National senior chess champion Taffin Khan was unchallenged and carted off the first place prize of $7,000 while Anthony Drayton emerged the junior champion in the Trophy Stall Chess Tournament which concluded on Sunday at the Carifesta Sports Complex.
According to a press release from the Guyana Chess Federation, Drayton lost to two senior players: Alexander Duncan and Khan, with the latter with a pawn down in an endgame struggle involving active knights, pawns and kings. The two were matched to play each other in the penultimate round. Drayton pocketed $5,000 for his victory. Both Drayton and Khan also received trophies for their efforts.
Maria Thomas, the only female participant in the tournament finished second to pocket $4,000, followed by Canada-based Guyanese Raymond Singh in third. Cleveland Hutson came fourth among the seniors.
Among the juniors, Roberto Neto secured second place, former junior champion Haifeng Su came third and Carlos Petterson placed fourth. The Best Beginner was Queen’s College’s Rajiv Muneshwer who is 13-years-old. Muneshwer defeated 17-year-old Davion Mars, one of last year’s National Junior Championship finalists.
Omar Britton-Grant was again adjudged the Best Under-16 Player, a position he held in recent competitions, while Ron Motilall copped the prize for Best Under-19 Player.
The final point scores of the seniors are Taffin Khan (7), Maria Thomas (5), Raymond Singh (5) and Cleveland Hutson (4.5).
Among the juniors, Anthony Drayton scored points, Roberto Neto (4.5), Haifeng Su (4) and Carlos Petterson (4).
Rajiv Muneshwer and Ron Motilall each scored three points while Omar Britton-Grant amassed two and a half points.
According to the release, nine seniors and 13 junior players participated in the tournament which had seven rounds.
