TEAM Guyana, made up of 17 young chess players, officially concluded its campaign at the Pan American Youth Chess Festival in Medellín, Colombia.
The event ran from July 26 to August 2, 2026, and was hosted jointly by the Colombian Chess Federation and the Chess Confederation for the Americas (CCA).
The prestigious event gathered nearly 1,000 players representing 30 nations from across Latin America and the Caribbean. Competitors faced off across the Absolute and Girls divisions, spanning categories from U-8 to U-18.
Guyana’s stand-out result came in the U-18 Absolute category, where National Junior Chess Champion Kyle Couchman scored five points in the nine-round competition.
Rated 1962 ELO, Couchman notched four wins and two draws, dropping only three games—all to strong Colombian opponents: Juan Esteban Cabiativa (2148), Xavi Hernandez Jimenez (2112), and CM Samuel Toro Ramirez (2063).
Battling through an elite field, Couchman’s tactical resilience saw him outperform his initial 41st seed to finish 34th out of 86 contenders. His tournament highlight came in round four, when he secured a brilliant draw against Mexico’s CM Miguel Angel Lopez Garcia (2217).
WCM Aditi Joshi and Guyana’s National Women’s Champion recorded 4.5 points after two wins and five draws in the U-16 Female Category. National U-14 Open Champion Abel Fernandez Ciria finished with four points in his U-14 Absolute Category with three wins and two draws, while National U-12 Open Champion Aiden Tinnie ended on four points in the U-12 Absolute Category.
Alek Ubaldo-Singh, competing in the U-14 Absolute Category, scored 3.5 points, while Rebha Lachhman finished with three points in the Girls U-14 category. Alexander Zhang finished with three points in his U-16 Absolute Category, and Emma John recorded three points in the U-16 Female Category.
In the U-12 Absolute Category, Vir Narine and Jeremiah Jacobs finished with three points each, while Sanjay Suman and Arian Tinnie, competing in the same category, scored two points and 1.5 points, respectively.
In the Girls U-12 category, National U12 Girls Champion Divya Persaud finished with three points, while Amaya Sharma finished with two.
In the U-10 Absolute category, Mark Defreitas scored three points, while Jordan Jacobs finished with one.
Parnav Suman, the youngest member of the contingent, put up a valiant effort in the U-8 Absolute category, with a score of 2.5 points.
The players returned Sunday after a week of intense competition, with invaluable international experience and in some cases, significant gains in their ELO ratings.
The Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) is proud of its young players and is confident that this experience will foster both their growth as chess players and their personal development.
We extend special thanks to National player Keron Sandiford, who served as Coach and Head of Delegation, as well as parents Gwen Tinnie and Patrick John for their unwavering guidance, supervision, and support throughout the tournament. Additional thanks go to all the accompanying parents who provided crucial help and supervision during the event.
Finally, the GCF thanks the officials who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make this trip possible.
Coordinating our largest ever contingent of nearly 40 individuals to an international event required extraordinary dedication, and we are immensely grateful for their assistance and support.
