Pitamber claims National Rapid Chess title, edging Sandiford on tie-break

National champion Candidate Master (CM) Sachin Pitamber added another major title to his growing collection on Saturday, winning the National Rapid Chess Championship at the Pegasus Suites in Georgetown after nine rounds of competition.
Pitamber finished with eight points from a possible nine to secure the title on tie-break, edging Keron Sandiford, who also ended on eight points but placed second. Former champion FIDE Master (FM) Anthony Drayton, last year’s winner, had to settle for third with seven points after a strong but inconsistent campaign.
The tournament, played under a Swiss-system format with a rapid time control of 15 minutes plus a five-second increment, featured nine rounds contested over the day. Pitamber set the tone early, defeating Drayton in round three and maintaining his position among the leaders through the middle rounds, including key wins over Sandiford in round four and Kishan Puran in round eight.
Heading into the final round, Pitamber was in a strong position, but suffered his only loss of the tournament, going down to former national champion CM Taffin Khan. Despite that setback, his earlier results proved enough to secure the overall title on tie-break.

Sandiford, who finished second, produced a consistent run that included victories over several top contenders, while Drayton recovered from a mid-tournament loss to Pitamber to remain in contention and eventually claim third place.
CM Khan placed fourth with 6.5 points, while Kyle Couchman and Puran rounded out the top six, each finishing on 5.5 points. Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Jessica Callender ended as the highest-placed female player with five points, finishing seventh overall.
Further down the standings, several unrated players produced competitive performances, with Odinnie Reece and Italy Ton-Chung both finishing on five points.

Final Standings – Open (Top 10)
1. CM Sachin Pitamber – 8 pts
2. Keron Sandiford – 8 pts
3. FM Anthony Drayton – 7 pts
4. CM Taffin Khan – 6.5 pts
5. Kyle Couchman – 5.5 pts
6. Kishan Puran – 5.5 pts
7. WCM Jessica Callender – 5 pts
8. Odinnie Reece – 5 pts
9. Italy Ton-Chung – 5 pts
10. Kataleya Sam – 5 pts

Final Standings – Women
1. WCM Jessica Callender – 5 pts (7th overall)
2. Kataleya Sam – 5 pts (10th overall)
3. Parnita Kishun – 4 pts (18th overall)
4. Tharisha De Oca – 3 pts (23rd overall)
5. Amaya Sharma – 3 pts (24th overall)
6. Varsha Pooran – 2.5 pts (25th overall)