The Guyana Chess Federation (GCF), in collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat, will stage the inaugural CARICOM Classic Championship from March 3rd-10th at the Princess Ramada Hotel, East Bank Demerara.
This was confirmed by a press release from the GCF. According to the correspondence, the tournament, which will coincide with the 50th anniversary celebration of CARICOM’s founding, will feature participation from nine member states and associate members who will battle for medals, trophies, and a total cash prize pool of US$3,000.
The participating teams, which will feature over 40 seasoned players, will comprise the Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, and hosts Guyana.
The release stated, “Guyana will be fielding two teams of four players each, two males and two females, with team one consisting of CM Taffin Khan, FM Anthony Drayton, current Women’s Champion Jessica Callender, and Shazeeda Rahim, and junior team two consisting of reigning Junior Champion Keron Sandiford, fourteen-year-old Kyle Couchman, Sasha Shariff, and thirteen-year-old Aditi Joshi. This local selection, a talented mix of junior and senior chess players, has gained significant tournament experience over the last few years. The qualifying team for the Guyana players emerged from the results of the Grand Prix tournaments held earlier this year.”
“The Guyanese chess players will meet their international counterparts over the board in the FIDE-rated tournament with nine rounds of classical games consisting of 90 minutes with 30-second increments after each move. Barbadian International Arbiter Kelvin Daniel will oversee the tournament with assistance from local FIDE Arbiters John Lee, Anand Raghunauth, and Irshad Mohamad. Round one is expected to start at 10 a.m. and round two at 4 p.m. on Monday, March 4. Games will continue throughout the week and conclude on Saturday, March 9”, the release further stated.FIDE Deputy President and Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, who will be making his maiden visit to local shores, will be the special guest at the event’s opening ceremony on Sunday. Additionally, the release stated that the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport is a significant contributor to the event.
