Guyana’s Taffin Khan set the tone for future Guyanese participation in chess within the region when he made an impressive showing at the UMADA Cup recently in Trinidad and Tobago. In the nine-round tournament, Taffin scored five wins, two draws and two losses against players rated higher than himself. The average rating of players in the Challenger section, where Taffin played, was just below the 2100 mark.
The tournament attracted more than 100 chess players from fifteen countries within the Caribbean, Latin America and South America.
The Open Section was won by International Master Rafael Prasca of Venezuela with a sparkling eight points from nine games. Taffin played in the Challenger’s Section that was ranked immediately under the Open Section. He tied for fourth with seven other players. Suriname’s Romario Sanchez took first place in this department with eight points from nine games. In Guyana’s FIDE tournament which was held recently, Sanchez placed second behind Martinique’s Karl Rapon, who played brilliantly and scored a fine victory.
President of FIDE Kirsan Ilyumzhinov , FIDE’s Continental President Jorge Vega and CACDEC Commission Chairman Allan Herbert travelled to Trinidad for the tournament. President Ilyumzhinov remarked: “This tournament is very important for the support of young chess players, in order that they may gain the necessary international experience to improve their ratings.”
Guyana’s Irshad Mohamed, Tournament Director of the GCF, presided at the Umada Cup as the Deputy Arbiter and obtained his second international arbiter norm.
