Davion Mars battled back from a difficult position on Monday to beat Woman Candidate Master Jessica Callender and remain undefeated after three rounds of the Pegasus Weekly Chess League.
The win, at the Pegasus Hotel’s Atlantic Meeting Room, kept Mars on a perfect 3/3 points. Keron Sandiford also stayed unbeaten with a win over Raymond Sookdeo, setting up a clash between the two leaders in round four.
Callender, playing White, held the upper hand for much of the game against Mars, a national-level player with a background in mechanical engineering. She missed a move around move 14 that would have given her roughly a +1 advantage, but still built a strong position, winning a pawn and keeping the bishop pair.
Mars responded with a sharp counterattack. Callender’s clock fell under a minute, forcing a run of weaker moves that cost her the game.
It was Callender’s first defeat of the season, dropping her to fourth place on 2 points. Ryan McKay took third, also on 2 points, after beating Juliana Persaud.
Further down the table, Martin Poon drew with Odinnie Reece to move up three places to 1.5 points. Sachin Beharry also gained three spots, while Jaden Taylor picked up his first point of the season and rose two places.
Four rounds remain in the inaugural season, with the standings still tightly bunched. The league is organised by Drayton’s Chess Club, in partnership with the Pegasus Chess Club and the Guyana Chess Federation.
