Couchman tops MOO MILK Junior Chess Qualifiers 

Fourteen-year-old Kyle Couchman emerged victorious in the MOO MILK National Junior Chess Championship Qualifiers, securing his place in the main championship.

The seven-round competition, held at the Guyana National Stadium, concluded on July 9th with Couchman amassing six points to finish atop a field of nearly 70 participants.

Sachin Pitamber, Ricardo Narine, Aditi Joshi, Matthew Singh, Kishan Puran, and Italy Ton-Chung followed Couchman in second to seventh place, each securing 5.5 points. Alexander Zhang, Treskole Archibald, and Alek Ubaldo Singh completed the top ten with five points apiece.

Notable performances included Omar Shariff, Ciel Clement, Micaiah Enoe, Yan Wen Chen, Tremusa Marshall, Darrel Abrams, Rafael Park, and Saura Ruplall, who all scored 4.5 points.

Aditi Joshi claimed the best female prize, while Yan Wen Chen and Alek Ubaldo-Singh excelled in the U10 and U12 open categories, respectively. Saura Ruplall secured both the U10 and U12 prizes for girls. Tivon Grant was recognized as the best newcomer, and seven-year-old Joshua Patterson was awarded the youngest player prize.

The qualifiers provided a platform for young chess players from various schools to compete and qualify for the main championship. The tournament showcased the talent and discipline of the participants.

This year’s qualifiers witnessed a surge in competition, with three promising female players – Aditi Joshi, Treskole Archibald, and Italy Ton-Chung – qualifying for the championship for the first time.

Additionally, nine players achieved national ratings, and four players are poised to earn FIDE ratings.

The top ten qualifiers will now compete for the Junior Chess Championship title from July 26th to 31st at the David Rose Special School. The tournament is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and sponsored by MOO MILK.