Former junior champion Taffin Khan on Wednesday became Guyana’s youngest senior chess champion after he defeated Kriskal Persaud in a final playoff of the Neal and Massy/Seven Seas National Chess Championships held at Keishar’s Sports Club.
According to a press release from the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF), Khan (1727) blazed through four games against Persaud to defeat the 2007/2008 champion after gathering 3.5 points.
The eighteen-year-old opened with a win in a rapid game, where he made his move when Persaud blundered by allowing his queen to be trapped. Unable to recover Persaud was forced to resign.
In a 15-minute rapid match, despite upping his game Persaud was still unable to win and had to settle for a draw, the highlight of his night. Khan added to his lead with another dominant performance in the night’s third match. He further complemented this as he sealed the deal in a fourth match in which Persaud was once again forced to resign when he found himself in trouble after a combination by Khan allowed him to win a bishop.
Persaud and Khan went head to head to determine a definitive champion after they had both ended with 11.5 points when the round robin tournament concluded on Sunday last at the Ocean Spray Hotel. And while Persaud had seemed to be in for a win after he took the lead for most of the tournament, and notwithstanding a win against Khan in the round robin, Khan proved that he had the upper hand when it counted most.
Khan succeeds the 2009 champion Wendell Meusa who did not take part in the tournament because he is facing a six-month suspension from GCF tournaments.
Khan and Persaud vied for the title along with six other players – current national junior champion Ron Motilall, Errol Tiwari, Ryan Singh (1456), Learie Webster, Frankie Farley, and David Khan (1386).
David Khan had already been declared the third place finisher since Sunday, after he ended with 9.5 points. Webster finished in fourth place with 8.5 points and fifth place went to Farley who ended with 5.5 points.
In other results, Singh had 5 points, Motilall had 2.5 points and Tiwari finished in the cellar with only 2 points.
The Guyana Chess Federation has expressed sincere thanks to Neal & Massy and Seven Seas, which exclusively sponsored the tournament, and the Federation also thanked Ocean Spray Hotel.
