In an effort to continue to raise the level of chess among juniors in Guyana the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Sports in Berbice hosted a Berbice Schools Chess Championship last Friday at the JC Chandisingh Secondary School, Port Mourant, Berbice.
The tournament had some forty-five students from thirteen schools participating and Krisanan Raghunandan assisted in organizing the event.
The tournament was played under a Swiss format and consisted of four rounds with a time limit of one hour per game. At the end of the day’s competition Berbice High School took top honors, securing three wins and a draw.
JC Chandisingh Secondary held the lead going into the final round, but suffered a crucial loss to Berbice High and had to settle for the second position. New Amsterdam Secondary took the third spot.
In the final points standing, Berbice High secured three and a half points, JC Chandisingh Secondary and New Amsterdam Secondary had three points each, Corentyne Comprehensive – two and a half points, Tagore Memorial, Skeldon Line Path Secondary and Rosignol Secondary were all on two points a piece, while Eversham Primary and Canje Secondary ended with one point each.
In the individual category, Damieon Butters of Port Mourant Secondary played undefeated to gain the top honor with four points. Nicholas De France of Port Mourant Primary took the second position, while Deon Debydeen of JC Chandisingh Secondary gained the final podium place.
The final points standing in that category showed Butters with four points, Nicholas De France with three points, Deon Dabydeen and Mounesh Latchman had two and a half points each, Sean Bhajan, Shoun Williams and Elizabeth Ramgoolan all finished on two points each and Joel Lyte and Andrew Gangaprashad had one point apiece.
Regional Education Officer of Region Six, Shafiran Bhajan made the presentation to the winners.
