Thompson (1669) in the first three rounds and emerging victorious.

Ubaldo-Singh suffered one loss against tournament champion Aaron Jaikaran (1600) of Barbados, but obtained three draws in the remaining rounds against Trinidad’s McLetchie (1566), Grenada’s Mendez (1596), and Barbados’s Noah Clark (1654).
Narine and CM Pitamber, participating in the highly competitive Group B Category (1700-2099), ended on 3 and 2.5 points respectively. Narine defeated Rochester (1815) of Barbados and Shetty (1707) of St. Vincent; while Pitamber drew with Gilbert (1906) of Grenada and Enemchukwu (1980) of St Vincent.
CM Pitamber drew with Lynch (1954) of Barbados, Shetty of St Vincent (1707), and Roachford (1827) of Barbados. He gained his remaining point from his first round.
St. Lucia’s CM Mathurin won the Group B Category.
Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) President Anand Raghunauth, in expressing delight that these junior players have had opportunity to participate in a tournament of this calibre, has said this only serves to strengthen their abilities and skills as they face opponents of different skill levels outside of the country.
The GCF has promised to continue fostering players’ participation in these tournaments with intention to widen their horizons.
For more information about upcoming activities and chess tournaments, interested persons are invited to visit guyanachess.gy.