Guyana’s junior chess players delivered a strong showing at the CARIFTA Chess Championship 2026, with Candidate Master Sachin Pitamber posting the tournament’s top score of 7.5 in the Under-16 Open Category before finishing second on tie-break, while three other Guyanese players secured third-place finishes across the Under-18 and Under-16 categories.
Sixteen-year-old Kyle Couchman finished third in the Under-18 Open Category with 6 points, while 15-year-old Woman Candidate Master Aditi Joshi placed third in the Under-16 Girls division with 6 points. Sixteen-year-old Ciel Clement matched that podium finish, taking third in the Under-18 Girls category with 4 points.
The championship, held in a hybrid format across the Under-18 and Under-16 categories on Saturday, 11 July, at the Olympic House in Liliendaal, saw Guyanese players facing opponents from sister Caribbean and CARIFTA nations online.
Pitamber, the 2026 National Chess Champion, recorded seven wins, a draw against Trinidad and Tobago’s James Levi and a single defeat to Suriname’s Thie-yen Fung.
The Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) said the top performers, all from Queen’s College, had put Guyana on the regional chess stage. The tournament involved players from 15 CARIFTA nations, with junior categories competing on 11 July and the Women’s and Open categories on 12 July.
In the Open Category, CM Taffin Khan placed 17th with 6 points from nine rounds, recording four wins and four draws, with his only loss coming against Suriname’s Pratul Panchoe. FM Anthony Drayton finished with 5 points after sweeping his first four rounds before closing with a draw. Keron Sandiford finished with 4.5 points, anchored by four wins and a draw in the eighth round.
In the women’s category, WCM Jessica Callender placed 15th with 5 points, while WCM Sasha Shariff placed 28th with 4 points.
In the junior categories, played on 11 July, Nicholas Zhang scored 5.5 points, Alexander Zhang 5 points, Parnita Kishun 4 points and Emma John 3.5 points in the Under-16 Open and Girls categories.
In the Under-14 category, Abel Fernandez Ciria, the Under-14 Open champion, finished sixth with 6 points, the highest ranking among Guyanese players in the category. Alex Ubaldo Singh placed 11th with 6 points, while Aquailani Swaminadha and Under-14 and Under-16 Girls’ champion Kataleya Sam each scored 5 points. Sana Sreebalakumar finished with 3.5 points and Rebha Lachhman with 3 points.
In the Under-12 category, Under-12 Open champion Aiden Tinnie led Guyana’s charge with 5.5 points, while Under-12 Girls champion Divya Persaud scored 5 points. Vir Narine also scored 5 points, while Saura Ruplall and Arian Tinnie each finished with 3.5 points.
In the Under-10 category, Mark DeFreitas led with 5 points, followed by Malia Thompson with 4.5 points, Isabella Shariff with 3.5 points and Avery Munroe with 3 points.
In the Under-8 category, Pranav Suman finished with 4 points.
Each category featured a single co-ed tournament involving almost 450 participants, with results separated by gender. Competing nations included Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, the US Virgin Islands, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The GCF commended the dedication and resilience shown by all participants, while noting that further training would help some juniors reach their full potential. The Federation thanked FIDE Arbiter John Lee for monitoring the Guyanese delegation throughout the tournament, and the Guyana Olympic Association for providing the venue and facilities.
