Candidate Master Wendell Meusa, and Pooja Lam were crowned the new Open and Women’s Champions respectively, following the conclusion of the Guyana Chess Federation’s (GCF) National Chess Championships on Sunday.
In the Open Championship, Meusa finished on 8 points to secure the title, finishing ahead of former champion and Candidate Master Taffin Khan who ended on 7.5 points. Meusa’s only loss in the event came against eventual 5th place finisher Roberto Neto (5 points) in the sixth round.
FIDE Master Anthony Drayton finished in third place on 6.5 points, while Frankie Farley completed the top four on 5 points. The trio of Loris Nathoo, Ethan Lee, and Rai Sharma ended in 6th, 7th, and 8th respectively on 4.5, 4, and 3 points.
In the Women’s Championship, 14-year-old Lam who ended the event undefeated secured the title after ending on 8 points. Sasha Shariff ended in second place on 7 points. Nellisha Johnson and Jessica Callender completed the top four on 6 points apiece, with the former ending in the third position due to a direct encounter tie-break.
Twelve-year-old Anaya Lall, Maliha Rajkumar, Adia Alphonso, Waveney Johnson, and Angel Rahim finished in positions 5th-9th on 4.5, 4, 3.5, 3, and 3 respectively.
This tournament was the final qualifying event that served as part of the point-based system inclusive of results from the Grand Prix Tournaments to determine a ten-member team to represent Guyana at the 44th Fide Chess Olympiad. The team which will represent Guyana in Chennai, India will be announced shortly.
The event which was sponsored by KFC Guyana, and Gaico Construction, was administered by FIDE arbiters John Lee and Anand Raghunath.
