THE Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) will host two online competitions over the weekend dubbed the April Open Chess Tournament.
A Blitz competition will be held today (Saturday April 17) and a Rapid competition tomorrow. An overall winner will be decided after the 14 rounds of play.
Players will be awarded two points for a win and one for a draw. Maximum points will decide the overall champion.
As an incentive the first-place finisher will collect $40 000, second-placer will receive $30 000 and third-placer $20 000.
The top junior will receive $20 000, with second-placer collecting $10 000 and third-placer $500.
Today’s Blitz (the faster of the two, time-related) will be over seven rounds, with the first pawn moving at 18:30hrs. The event will have a time control of six minutes plus two seconds increment.

In tomorrow’s Rapid, participants will battle from 13:00hrs over seven rounds with a time control of 12 minutes plus four seconds.
According to president of GCF, Frankie Farley, the weekend event is geared to get players playing again.
“We will roll out a number of initiatives and tournaments to bring back chess online, these prizes are motivation to both adults and youths.”
Farley added that the federation plans to have two online tournaments every month, based on sponsorships. This weekend’s two-day event is sponsored by Marlon Williams.
Davion Mars, the defending national Blitz and Rapid champion confirmed his participation last evening. A number of other big names are expected to compete.