Maria Varona-Thomas was the lone winner as the Guyana team lost to Afghanistan by one and-one-half points to two and-one-half on the penultimate day of action at the 41st World Chess Championships in Tromso, Norway yesterday.
Playing on Board Four, Varona-Thomas, who has a FIDE ranking of 1777 played with the white pieces and defeated Hamidullah Sarwary 1920 after 33 moves.
At the time the game ended Varona Thomas enjoyed superior material advantage and with a queen and rook to her opponent’s rook , knight and bishop but Sarwary’s King was in check and he stood to lose not only his rook but his knight as well in the exchange while Varona Thomas would have lost her rook.
On Board Three, Haifeng Su, FIDE ranked 1724, playing with the black pieces, drew with Zabiullah Ahmadi 2031 after 38 moves.
However, Guyana lost their first two games with top player Anthony
Drayton (1728) losing to FIDE Master Zaheerudeen Asefi whose ranking is 1996 while on Board Two Ronuel Greenidge (1630) lost to FIDE master Mahbuboollah Kooshani whose ranking is 2036 after 76 moves.
