Thirteen-year-old Sachin Pitamber has emerged as the new National Under-16 Chess Champion, alongside fifteen-year-old Maliha Rajkumar, who captured the title of National Under-16 Girls Chess Champion last Saturday, February 17, at the Marian Academy Auditorium on Carifesta Avenue.
Some 50 young and passionate chess players had engaged in the one-day championships to test their chess skills in seven rounds of fast-paced chess. The keen competitors were matched using the Swiss Pairing System, and played with a time limit of 20 minutes per game, with 5-second increments after each move.
Pitamber now holds the double title of National Under-14 and Under-16 Chess Champion for 2024. With 6.5 points, he tied with his closest rival, fourteen-year-old Kyle Couchman, the 2023 National Under-16 Open Champion, but emerged as champion on a tiebreak.
Aditi Joshi: Best U14 Female Player, and 2nd place winner in the National Under-16 Girls tournament
With all points tallied, Alexander Zhang ended the tournament in third place with 5 points, followed closely by Timothy Cole and Arysh Raghunauth, who recorded outstanding performances to cop respective fourth and fifth places.
Notable performances came from Mayas Khan, Dominic Sam, Omar Shariff and Ethan Persaud, who each earned 4.5 points; and Jacob McDonald, Ethan Thakurdin, Vir Narine, Logan Simpson and Amaziah Wood, who each scored 4 points.
In the fiercely contested female category, Maliha Rajkumar, with strategic finesse, gained her 2024 National Under-16 Girls title with a 6-point score against gifted opponents. Aditi Joshi placed second with a commendable showing that gained her 5 points, while Parnita Kishun and Ciel Clement skillfully secured the respective third and fourth places. Amara Branche’s demonstration of talent earned her 4.5 points; while Kataleya Sam, Tharisha Montes De Oca and Vienna Bharosay each ended this seven-round tourney with 4 points.
Kyle Couchman: 2nd place winner in the National U16 Boys tournament
Winners in the main categories were honoured in a brief awards ceremony following the tournament, wherein trophies and certificates of participation were presented by GCF Board Member and Director of Public Relations, Shiv Nandalall.
Besides the Championship Trophy, Sachin Pitamber received the prize for the Best Under-14 Open player, and Aditi Joshi secured the Best Under-14 Female Player prize. Eight-year-old Vir Narine received the Best Under-12 Open player’s medal, and the Best U12 Player in the Girls’ category went to ten-year-old Kataleya Sam.
The GCF extends hearty congratulations to all those players who participated in the Under-16 tournament, and encourages players to continue improving their game.
The Guyana Chess Federation extends its deep gratitude to the Marian Academy for hosting this prestigious event. The tournament was supervised by young National Arbiters Odit Rodrigues and Kim Shing Chong; assisted by Ethan Lee, Kishan Puran, Ricardo Narine and Oluwadare Oyeyipo. The GCF applauds the efforts of these young chess players who volunteered their time to assist in events such as these.
The CGF will be gearing for the Caricom Classic Chess Team Tournament, set for March 3rd to March 10th, 2024. Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and our website guyanachess.gy to keep updated with events.
