The National Open Chess Championship playoff between Candidate Master (CM) Taffin Khan (2005) and Loris Nathoo (1703) will be staged on Wednesday at the Ocean Spray International Hotel, Kitty, from 17:30 hrs.
This was confirmed by an official release from the Guyana Chess Federation. According to the correspondence, a coin toss by tournament director Irshad Mohamad will occur to determine who plays first by acquiring the white playing pieces in the three-game match.
“A ticking electronic chess clock will countdown the time allotted to each player under strict tournament conditions in the presence of the Tournament Arbiter. The first game can last a maximum of 30 minutes, while the second and third are another 30, totaling 60 minutes for the fast-paced encounter. Yet, if a tie still results, Khan and Nathoo will enter the sudden death stage and be allotted a meagre 5 minutes each in another three-game contest. The face-off between the two would characterise an intense battle of cunning and strategy over the chessboard to achieve majority wins and secure the Senior National Champion title for 2023, the release stated.
The playoff encounter was required after the duo ended tied atop the standings at 7.5 points at the conclusion of the nine-round National Open Championship. This is Khan’s second appearance in a playoff following his participation in 2010, while Nathoo will be making his debut at this juncture.
