THE Guyana Chess Federation’s eight-member contingent, participating in the Pan American Youth Championships XXXIV in Orlando, Florida, is holding its own among its international counterparts.

After five rounds of play, Sachin Pitamber is in 15th place with 3 points in the U14 Open, while Kyle Couchman is in 17th place in the U16 Open with 2.5 points. Couchman defeated FM Nathan Yan, FIDE rated 2200 in round one, and Jamaica’s Zuberi Edwards, 1642 in round four.

In round five, Couchman earned a half point after he drew with Trinidad’s Kael Samuel Bisnauth, whom he had defeated last year in the CAC Youth Chess Festival.

Aditi Joshi, competing in the Girls U14, is on 1.5 points after defeating Sara Vasquez and Tsahai Clarke from Panama and Jamaica, respectively. Joshi earned a half point after drawing her game with Keytleen Troya from Panama.

Jeremy Cole, competing in the U12 Open, is on 1.5 points after he won against USA’s Polo Davila and a draw with Julian Rasch from the Cayman Islands. Kataleya Sam is on two points, with a victory over Aruba’s Aaradhya Manchani in the U12 Girls category.

Saura Ruplall is on 1.5 points after a bye and a draw with Costa Rica’s Elena Mayorga in round five in the U10 girls category.

Maliha Rajkumar, playing in the U16 Girls, and Vir Narine, competing in the U10 Open, are both on 1 point.

This tournament is a valuable opportunity for the younger players to experience their first international competition.

It allows them to test their skills against players from other countries and learn from their opponents.

The heavily contested tournament has mostly FIDE-rated players in each category. Three rounds remain for each category represented by the Guyanese juniors.

Participating in these international events allows our players to put their training into practice and gain exposure to diverse playing styles.

Although many countries and languages are represented in the Pan Am Chess Championship, chess remains a universal language, to which each player can relate, regardless of geographic background.

The United States Chess Federation has organised the event in partnership with the Confederation of Chess for the Americas, the International Chess Federation (FIDE), and the Rosen Shingle Creek playing venue.