NINETEEN-year-old Ethan Lee has replaced Wendell Meusa in the National Chess team expected to travel to Chennai, India for the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad during July-August.

The teenager, who accumulated the seventh highest Grand Prix points (the yardstick for selection), was given the nod after national champion ,Wendell Meusa, opted to withdraw from the team.

After a series of competitions, the top 10 (five each) male and female players were selected to travel.

Although the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) president, Frankie Farley, was next in line to be selected, after amassing the sixth most points in the open division, he declined the nomination since he felt it would have been a positive learning experience for Lee.

Lee is currently the highest rated junior player at 1515 and a part of the top 10 Guyana players list.

He has experience at the local and international levels.

He represented Guyana in Barbados and St Lucia in open tournaments and in Trinidad and Tobago at CAC U-20.

In India, Lee will be joined by former Senior National Open champions, CM Taffin Khan, FM Anthony Drayton, Loris Nathoo and Roberto Neto in the Open category.

He will also join female players, National Women’s champion, 14-year-old Pooja Lam, former champion, 18-year-old Sasha Shariff, 20-year-old Jessica Callender and 21-year-old Nellisha Johnson, along with the talented 12-year-old Anaya Lall.