Taffin Khan is the reigning National Chess Champion
The Ready Mix powered Open Qualification Chess tournament, which is a lead-up to the 2024 National Chess Championship, got underway over the past weekend at School of the Nations, New Market Street, Georgetown.
Some 40 players of all ages are being paired for seven rounds of intense action over the chessboard to secure a top spot in the upcoming championship.
After a weekend’s worth of chess action, eight players are bunched together with outright wins after two rounds of play thus far.
They are FM Anthony Drayton, Loris Nathoo, Sachin Pitamber, Aditi Joshi, Rolex Alexander, Kyle Couchman, Ethan Lee, and Keron Sandiford.
Scenes from the beginning of the Chess Championships qualifiers over the weekend
The top nine players to qualify from this Ready Mix-sponsored competition will challenge defending National Champion Taffin Khan in their attempt to unseat him from the highest chess throne in Guyana.
In last year’s National Open Tournament, both eventual champion Taffin Khan and Loris Nathoo ended their campaigns with 7.5 points. As such, the tie triggered the need for a rapid playoff in order to determine the National Champion.
Khan successfully defended his title during a fast-paced playoff that lasted less than one hour with main challenger Nathoo.
Two rounds were completed on Saturday and the remaining five will be contested next weekend, with the final on Saturday, May 25.
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