CM Sachin Pitamber and Ciel Clement claimed top honours at the I-CEE-sponsored Grand Prix 3 chess tournament, held over two weekends at the David Rose Special School, concluding on February 1.
Pitamber dominated the Open Category, finishing the eight-round event unbeaten with 7.5 points. He secured a key victory over FM Anthony Drayton in round five, while a draw with Alexander Zhang in round six prevented a perfect score. Drayton took second place with 6.5 points, followed by Zhang on 6 points.
In the Female Category, Clement scored 6.5 points to edge out former champion WCM Sasha Shariff on tiebreaks. WCM Jessica Callendar finished third with 5.5 points, while notable performances included Treskolé Archibald (5.5), Kataleya Sam (4.5) and Amaya Sharma (4), who defeated Callendar in a surprise upset.
The tournament is part of a series of qualifiers to select the Guyana team for the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Uzbekistan. FIDE Arbiter John Lee oversaw the FIDE-rated event, which livestreamed the top twelve boards. The top three finishers in each category shared cash prizes totaling $100,000.
The Guyana Chess Federation thanked I-CEE for its sponsorship and the David Rose Special School for hosting the event. More information on local chess clubs and registration is available at guyanachess.gy.
