Pitamber, Couchman lead Guyana past Togo as Olympiad resumes

Candidate Master (CM) Sachin Pitamber and Kyle Couchman registered victories as Guyana defeated Togo 3–1 in the Open section of the 46th Chess Olympiad on Wednesday, while the women’s team lost by the same margin to Laos.
The seventh-round encounters in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, marked the resumption of competition following a one-day break. Guyana completed the Open match without losing a board, with Candidate Master Taffin Khan and Keron Sandiford contributing draws.

The result ended consecutive defeats against Luxembourg and Wales and gave the Open team its third victory of the tournament. Guyana will face Nigeria in round eight today, while the women are paired against Mali.
Pitamber, rated 1991, won with the black pieces against Togo’s 2012-rated Yakini Tchouka on Board One. The victory lifted his individual tally to three points from six appearances.
On Board Two, the 2003-rated Couchman defeated Kokou Difendramakada Jacques Ballebako, rated 1820, with the white pieces. It was Couchman’s second win of the competition, taking him to 2½ points from seven rounds.
Khan drew with the Lumen Paco Semeko on Board Three, while Sandiford shared the point with Candidate Master Mikhail Strovskiy on Board Four.
Guyana’s Open team has six match points from three wins and four defeats and sits 131st in the supplied standings.
Before Wednesday’s success, Guyana had beaten New Caledonia 3–1 and Macau, China, 3½–½. Its defeats came against Slovenia, Cyprus, Luxembourg and Wales.
In the women’s section, Woman Candidate Master Sasha Shariff secured Guyana’s only point against Laos, winning with the black pieces against the Keosavangh Bouavone on Board Four.
The 1538-rated Shariff moved to 2½ points from five appearances, but losses on the first three boards settled the match in Laos’ favour.
Woman Candidate Master Aditi Joshi lost to Woman Candidate Master Maly Inthavong on Board One. Kataleya Sam was beaten by Manichith Namphet, while Ciel Clement lost to Sihanath Souphaphone.
The women, captained by Georg Mohr, remain on four match points from two wins and five defeats and are placed 161st. Their victories were both by 3½–½ margins against St Vincent and the Grenadines and Somalia. They have also lost to Colombia, Andorra, Hong Kong, China, and Japan.
Joshi remains the women’s leading scorer with three points, followed by Shariff on 2½, Clement on two, and Sam and Callender on 1½ each.
In the Open team, Pitamber leads with three points, while Couchman, Drayton and Sandiford have 2½ each, and Khan has 1½.
The 11-round Olympiad is scheduled to conclude on September 27.