THE NATIONAL Chess Junior Qualifiers tournament ended with favourite Roberto Neto playing undefeated. The tourney was hosted at the National Resource Centre and the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. For Neto it was a close tournament, however, as the Ali siblings – Saeednwar and Sheriffa – nipped at his heels. Having travelled as the reserve player of the National Team that attended the 42nd Chess Olympiad, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Neto finished with an undefeated 6.5 points from the allocated 7 games. His closest rivals were Saeed Ali with 5.5 and Sheriffa on 5.
Joshua Gopaul also finished with 5 points, followed by Ghansham Allijohn and Jaden Taylor with 4 points apiece (Saints Stanislaus College Chess Club).
The tournament also saw former QC student Aravinda Singh make his return to chess with a fighting 4 points. Completing the group of players to qualify was Christ Church Secondary student Nellisha Johnson, who played a hard-fought last game to claim her spot ahead of her sister Waveney Johnson on a tie-breaker. They both finished with 4 points.
The Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) would like to extend thanks to the Director of Sport and the National Sports Commission for allowing the use of the games facilities.
The National Junior Chess Championship will be held in two weeks’ time and qualifying players will participate in a round-robin showdown to determine the Guyana 2016 National Junior Chess Champion.