In the Ancient County of Berbice, veteran player Kriskal Persaud emerged champion of the Berbice 20/20 Rapid Chess Tournament, held at Little Rock Suites and Conference Hall in New Amsterdam on Sunday, August 24, 2025.
Persaud delivered an unbeaten performance, scoring 6.5 points in the seven-round competition that featured 32 participants, half of them hailing from Berbice. He defeated Gavin Dev Mahadeo, Farrukh Bahman, Jaden Todd, Rai Sharma, Kim Shing Chong, and Steve Leung, while his fifth-round clash with 13-year-old Georgetown player Nicholas Zhang ended in a draw.
Prize winners Kriskal Persaud, Nicholas Zhang, Ciel Clement, and Jaden Todd, and others
Zhang secured second place with an impressive 6 points, drawing his matches against Persaud and Todd. Todd, a 15-year-old Berbician and student of The Bishops’ High School, placed third with 5.5 points after losing to Persaud and drawing with Zhang in Round Six.
Kriskal Persaud receives his prize from FIDE Arbiter John Lee
Ciel Clement, who grew up in Berbice and resides in New Amsterdam, played all her rounds with calm composure, despite the nail-biting and quick-thinking demands of rapid chess. The 16-year-old Queen’s College student handed a crushing defeat to senior player Rai Sharma in Round Seven, who is known for his decades of experience in speed play in the local chess circuit. With less than two minutes remaining on her clock, Clement forced Sharma to concede the match, even with his time advantage of approximately 15 minutes. In an earlier round, Clement almost lost on time, but her opponent, Darshanand Ramlall, ran out of time first, giving Clement the victory with just one second out of 20 minutes left.
Best female player Ciel Clement (R) in action in Round 3
Clement placed fourth with 5 points and took home the Best Female prize out of the thirteen females who participated. Veteran Berbician John London and Kishan Puran from Georgetown placed fifth and sixth, respectively, with 5 points each.
The tournament was supervised by National Arbiter and WCM Jessica Callender, with strong support from Georgetown players. Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) Directors CM Loris Nathoo and Shiv Nandalall, along with FIDE Arbiter John Lee and Company Secretary Marcia Lee, attended the event.
The Federation extended heartfelt gratitude to Mr and Mrs Clement for sponsoring the tournament venue.
With chess reintroduced in Berbice, the Federation hopes the tournament will inspire greater student participation. Through the Gift of Chess programme, sets have already been distributed to New Amsterdam and Vryman’s Erven Secondary Schools, with plans to expand to more schools across the county.
