Sandiford triumphs at National Open Chess Qualifiers

After two weekends of challenging, exciting, and power-packed moves on the chessboard, Keron Sandiford, a former Junior Chess Champion, has emerged as the winner of the 2025 National Open Chess Qualifiers, which concluded last Sunday at the David Rose Special School.
Sandiford secured first place with 6.5 points in the eight-round competition, in which he earned six wins and one draw. Although he faced tough opposition throughout the competition, he proved he was a force to be reckoned with.
In a Round Five match-up with top Junior player Kyle Couchman, Sandiford got the better of his opponent in about 50 moves after a major battle unfolded during their faceoff. Couchman tried desperately with his Rooks to attack and threaten Sandiford’s King; but, in the cat-and-mouse struggle, Sandiford also manoeuvred his Rooks, Knight, and three menacing pawns to confine Couchman’s King. With nowhere to run and checkmate soon to follow, Couchman gave up the fight in the final moves of the game.
In Round Six, Sandiford confronted Saeed Ali, a former Junior Champion. Both players reached an endgame with Queens still on the board. However, a cunning Sandiford took advantage of a devastating X-ray to capture Ali’s Queen, forcing him to resign and accept the loss.
Sandiford suffered his only loss in the tournament to reigning Junior Champion Ricardo Narine in Round Seven.
He was matched with Joshua Gopaul, another former National Junior Champion, in Round Eight. That encounter lasted less than twenty moves, and Sandiford was again victorious.

Fifteen-year-old Couchman finished in second place with 6 points from the eight rounds, having secured five wins and two draws. He secured a walkover from Narine in Round Eight, and his only loss was to Sandiford.
Narine finished third with 6 points, having obtained notable victories over Gopaul and Sandiford. He suffered a loss in Round Five against CM Sachin Pitamber.
Pitamber finished in fourth place with 6 points: five wins and two draws. His only loss came against CM Ronuel Greenidge.
Greenidge, one of Guyana’s most seasoned players, earned the fifth-place spot with six points, after suffering losses against Couchman and Sandiford.
In sixth place was fifteen-year-old Alexander Zhang, who is no stranger to the chess competition with five and a half points. He secured five wins and one draw, and lost against Narine and Pitamber.

Gopaul took the seventh position with five points, including five wins and three losses against Sandiford, Narine, and Pitamber.
WCM Aditi Joshi secured her eighth-place position with five points, after drawing four games and earning three victories. The current Women’s Chess Champion lost only in the 5th Round against Gopaul. Her notable draw in this tournament was against AFM Davion Mars. Joshi is the only female in the top nine qualifiers.
Rounding off the top nine players was Rolex Alexander, with five points.
Of the nine players who have qualified to enter the National Championship, two are former National Junior Champions, notably Joshua Gopaul and Keron Sandiford. The reigning National Junior Champion Ricardo Narine and Women’s Champion Aditi Joshi are among the nine candidates to play CM Taffin Khan in their attempt to unseat him and take the National Champion title.
In a surprising turn of events, newcomer to the tournament scene, Marcia Lee, pulled off a seventh-round victory over FIDE-rated player Treskolé Archibald in a 55-move, roller-coaster game. Lee was one of the 7 female players who challenged the field.

Chess enthusiasts can look forward to the National Chess Championships, starting from May 24th to May 26th, May 31st and June 1st, 2025, at the David Rose Special School. The competition will utilize a Round-Robin format, ensuring each of the ten talented players will face off against every other participant across nine intense rounds.
The Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) have extended their appreciation to the David Rose Special School for their kind provision of the venue. The invaluable contributions of FIDE Arbiters Mr. John Lee and Mr. Anand Raghunath have also been acknowledged, their expertise having ensured the systematic and disciplined execution of all games.
Meanwhile, next on the GCF’s calendar will be the hosting of a Chess 960 tournament on Sunday, May 18th, 2025, at the prestigious Pegasus Suites in Kingston. Interested persons can register at guyanachess.gy