VISITING national player of the 70s and 80s Tony Hanoman won the senior category of the Apex Insurance Rapid one-day Chess tournament on Sunday at the KEI-SHAR’S Sports Club. Hanoman, back in Guyana on holiday, won on the tie-breaker system as he scored evenly with former national champion Kriskal Persaud of Berbice. Persaud had to settle for second while Glenford Corlette of Georgetown placed third.
Hanoman and Persaud scored six and a half points each while Corlette wrapped up with five points.
In the junior category Anthony Drayton placed first to take top honours while current National Junior Champion Haifeng Su settled for second. Saeed Ali of Richard Ishmael Secondary secured third place, Ron Motilall of St Joseph High School gained fourth and Pardev Bissoon of West Demerara Secondary placed fifth.
The 12-year-old Sheriffa Ali of St Joseph High School was awarded the Best Under-13 trophy as she recorded four points throughout the competition.
Drayton reigned supreme with five and Haifeng Su was second with four and a half points while Saeed Ali, Ron Motiall, Pardev Bissoon and Sheriffa Ali accumulated four points each
During the presentation of prizes at the end of the tournament, seasoned player Tony Hanoman advised his junior counterparts to concentrate on their chess openings to improve their play.
He observed that many were lacking in that regard and he also warned the juniors that they may not be able to match up their fellow players who know their openings.
Participants were allowed 20 minutes each to complete their game in the Rapid tournament using clocks provided by the Guyana Chess Federation. The competition attracted 27 chess players.