Youngster Kyle Couchman and Sasha Shariff emerged winners in their respective categories over the last weekend in the Guyana Chess Federation’s (GCF) Third Grand Prix Chess tournament held over four days at the Providence National Stadium.
Couchman, who took the Open title, compiled 6 points out of the eight-round tournament with four wins and four draws to hold off seventeen other competitors.
He faced senior player Rashad Hussain in his final duel, which pushed him to the top spot after being tied with Keron Sandiford and Ethan Lee at the beginning of the last round with 5 points apiece.
En route to victory, Couchman defeated Tremusa Marshal, Loris Nathoo, and Ethan Lee while he drew with Jaden Taylor, Sandiford, Ronuel Greenidge, and Roberto Neto.
Lee settled for the second spot with 5.5 points after he drew with reigning Junior Champion Sandiford in their final round encounter.
Early in the match, Lee had found himself in a dominant position with his two unobstructed Rooks in ominous positions; however, Sandiford managed to stymie Lee’s plans, and the match entered an endgame with active queens and the few pawns of both players potentially becoming targets. Sandiford was on the verge of capturing Lee’s pawns, but Lee struck back, using his queen to continuously threaten Sandiford’s king. In a final skirmish, Lee forced his opponent to redirect his attention and focus on the safety of his king. With both players’ hopes of winning outright fading, they agreed to a draw.
While Lee settled for second, Sandiford came in third with 5.5 points after defeating Rafael Park, Rashad Hussain, and Jaden Taylor and drawing with Ricardo Narine, Couchman, Sachin Pitamber, and Roberto Neto.
Seniors Roberto Neto took the fourth spot with 5.5 points, CM Ronuel Greenidge took fifth with 5 points, and Rashad Hussain took 4.5 points. Jaden Taylor, Kim Shing Chong, Sachin Pitamber, and Kishan Puran ended with 4.5 points, and Loris Nathoo and Ricardo Narine had 4 points.
On the distaff side, Sasha Shariff emerged Queen of the Pack with 6.5 points ahead of reigning Women’s Champion Jessica Callender, who also had 6.5 points, but due to the tie-break system, Shariff had the edge. Shariff and Callender had 5.5 points before the final round, and both won their matches against Nellisha Johnson and Angelina Yhap, respectively.
In the final round, a confident Shariff outplayed her female counterpart, Johnson, with a knight and two rooks wreaking havoc. Johnson was unable to defend her deteriorating position despite fighting valiantly with only two Rooks. Shariff won more material, and Johnson could not avoid the virtual loss.
The impressive 13-year-old Aditi Joshi placed third with 6 points, while Ciel Clement and Treskole Archibald came in fourth and fifth, respectively, with 5 points each. Nellisha Johnson ended with 4.5 points.
The top three winners in each category received cash prizes amounting to seventy thousand dollars.
The tournament was supervised by FIDE Arbiter John Lee. Points were awarded to the top contenders according to the Grand Prix system devised to obtain the top five players in the open and female categories who will participate in the Chess Olympiad later this year. Qualifying tournaments such as the Grand Prix series, the National Open Qualifiers, and the National Championships determine the final roster of the Olympiad team.
