By Travis Seymour | December 2024
Candidate Masters Taffin Khan and Aditi Joshi emerged victorious at the one-day President’s Cup Independence Day Chess Tournament, hosted by President Irfaan Ali at the Baridi Benab, State House.
A total of 82 male and female players participated in the event.
In the women’s category, Aditi Joshi, the country’s newest Woman Candidate Master, claimed the top prize with an impressive 6 points from 6 outright victories.
National Women’s Champion Jessica Callender finished second with 5½ points after securing five wins and one draw.
WCM Sasha Shariff took third place, also finishing with 5½ points from 5 wins and a draw.
In the men’s open category, Candidate Master Taffin Khan clinched the top spot, while FIDE Master Anthony Drayton took second place.
Former National Junior Champion Saeed Ali secured third place.
President Irfaan Ali congratulated the players for their dedication to the game.
He reassured them of his government’s commitment to supporting the expansion of chess across the country.
The President announced the government’s plan to purchase additional chess sets for players nationwide and challenged the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) to organize a regional tournament in the coming weeks.
He also pledged another 500 chess sets for players in 2025.