IRSHAD Mohamad was almost flawless en route to a double victory over the weekend, which crowned him champion of the April Open Chess Tournament.

The online blitz and rapid competitions attracted a number of big names, but Mohamad, who is a past president of the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) was able to defeat almost all of them.

His only blemish over the 14 rounds of play was a lost to GCF current president, Frankie Farley, on Sunday in the rapid. A day earlier, he  held was held to a draw each, against former national champion, Anthony Drayton, and Justino DaSilva in the blitz.

After two days of battle, Mohamad finished with 24 overall points, Drayton placed second with 21 points and 2020 National Rapid and Blitz champion, Davion Mars was third on 20 points.

Glenford Corlette and Loris Nathoo were tied on 20 points each, while Farley and DaSilva ended on 19 points each.

Meanwhile, Keron Saniford finished as the best junior at the tournament.   He accumulated 18 points over the two competitions.  Second place went to Ricardo Narine, who finished with 16 points.

Oluwadare Clement Oyeyipo placed third with 15 points, while Jaden Taylor was fourth and Kishan Puran fifth.

Almost 40 chess players (both juniors and seniors) competed in the event.

For his victory, Mohamad will receive $40,000, while Drayton will collect $30,000 and Mars $20,000.

The top three juniors will collect $20,000, $10,000 and $5000.

The presentation ceremony was scheduled for this week.

BRAZILIAN TRAINING

Mohamad, who has performed admirably in recent competitions, told Chronicle Sport that he has intensified his training.  He said that over the last year, he has been training with a professional Brazilian coach, which has improved his overall game.

He added that he hopes to continue improving his game and if he is granted the opportunities to represent Guyana, he would be honoured to do so.

The seasoned player noted that he is more comfortable playing the shorter versions of the game than the traditional version.

The April Open Chess tournament was again sponsored by Marlon Williams.