WHEN Guyana men’s team took on a team from Guernsey in round five of the ongoing 42nd Chess Olympiad, Candidate Masters Taffin Khan and Anthony Drayton constructed their first wins, to end with 2.0 and 1.5 points respectively, yesterday, in Baku, Azerbaijan.Guyana’s Su Haifeng, rated 1800, ended his match against the higher-rated Candidate Master, Andrew Hale, 1940, in stalemate, picking up another 0.5 point to take his total up to 2.5 points and keep him in the lead of the men’s team.
Khan (1877) is just behind Haifeng, picking up his last point when he triumphed over Peter Rowe (1966), who played the black pieces.
All of the men found themselves pitted against higher-ranked players, with the Guernsey side boasting a full four-man team of CM, while Guyana had only three CM.
Guyana’s other player for the team, Ronuel Greenidge, lost his fourth match in the competition, this time bowing out against Toby Brookfield. The men are scheduled to play a team from Malta tomorrow.
Women Candidate Master (WCM) Maria Varona-Thomas continues to lead in points on the Guyana’s women’s team, where she has three points after five matches. In yesterday’s game, Varona-Thomas faced off against fellow WCM Aisha Al-khelaifi and played to a draw, as the Guyana women played Qatar.
Sheriffa Ali was able to keep Kholoud Al-Khelaifi somewhat at bay and earn a draw in her match, taking her up to 2.5 points after four matches.
Players Jessica Clementson (1233) and Yolander Persaud (1151) have one point each. Clementson failed to increase her points standing after losing against Fatima A. Al-khulaifi (1584), while WCM Alshaymaa Safar (1603) made the first move in her match where she conquered Guyana’s Julia Clementson. Julia is an unrated player.
Julia has still failed to gain any points, losing both matches she has played thus far. Persaud did not play in this round of the competition, where only four out the team’s five players can play per round. The women’s battle continues when they come up against a team from Chinese Taipei, also set to take place tomorrow.