The senior 2020 National Chess Championship of Guyana, which had been postponed since March last year, began yesterday at the National Stadium, Providence. Nine rounds are to be contested by ten players over three successive weekends, with one round being played on Saturdays and two on Sundays.
The championship tournament is a single, round-robin event featuring the most prolific local players. During the qualifier, which was held last year, nine players succeeded in progressing to the final. The tenth is the 2019 national champion Anthony Drayton, who was not required to compete in the qualifier.
Along with Drayton, the participants are Wendell Meusa, Taffin Khan, Loris Nathoo, Glenford Corlette, Saeed Ali, Rai Sharma, Davion Mars, Errol Tiwari and Frankie Farley.
Two rounds are being contested today from 10 am and will see Drayton facing off against Khan and Nathoo, Sharma playing against Nathoo and Meusa, Ali vs Meusa and Corlette, Tiwari vs Corlette and Mars, and Farley playing against Mars and Khan.
According to Farley, who is president of the Guyana Chess Federation, permission was given by the National COVID-19 task force to host the live championship tournament. In order to follow guidelines and conduct a safe championship, Director of Tournaments Rashad Hussein has said that only two players will be allowed in the designated playing area at a time.
Meanwhile, in international chess, the Tata Steel Masters Tournament concludes today in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands. The race to the finish is a close one. Russia’s 18-year-old sensation Andrey Esipenko defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen in Round 8, which was played last Sunday. Esipenko’s victory over Carlsen is published as today’s featured game.
Chess game
White: Andrey Episenko
Black: Magnus Carlsen
Type of Game: Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen
Variation
Place and Date: Tata Steel Tournament, Wijk aan
Zee, Netherlands, January, 2021
1. e4c5 2. Nf3d6 3. d4cxd4 4. Nxd4Nf6 5. Nc3a6 6. Be2e6 7. Be3Be7 8. g4b5 9. g5Nfd7 10. a3Bxg5 11. Qd2Bxe3 12. Qxe3Qh4 13. Rg1g6 14. O-O-OQe7 15. f4Bb7 16. Kb1Nc6 17. Ncxb5axb5 18. Nxc6Bxc6 19. Qc3O-O 20. Qxc6d5 21. exd5Rfc8 22. d6Qd8 23. Qxb5Rcb8 24. Qc4Rxa3 25. Qc7Qe8 26. Rg5Ra4 27. Ra5Rab4 28. b3R4b7 29. Qc3Qd8 30. Bf3Rb4 31. Qc7Qf6 32. Ra8Rxa8 33. Bxa8Qf5 34. Kb2Rb5 35. Qxd7Rc5 36. Rc1Qxf4 37. Qe8+Kg7 38. d71-0. Black resigns.
