The DeSinco Limited National Under-12 Chess Championship was held at the weekend at School of the Nations, with 25 excited children competing. The tournament saw keen competition among the top players who were all vying for a chance at the National titles.
Seven rounds of play were contested under a time control of 20 minutes per player, with five seconds added to the clock after each move. Aquilani Swaminadha took the Under-12 Open Championship title with 5.5 wins.
He defeated his counterparts Jacob McDonald, Joseph Prendergast, Javier Davenand, Julian Mohabir and Arush Ramnarine.
His half-point came from a draw in the fifth round against 11-year-old Nicholas Zhang. Swaminadha also won the prize for the Best Under-10 player. Zhang went on to claim second place in the competition.
While he scored the same points as the champion, he was ranked below Swaminadha due to the Buchholz tiebreak system, which takes into account the scores of the opponents that a player has defeated.
The player with the highest total Buchholz score (the highest sum of the scores of the opponents that the player has defeated) is ranked higher.
In third place for the Open category was Jacob McDonald on five points. Also on five points were Jeremy Cole, Julian Mohabir and Arush Ramnarine, who came in positions fourth to sixth respectively.
Their positions were also determined by the Buchholz tiebreak system.
The Girls Under-12 champion is Kataleya Sam, who finished ninth overall in the event with four points. Her losses came from Julian Mohabir, Jacob McDonald and Nicholas Zhang.
She also took home the prize for Best Under-10 female player. In second place for the girls is Chelsea Harrison and third place went to Skyler Gurchuran. Both nine-year-old girls finished on 2.5 points each.
Seven-year-old, Landon Mohabir, the youngest player in the tournament, earned a prize for his exceptional performance granting him a trophy as the Best Under-8 player. He finished on three points, having defeated Harrison, Ethon Marks and Lucas Smith.
Notable performances came from Joseph Prendergast, Adam Rahaman, Veer Persaud, Francis Thomas and Shaheem Khan, who all finished on four points.
“The Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) is very pleased with the performances of the players, most of whom are part of the training programmes provided by the GCF. The tournament was supervised by FIDE Arbiters John Lee and National Arbiter Jessica Callender,” the GCF said.
“The GCF wishes to express immense gratitude to the management of the School of the Nations who generously provided the venue for the hosting of the tournament. School of the Nations also provides the GCF with the opportunity to hold its weekly chess club for school-aged children on Saturdays. The Guyana Chess Federation extends its most sincere appreciation to our generous sponsor, DeSinco Limited, for their unwavering support in the development of chess in Guyana, particularly at the youth level. We couldn’t have held this championship without their assistance and we look forward to continuing our partnership in the future. Congratulations to all of the winners and participants in the tournament. We look forward to seeing your continued growth and success in the world of chess.”
The next tournament will be the Under-14 Nationals in February.
