Cole and Sam win Kitty Square Mall National U-12 Rapid Chess tournament

After seven rounds of play and hours of mental endurance, the Kitty Square Mall-sponsored National Under-12 Chess Championship came to an end with Kataleya Sam and Jeremy Cole, both 10, earning the Chess Championship titles of National Under-12 Girls Champion and National Under-12 Open Champion respectively.

The annual competition, organised by the Guyana Chess Federation, was played at School of the Nations on Saturday (January 20, 2024).

The competition attracted 41 participants and it was the first time the National Under-12 was played in an Open and Girls section.

The junior chess players contested in seven rounds of games to earn the highest points, all in hopes of securing the top three ranking in the Open and Girls Chess Championships.

Primary and secondary school students represented from nine schools, both public and private, namely School of the Nations, Marian Academy, New Guyana School, Mae’s School, Covent Garden Primary, Cornelius Primary School, Apex Education, Valmiki Vidyalaya Primary and the Georgetown International Academy.

In the National Under-12 Open division, 22 boys were vying for the top three spots. After dominating six games, Cole, from Mae’s School, earned first place with six points.

Second and third places were decided by a tie-break and awarded to last year’s Nation Under-12 Champion, Aquilani Swaminadha and Julian Mohabir respectively, both students of the School of Nations.

Trophies were awarded during the short prize-giving ceremony for the young winners. A medal was presented to the Best Under-10 Open player, which went to Vir Narine of Marian Academy, who scored 4.5 points.

In the Under-8 Open, the best player medal was awarded to seven-year-old Landon Mohabir of the School of the Nations, who scored four points.

Over on the girls’ side, reigning U-12 Girls Champion Kataleya Sam of Mae’s Schools holds on to her championship title for yet another year.

Sam played undefeated, winning all seven games against her female counterparts. Young Kataleya, who is yet to earn her ELO ratings, holds a conditional Women Candidate Master Title, which was bestowed upon her in last year’s CAC Youth Chess Festival in Trinidad after placing third in the Under-10 category in that competition.

Sam will have to gain an ELO rating of 1800 before she can claim her chess title. Second place went to Saura Ruplall of Marian Academy with 5.5 points.

Third in place was Chelsea Harrison, also of Marian Academy with five points. All winners were awarded a trophy, with champions Cole and Sam receiving a gift voucher, each worth G$6000 provided by the sponsor, Kitty Square Mall.

Supervising the tournaments were FIDE Arbiter John Lee, assisted by National Arbiters Odit Rodrigues and Kim Shing Chong, and senior players Ethan Lee, Oluwadare Oyeyipo, Keron Sandiford and Justino DaSilva.

On hand to express his sentiments was the President of the Guyana Chess Federation, Anand Raghunauth.

The GCF’s president was heartened by the turnout of young chess players, especially the girls. It is the first year the GCF was able to host a National Girls Under-12 competition due to the large number of girls in that age category.

Raghunauth gave thanks to the parents who constantly support their children in chess. All the winners will be entered automatically in the National Under-14 Chess Tournaments scheduled for Saturday, January 27, at Queen’s College.

Registration must be done online at guyanachess.gy or through a registration form. Participants must be a member of the GCF.

Persons interested in joining the GCF can visit the website and can also contact the federation on [email protected].

The Guyana Chess Federation thanks the Kitty Square Mall for supporting junior chess in Guyana.

Gratitude is extended to the School of the Nations for providing the venue for the tournament.