Pitamber leads National Junior Chess qualifiers

Intense over-the-board battles took centre stage as the EnerMech Guyana-sponsored 2026 National Junior Chess Championship Qualifiers got underway at the Olympic House in Liliendaal.

After four gruelling rounds of classical play, Candidate Master (CM) Sachin Pitamber has emerged as the sole leader in a fiercely contested Group A division.

The 15-year-old reigning National Chess Champion put his strategic mastery on full display, playing unbeaten to rack up a perfect 4 points from 4 rounds.

Pitamber’s campaign was highlighted by a marquee fourth-round matchup—an epic, four-hour marathon against National Women’s Champion and Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Aditi Joshi, where Pitamber ultimately outlasted his opponent to secure the win.

With only three rounds remaining, the young prodigy is firmly on track to claim the top spot heading into the final stretch.

The stakes are high in the premier Group A division, where Guyana’s elite junior players are battling for one of nine coveted qualifying spots to challenge reigning champion Kyle Couchman in the upcoming Round Robin stage, scheduled to begin on July 13th.

Breathing down Pitamber’s neck are Under-14 Open Champion Abel Fernandez Ciria and Alexander Zhang, both sitting comfortably in second and third place with 3.5 points.

The chasing pack remains dangerously close, with WCM Aditi Joshi, Under-14 and Under-16 Girls Champion Kataleya Sam, Nicholas Zhang, and Matthew Singh all locked on 3 points each.

Meanwhile, the newly introduced Group B division is delivering its own share of excitement, offering rising and less experienced players a prime platform to showcase their classical skills.

Nikhail Raghubir and Shurlan Sparman have distinguished themselves early, dominating the field to share the division lead with a perfect 4 points.

Sanjay Suman is hot on their heels in clear third place with 3.5 points, while a massive seven-player logjam consisting of Tremeur Alleyne, Shameera Dwarka, Mark De Freitas, Axela Vieira, Martin Moore Jr., Raiden Ruplall, and Ameer Shariff trails closely with 3 points each.

Hardware is heavily on the line for these young minds. In addition to Group A’s top nine advancing, medals and special prizes will be awarded to the Best Female, Best Under-12, and Best Under-14 players.

Group B’s top five finishers will walk away with trophies, alongside accolades for the Best Under-10 and Under-8 players across both open and female categories.

In a historic first, trophies will also be presented to top performers from Priority Area Schools, recognising students taught under the Ministry of Education’s chess program.

The action-packed tournament, which is being live-streamed on lichess.org by FIDE Arbiter John Lee, concludes on Wednesday, July 8th, with the final seventh round followed immediately by the closing and presentation ceremony.

The Guyana Chess Federation has expressed its gratitude to tournament sponsor EnerMech Guyana Inc. and the Guyana Olympic Association for making the event possible. (Press Release)