Master of the Guianas 2022

…Three Guyanese chess players earn prizes in tournament hosted in Suriname

Guyanese chess players recently participated in the first edition of the Master of the Guianas, an online tournament hosted by Suriname-based Athena Chess, on January 22nd 2022.

Guyana’s Jessica Callender won third place in the women’s category with 4.5 points after 9 matches. This was only one point behind the first-place finisher, Woman Candidate Master Victoria Kaslan of Suriname.
Callender has marked good performances in many local and regional events, and had also competed in the last two online Olympiads.

Justino DaSilva was also awarded a prize, as the top finisher for Guyana with 5 points. DaSilva, who had qualified for the 2020 National Championship and won last year’s Independence Cup, is a very active player on the local scene.
Guyana’s Francis Simmons, who finished on 4 points, also received a prize for being the oldest competitor in the tournament. Forty-six players from Guyana and Suriname completed the online chess tournament.
Nine exciting rounds were contested for various prizes over 5-minute Swiss system matches on the Lichess platform. The top five players were all Surinamese, with Imaan Kalidjo crowned the first Master of the Guianas.
Athena Chess will host several tournaments, both online and over the board, and have indicated that they would reach out to Guyana to compete in these as well.