In a display of unrivalled prowess on the chess board, Candidate Master Taffin Khan played unbeaten throughout the Ram & McRae sponsored National Open Chess Championship Qualifying Tournament which concluded on Sunday at the Providence National Stadium, East Bank Demerara.
The tournament which was played in an eight-round Swiss System tournament saw 41 players compete for four days (November 11, 12, 18 and 19), for a chance to qualify for the upcoming Guyana Chess Federation’s (GCF) National Championship. In the end, Khan was the winner, dispatching all of his opponents across the eight rounds while the other 9 players sealed their National Championship spots as well.
In the final rounds, Khan defeated reigning National Junior Champion Keron Sandiford (round 7) and Loris Nathoo in the eighth and final round.
Khan and Nathoo waged an epic four-hour long battle despite both players having a balanced opening. Khan, who set up the finish perfectly, outshone Nathoo in the closing stages, with accurate and decisive moves to claim victory. En route to victory, Khan had claimed points from Isa Bremner, Errol Tiwari, Ethan Lee, Justino DaSilva, Roberto Neto and Sachin Pitamber.
Finishing in second place was 20-year-old Ethan Lee, who ended on seven points from his eight rounds. Lee ended his tournament with an eighth-round victory against young Sachin Pitamber. In third place was Sandiford who closed off proceedings on 5.5 points.
In fourth position was Gilbert Williams who also scored 5.5 points. His wins came against Tremusa Marshall, Shivanand Nandalall, Asif Rahaman, Nicholas Sakoor, and Rolex Alexander.
In fifth position, the 13-year-old Pitamber showed that he is one for the future by earning five points. Pitamber had won a point by default in the first round and drew with Sandiford in the second. He went on to win against fellow teen Najeeb Mohamed and then against seasoned players Saeed Ali and Justino DaSilva. Pitamber drew with Williams in round seven but then lost to Lee in the last round
Rounding out the top ten were Dasilva, Neto, Nathoo, Alexander and Jaden Taylor in that order. The top twelve boards were live-streamed throughout the tournament thanks to the expertise of FIDE Arbiter John Lee, who made sure that fans could follow the games in real-time.
At the closing ceremony, Vice President of the GCF, Irshad Mohamad was on hand to present medals to the winners.
The National Championships will be held within the next few weeks which will pave the way for the 2023 Champion. A Grand Prix and other National tournaments are also in the pipeline for early next year.
These competitions will pave the way for selection of the Olympiad team which will go to that international competition slated for Hungary in September of next year.
