A titanic battle between FIDE Master Anthony Drayton and Associate FIDE Master Davion Mars highlighted the return of over-the-board chess last weekend at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
The game ended with a win for Drayton but the big winner was the game as some of Guyana’s top national players competed with up-and-coming stars in the first Grand Prix tournament of 2022.
At the end of the fourth round of the GAICO Construction-sponsored tournament, Drayton and Adrian Roopnarine led the points table on 3.5 points heading into the next week’s fifth round.
And while Roopnarine shares the lead, it was Mars and Drayton who shared the spotlight.
A tense struggle between the two took place on board one in the top of the table round 4 clash.
“The two showed their vast experience in the opening and their creativity in the middle game. Advantages were held by both players in an extremely imbalanced endgame. Both players’ time had been drained after four hours of struggle and the game was held afloat only by the 30 second increment gifted per move. Mars’ time had unfortunately elapsed before he could move, declaring Drayton as the victor in the most gruelling game of the weekend,” a release from the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) stated.
Roopnarine, who plays Oluwadare Oyeyipo in the fifth round won his matches against Italy Ton-Chung, Pooja Lam and Ethan Lee, and drew with Drayton who will face Loris Nathoo in the next round.
Oyeyipo and Keron Sandiford are currently leading for the juniors on three points each after Oyeyipo drew his matches with Jaden Taylor and Nathoo but defeated Jessica Callender and Anaya Lall.
Sandiford won against Lall, Lucas Simpson and Jaden Taylor but lost to Mars. He will face Lee in the next round.
Chelsea Juma leads the female section with 2.5 points after drawing her match with Taylor and defeating Arysh Raghunaugth and Ton-Chung setting up a mouthwatering clash with Mars in the next round.
The players are vying for spots on the national team to represent Guyana at this year’s FIDE Olympiad in India.
According to the GCF, the Grand Prix initiative is the brainchild of GCF Director and will aid in the selection of the players to represent Guyana at the biennial event.
The Olympiad is an international event where countries send their best players to face off and this year’s tournament, initially scheduled for Russia was moved from Moscow, to Chennai, India but the date are yet to be announced.
In a novelty for the sport, the GCF is broadcasting the games from boards one to six for each round on the internet. Spectators from Guyana and around the world can watch the games, in near real-time, on their computers, phones and other devices and participate in the emotional roller-coaster ride that comes with this glorious sport, the GCF release stated.
All chess players are encouraged to pay close attention to the broadcast as much can be learned from observing the strategies and tactics of the top players. The public can access the broadcast on the GCF website at www.guyanachess.org and clicking on the flyer for the tournament.
The remaining four rounds will be played on Saturday and Sunday from 9am at the Guyana National Stadium.
At the conclusion of the tournament on Sunday, trophies will be awarded for the best female player in the tournament, as well as the top male and female junior players.
Trophies and cash prizes will be offered to the top three finishers in the tournament while medals will be given to 4th to 10th place.
The GCF said that it remained thankful to GAICO Construction for its continuous support towards the advancement of the sport throughout the year.
