Sandiford earns Candidate Master title as Guyana defeats Mali

Keron Sandiford earned the Candidate Master (CM) title after reaching 3½ points from seven games as Guyana defeated Mali 3–1 in the ninth round of the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Friday.
Sandiford’s victory on Board Four, together with wins from Kyle Couchman and CM Taffin Khan, helped the Open team recover from Thursday’s 3½–½ defeat against Nigeria.
However, Guyana’s women experienced a reversal of fortunes, losing 4–0 to Guam in round nine after recording a clean sweep against Mali in the previous round.
Sandiford’s latest success took his individual tally to three wins, one draw and three defeats. He had also won in rounds two and four and drawn in round seven before securing the ninth-round victory that brought him to 3½ points.

Against Mali, Couchman defeated Oumar Keita on Board Two, while Khan overcame Baba Moulaye Abdalla Maiga on Board Three. CM Sachin Pitamber lost to FIDE Master Bakary Traore on Board One, accounting for Mali’s only point.
The result gave Guyana its fourth match victory in the Open competition, following earlier successes against New Caledonia, Macau and Togo.
A day earlier, FIDE Master Anthony Drayton had secured Guyana’s only half-point against Nigeria. Playing on Board Three, the 2003-rated Drayton drew with Bartholomew Emmanuel Okhipo, rated 2246.
Couchman lost to FIDE Master Bomo Lovet Kigigha on Board One, Khan was beaten by FIDE Master Abdulrahman Akintoye Abdulraheem on Board Two, and Sandiford fell to Odey Goodness Ekunke on Board Four.
In the women’s ninth-round encounter, Woman Candidate Master Aditi Joshi lost to Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Carmina Jasmine Ramas on the top board. Kataleya Sam was defeated by WCM Tiffany Benzon on Board Two.
WCM Sasha Shariff, who replaced Ciel Clement in the line-up, lost to Alexis Rian Justo on Board Three, while WCM Jessica Callender was beaten by Esther Combs on Board Four.

The defeat followed Guyana’s strongest women’s result of the tournament on Thursday, when Joshi, Sam, Clement, and Callender all won against Mali.
Joshi defeated Adama Diakite on Board One, while Sam overcame Bintou Diallo on Board Two. Clement and Callender won on the remaining boards to complete the 4–0 result.
After nine rounds, Guyana’s Open team has four match wins and five defeats, while the women have three wins and six losses.
Guyana will face Jamaica in the Open section and San Marino in the women’s competition in round ten on Saturday, September 26. The 11-round tournament concludes on Sunday, September 27. (Michelangelo Jacobus)