Candidate Master (CM) Ronuel Greenidge remained undefeated in rounds seven and eight to win the Guyana Chess Federation’s (GCF) Malta Supreme Grand Prix.
When play continued yesterday at the David Rose Special School in Thomas Lands, Greenidge faced Alexander Zhang, and the duo engaged in a gripping seventh-round battle that ended in a draw after time had expired.
However, in the eighth round, Greenidge sealed the deal with a victory over another Zhang, this time younger sibling Nicholas, to end the tournament undefeated and become the undisputed winner of the GCF’s fourth Grand Prix. In his eight games, Greenidge secured 6.5 points.
While Greenidge was the overall winner, experienced player Loris Nathoo took second place with a similar finish to Greenidge in the final two rounds. First, he drew with eventual third-placed Sachin Pitamber before dispatching Kishan Puran to end on six points.
Pitamber, on the other hand, finished on six points as well but ended in third place due to Nathoo having a superior tie-break accumulation. Aside from his draw with Nathoo, Pitamber beat Zhang in the eighth round. As the tournament was played in an ‘Open’ format, 13-year-old female player Aditi Joshi was once again impressive, holding her own to finish seventh overall with 4 points from a field of 16 players. Meanwhile, in a release to the media, the GCF expressed gratitude to Banks DIH, who, under their Malta Supreme brand, “is back on board with the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) and is proud to be associated once again in the pool of generous sponsors of GCF tournaments.”
According to the federation, “The Guyana Chess Federation 2024 Grand Prix series is part of the qualification system for the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, in September 2024. The four Grand Prix allows players to test their skills and work on improving their strategy for the opening, middle, and end games in a competitive setting.”
