Queen’s College student Aditi Joshi, 14, supplemented her international FIDE rating by scoring the most points for Guyana at the recent 2024 Pan-Am Youth Chess Championship, in Florida, USA. Guyana dispatched an eight-member team, four boys and four girls, to participate in the nine-round tournament, which comprised 368 players from 28 chess federations.
Joshi accumulated 4.5 points from nine rounds facing some of the most accomplished Under-14 girls worldwide. She achieved three wins and three draws on her scorecard, drawing with Mexico’s Andrea Sanchez, the third ranked contestant in the Under-14 category. Joshi defeated the USA’s Tanya Prabhu and drew with Brazil’s Mariana Yassuda, both ELO higher ranked than herself.
I was not surprised at Joshi’s exemplary performance. She has been competing in the local male events once she was qualified to participate. Joshi has been quoted as saying she relished the more seasoned competition during the championship.
Queen’s College student Kyle Couchman, representing Guyana in the Under-16 category, defeated American Nathan Yan, a 2200 ELO rated player, and Jamaican Zuberi Edwards. He drew four other games and lost three with higher ELO-rated competitors than himself. Couchman accumulated four points, followed by Kateleya Sam with four and Sachin Pitamber with 3.5. The youngest member of the team, nine-year-old Vir Narine, contributed two points. The USA team emerged victorious in the 2024 Pan-Am Youth Championship.
Head of the Guyana delegation was Archana Joshi.
Internationally, Vietnam’s Le Quang Liem won the elite Biel Masters Tournament for the third consecutive year in a row, beating Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu in the final round of the competition.
